Hyundai Ioniq 5 N review

We love a bit of nostalgia, but trying to blend old and new can be tricky. So the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N – designed to be part old-school hot hatch and part high-tech electric car – has a tough gig.

The brains behind the Ioniq 5 N have weaved electric-car technology with internal combustion engineering knowhow to create a 641bhp fully electric hyper-hatch with a gearbox (sort of) and lots of artificial engine noise.

It's based on the regular – and excellent – Hyundai Ioniq 5 and comes with a number of performance upgrades. They include new suspension, reworked steering and a vast array of drive modes designed to set it apart from the closely-related GT version of the Kia EV6. In other words, it's built to appeal to drivers looking for a legitimate battery-powered track toy.

Hyundai's N division is the South Korean car maker's version of BMW's M division and Mercedes' AMG, and has been responsible for some great petrol-powered models, including the Hyundai i20 N and Hyundai i30 N. But can it make a 2.2-tonne electric car fun to drive?

Read on as we find out whether the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N stands out among the best hot hatches and rate it against the EV6 GT, the Tesla Model Y Performance and other rivals...

The Ioniq 5 N draws its power from an 84kWh battery, which is the bigger option in a regular Hyundai Ioniq 5. It gives the 5 N an official range of around 278 miles, which is down on a non-N Ioniq 5 (354 miles) and behind the Tesla Model Y Performance (319 miles).

You’ll be able to cover those miles quickly: with a motor on each axle to provide four-wheel drive, the Ioniq 5 N has a combined 601bhp – or 641bhp in 10-second bursts using a function called N Grin Boost (NGB). Using Launch control, the car is said to hit 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds.

The way it builds speed is truly savage. But then again, the same can be said of the GT version of the Kia EV6, the Porsche Macan Turbo Electric and the Model Y Performance. Where the Ioniq 5 N stands out from the crowd is with the many drive mode party tricks it has up its sleeve. Take a deep breath and we’ll explain...

To start with there are regular modes you’d expect: Eco, Normal and Sport. They alter things like the accelerator response, the steering weight and the damper stiffness. Plus, there are two customisable modes you can configure to your heart’s content using the infotainment screen.

Then, like on the EV6 GT, there’s a drift mode – which encourages the car to go sideways, but with a hint of traction control to prevent the car from spinning – and two types of track mode that maximise the cooling of the battery and electric motor to prevent overheating.

Are you still with us? Excellent, because we're far from finished. When you delve into the infotainment system you'll stumble upon N Pedal – a feature that significantly amplifies the impact of regenerative braking.

The concept is simple: when you ease off the accelerator during spirited driving, the increased braking force assists in shifting the car's weight forward, enhancing your turn-in ability. Additionally, N Torque Distribution offers 11 options for torque allocation as you accelerate, allowing you to distribute power anywhere from 100% to the front wheels to 100% to the rears.

Then there's N e-Shift and N Active Sound Plus – a unique combination in the electric car world. N Active Sound Plus triggers some fake engine noise from six interior speakers and two external ones. There are two less-conventional sounds you can choose instead. You might have seen – and heard – an Abarth 500e doing something similar.

N e-Shift makes the Ioniq 5 N drive as if it has an eight-speed automatic gearbox. It doesn’t actually have one – it has a single-speed transmission, as most electric cars do. But with the “gearbox” engaged, the paddles on the steering wheel can shift up and down simulated gears.

N e-Shift was tuned by the Hyundai engineer who derived the real-life eight-speed auto gearbox used in other N cars. Flat-out acceleration sends the “revs” soaring, and as you pull a paddle for an upshift, the power delivery is interrupted briefly until the next “gear” engages, causing a genuine jolt in the driver’s seat.

Each gear responds in the way you’d expect. If you're in “fifth gear” at “low revs” and floor the accelerator, for example, the performance is limited and gradually builds as if you were in a petrol car. Coupled with a synchronised soundtrack that takes into account your gear and accelerator position, you can’t help but be impressed with the clever engineering that has gone into the system – engineering we reckon makes you a better driver.

That might sound like a bold claim for a feature that many will consider to be nothing more than a gimmick, but the artificial engine noise and gearing provides you with a more accurate perception of speed. That allows you to be more precise on twisty roads, particularly on the way into corners, where you can shift down for extra engine braking.

What if you can’t stand the idea of fake engine noise on a philosophical level? Well, with the N e-Shift and N Active Sound Plus systems turned off, you’re still left with an impressive-handling car. The front end of the Ioniq 5 N is sharper than that of the EV6 GT and it has a more playful handling balance, with the car rotating gently when you lift off the accelerator mid-corner. 

It also grips like hell (thanks to sticky Pirelli P-Zero tyres) and, with the standard adaptive suspension in its firmest setting, does a good job of resisting body lean through quick corners. Indeed, it’s only when you start to really hustle the Ioniq 5 N down a heavily cambered country road that its 2.2-tonne weight starts to reveal itself, with the suspension taking a moment or two to rein in big body movements.

At those extremes, the lower, tauter Porsche Taycan electric car is more settled, as are most petrol-powered hot hatches such as the Audi RS3 and Mercedes-AMG A45 S. But compared to other all-electric models, the Ioniq 5 N is in a league of its own.

Better yet, its dynamism hasn’t come at the expense of comfort. With the adaptive suspension in its softest setting, there’s still some firmness to it, but you can tackle big motorway miles with a ride that's a touch more pliant than in an EV6 GT.

“I think Hyundai’s N e-Shift system is excellent. The 'gears' give context to your road speed, and there’s nothing quite like a downshift to settle yourself and the car on the way into a corner.” – Neil Winn, Deputy Reviews Editor

Inside, there's not a huge amount of difference between the Ioniq 5 N and a regular Hyundai Ioniq 5. There are new heated and ventilated bucket seats, which are not electrically adjustable but are nicely comfortable and supportive.

The driving position is the same, which is a shame if you’re hoping for a low-slung sporty feel behind the wheel. It’s more like a traditional SUV, and would be better if you could lower the seat a few notches (you can blame the battery under the floor for that).

Depending on your seating position, you might find that parts of the 12.3in digital driver's display are obscured by the steering wheel. The driver's display is joined to a 12.3in infotainment touchscreen.

The Ioniq 5 N's drive modes are activated using buttons on the steering wheel or through the touchscreen. There are many different menus and sub-menus to swipe through depending on the function you’re trying to activate or customise.

You can just take the keys and go for a quick blast up the road in one of the preset driving modes, but those wanting to delve into the full suite of driving features will have to spend a serious amount of time familiarising themselves with the lay-out. As much as it’s fiddly and a little overwhelming at first, we're sure some buyers will gladly pore over the many modes and configurations like the settings on a video game.

Aside from the N bits, the infotainment is the same as the regular Ioniq 5's. Some icons are a bit small, but it’s a responsive screen with good graphics and helpful physical buttons along the bottom to aid navigating through all the functions.

The climate controls are always visible on a screen below the infotainment, which is good, but the buttons are touch-sensitive rather than physical, so it requires more of your attention while driving to operate them.

The interior looks modern and is mostly well laid out, with leather and Alcantara that lift the quality a little compared with a standard Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Not all of the plastics are as tactile as we'd like, including those used on the passenger’s side of the dashboard and the lower doors. A few bits even wobble when you prod them. That's disappointing on what is an expensive car. A Kia EV6 GT looks and feels a little better inside.

“I love that the steering wheel is unique to the N version but I wish Hyundai had gone for a bolder interior colour scheme. For such a fun car it's all rather moody and serious.” – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

The amount of space for passengers and luggage in the Ioniq 5 N is just the same as in a regular Hyundai Ioniq 5 so this is a car that's practical as well as quick.

Space up front is very generous: you’d have to be well over 6ft tall to have any problems with leg room. The wide interior adds to the sense of spaciousness.

In the rear, leg room is ridiculously generous, and not far off what you’d expect in a limo. Head room is good too. What’s more, you can recline the rear seats, and slide them back and forth.

The generous passenger space doesn’t come at the expense of good boot space – the Ioniq 5 N is roughly on a par with the Kia EV6 for luggage carrying. We managed to slot seven carry-on suitcases below the load cover of the regular Ioniq 5 and EV6, so this 5 N should take the same. For comparison, a Tesla Model Y took 10 cases in its front and rear boots.

“I found that the Ioniq 5 N feels huge inside. You can even recline the back seats for extra comfort.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

There's just one version of the Ioniq 5 N, and aside from the paint and a sunroof, there are no options to add. All the drive-mode gizmos and mechanical advancements over the regular Hyundai Ioniq 5 come as standard.

On one hand, it’s cheaper than the Audi e-Tron GT, the Porsche Taycan and the Porsche Macan Electric. On the other, it’s more expensive than a Kia EV6 GT or Tesla Model Y Performance – although the differences up at this price point are not huge.

Compared with petrol-powered hot hatchbacks, the Ioniq 5 N costs slightly more than an Audi RS3 and our favourite, the Mercedes-AMG A45 S. Both those are even more agile. You can check the latest prices using our New Car Deals pages.

The 5 N is capable of the same superfast charging speeds as the regular car, which means at its maximum rate of 238kW you can get a top up to 80% in less than half an hour. Using a more common 50kW public charger, that time would be one hour and 10 minutes.

The non-N Hyundai Ioniq 5 was awarded five stars out of five when it was tested by safety experts Euro NCAP. That result doesn’t technically cover the 5 N, but the results suggest it should offer an excellent level of protection.

In terms of reliability, Hyundai finished an impressive tenth out of 31 manufacturers in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey – although the regular Ioniq 5 finished a less-reassuring 15th out of 18 models in the electric cars section of the survey.

“Just as a Ferrari should be finished in Rosso Corsa and a Honda Civic Type R in Championship White, I think a Hyundai N product should be Performance Blue. So with colour choice out of the way, the only other option you have to consider is if you want a sunroof.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

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