Hyundai Ioniq 5 N – Review
By Liam Bird
Let’s see now, where exactly does one start? Hyundai’s new Ioniq 5 N looks, from a distance at least, like many a hot hatch. Closer inspection, however, reveals all is not quite what it seems.
The Ioniq 5 N is Hyundai’s N brand’s first high-performance, all-electric model. It represents, say the Korean manufacturer, the N brand’s electrification future, and a new way for high-performance enthusiasts to electrify their passion for driving on road and track. Now, if you’re not sure what the Hyundai N brand is, think of it in the same way as you would Ford’s RS division; what AMG is to Mercedes-Benz, or what M (or more accurately M Series) is to BMW.
Incidentally, Hyundai’s N brand – the N stands for Namyang, the South Korean district where the brand was created – is now run by the same man that used to head up BMW’s M Series, Albert Biermann. N is said to stand for Nürburgring too.
“A different league”
The first thing that strikes you is the Ioniq 5 N’s size. In the pictures it looks like a regular-sized hatchback, a modern-day interpretation if you will of Lancia’s similarly square-jawed Delta HF. But at 4715mm long, 1940mm wide, and 1585mm high, the Ioniq 5 N is roughly the same size as many a family SUV – rear legroom is generous to say the least. It sits on 21-inch wheels, it is all-wheel drive, and it weighs a hefty 2235kg. That’s nearly the stuff of Range Rovers.
Performance-wise, the Ioniq 5 N is also very nearly in a different league. Even before you press the little orange N Grin button on the already button-festooned thick-rimmed steering wheel to boost power by another 40bhp for a ten-second burst, the twin 21,000 rpm electric motors deliver a near tyre-shredding 601bhp. I’ll let you do the maths. 0-62mph takes a mere 3.4 seconds (a McLaren F1 is no quicker!), and top speed, presumably curtailed by single-speed gearing and the bodywork’s blocky aerodynamics, is 161mph.
“Self-control is very much required”
Having sampled the Ioniq 5 N over a long weekend, I’d say it feels every bit as quick as those figures suggest, if not faster. Not that I got anywhere near 161mph I hasten to add! Nevertheless, overtaking the Saturday afternoon saunterers that seem to plague this particular part of the Far Unlit Unknown has never been easier, or perhaps, more enjoyable. The Ioniq 5 N’s driving position, although 20mm lower than that of the more restrained Hyundai Ioniq 5 upon which it is based, is still more reminiscent of a supermini than it is a low-slung supercar, the result of which is better visibility. Little orange boost button deployed or not, even the shortest of straights allow you to “make progress”. Self-control is very much required to remain below licence-losing velocities, such is the Ioniq 5 N’s ease in which it rapidly gathers pace.
“Grip is phenomenal”
But don’t go thinking that Hyundai have just created some kind of straight-line, battery-powered blunderbuss that can’t cope in the corners. Grip is phenomenal, thanks to the addition of beefier dampers, tougher front and rear subframes, and stiffer battery and motor mounts. The 5 N also gains bigger brakes and a completely new steering rack that’s faster from lock to lock, and deep bucket seats keep both driver and passenger held nicely in place.
Get busy with the myriad driving modes and you can tailor the Ioniq 5 N’s set-up to suit your every whim: fully front-wheel drive, fully rear-wheel drive, or anywhere in between. You could, in effect, drive a different configuration every day; tootling to work on a Monday, sliding sideways like a Group B hero on full opposite lock after an early finish on Friday.
“It’s all very amusing”
And then there are the gear changes…
The what? The Ioniq 5 N is electric; it has a single-speed transmission!
Well, yes, it does, but Hyundai’s N e-Shift function turns the paddles behind the wheel – usually used to adjust regen braking settings on EVs – into ‘gearshift’ paddles that simulate an eight-speed DCT transmission. There’s even a rev counter! Meanwhile, N Active Sound+ simulates engine noise in the 5 N’s cabin and comes with a choice of three different settings. From inside at least, it makes you sound as if you’re a heel-and-toeing pro, thumping you in the back on upshifts, and popping and banging as if there were an over-run on the downshifts. It’s all very amusing, especially so when you realise that no one on the outside can hear a thing.
“Reality”
It’s not perfect of course. But that’s perhaps not the car’s fault. Hyundai claim that the Ioniq 5 N can be charged from 20% – 80% in something like 18 minutes. Quite why anyone would only fill up to 80% I’m still yet to fathom… That’s all very well if you have access to a fast charger network, but out here in the Shropshire Marches we don’t. In fact, we have very little in the way of any kind of charging network that offers more than a 7.5kW outlet. Granted, you can charge overnight, rest assured I’m no stranger to such things. But ahead of the Ioniq 5 N being collected I thought it only common courtesy to hand it over fully charged. I plugged it in with its “fuel gauge” showing 48%, only for its dashboard to then tell me I’d have to wait 7 hours and 42 minutes to fully “brim the tank”. The range when fully charged is somewhere in the region of 240 miles (ambient temperature, terrain, and driving style all play a part). That’s just enough to get the collection driver back to Tilbury.
I’m not knocking the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, that’s not my intention at all. I’m simply pointing out the reality of living with one in a non-urban environment.
Limitations aside, and so too the synthetic sound effects and a very firm ride, there’s no denying just how remarkable a car – electric or otherwise – the Ioniq 5 N really is.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Engine: 84 kWh battery, dual e-motors.
Transmission: Single-speed transmission, all-wheel drive
Paddle Shift – Regenerative Braking
Power: 641bhp
Torque: 546 lbft
0-62mph: 3.4 sec
Max Speed: 161 mph
Range: 240 miles (approx.)
CO2: 0g/km
Weight: 2235 kg
Dimensions (L/W/H): 4715/1940/1585mm
Price: From £65,000
