The 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N offers 641 horsepower and 0-60 in 3 seconds flat
The 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is the high-performance version of the Hyundai Ionic 5 electric car. It’s got standard all-wheel drive, 21-inch alloy wheels with Pirelli PZero performance tires, larger 15.7-inch front disc brakes, and a .6 inch lowered ride height. It boasts 601 horsepower, with an available 10-second burst to 641 horsepower. Peak torque is 568 pound feet, and zero to 60 mph happens in as little as 3 second flat. In this form, with all that power and all those performance upgrades, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N costs $67,500.
That’s a big jump from the mid $40.000 to mid $50,000 price for the mainstream versions of this car, but the Ioniq 5 N really is several steps beyond a standard Hyundai Ioniq 5. The Ioniq 5 N’s zero-to-60 time is impressive because the car weighs 4,871 pounds. Much of that weight comes from its 84 kWh battery pack, which gives the Ioniq 5 N an EPA-estimated range of 221 miles on a full charge. That’s a small number by today’s EV range standards, and it proved challenging to keep it “fueled up” during our test period.
Heavily-bolstered front seats include a large “N” on the seat back
Additional upgrades include more aggressively bolstered front seats with a 1.6-inch lower seat height. Hyundai did that because they want drivers to feel like they’re driving low and “in” the car versus “on” the car. It also has an all-new suspension and a stiffer chassis. Hyundai used more welds and more adhesives to give it an 11 percent increase in torsional rigidity. So the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N has more power, a lower ride height, a lower seat height, a stiffer body, and it’s actually got a longer body by about 3 inches compared to the regular Hyundai Ioniq 5. That’s because the front and back have more efficient aerodynamics for downforce at high speeds.
The Ioniq 5 N includes upgraded body panels for increased downforce at high speeds
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N certainly has all the ingredients you’re looking for in a performance car. And you can see its sporting intentions in the red exterior highlights, the heavily-bolstered seats with the large “N” on them, and the thicker steering wheel with that orange “NGB” button, which stands for “N Grin Button” and gives the car its 10-second, 40-horsepower boost in power. There’s plenty of performance hardware throughout the car. Clearly it has the pedigree to be a great performance vehicle, but how does it actually drive?
The Ioniq 5 N’s 21-inch alloy wheels wear Pirelli PZero performance tires
Quite well, in fact. From behind its thick steering wheel you quickly notice things like the quicker steering ratio compared to the standard Hyundai Ioniq 5. The Pirelli Zero performance tires ride on 21-inch wheels wrapped around 15.7-inch front brake rotors for added stopping power, and you feel all those elements when you drive the car. It stops confidently, despite its nearly 5000-pound curb weight, and it turns in rapidly with a lot of grip. All of these upgrades certainly manifest when you drive the Ioniq 5 N aggressively, as it feels very fast. Almost ridiculously fast, really.
The Ioniq 5 N is fast and stable, bu† you can feel its nearly 5000-pound curb weight
What are the downsides of the car? Well, the Ioniq 5 N’s curb weight is unavoidable. From my experience, wrestling anything more than a 3500-pound car around corners isn’t particularly fun, and this one weighs much more than that. It’s noticeable, regardless of the impressive lap times the Ioniq 5 N has turned. Remember, just because a car can pull a fast lap time doesn’t mean it’s fun achieving that lap time. There’s just no getting around the effort of managing more than 2 tons of vehicle weight when braking and turning. Physics can be annoying that way.
The Ioniq 5 N features a thicker steering wheel with an orange power button
Another interesting aspect of this car is the level of adjustability it offers. It’s almost a paradox of choice because there are so many things you can change. These include the steering, suspension, and brake settings, along with the sounds it emits inside the cabin. You can make the Ioniq 5 N sound like turbocharged performance car. Or a jet engine. You can also make it simulate transmission shifts, with power cutting off if you wait too long to “upshift” while it bounces off the “rev limiter”. It’s an electric car, so none of this is real, and doesn’t really add to my joy behind the wheel.
A roomy rear seat makes the Ioniq 5 N a true 5-passenger vehicle
Electric cars don’t have an internal combustion engine, which means there’s no explosions going off near your head. That’s the whole point of an electric car — instant, smooth, vibration-free acceleration. Dragging internal combustion engine noises — fake internal combustion engine noises — back into the equation feels like a new technology trying to hold the hand of old people who can’t move forward. Sure, I’ve got issues with electric cars, mostly the limited range and high curb weight all of them suffer from. But a lack of engine noise? That’s inherent to the technology.
27 cubic feet of cargo space goes up to 59 cubic feet with the second-row folded down
If you really want to move into the electric future you have to wave “bye-bye” to engine noise and exhaust notes. It’s gone, and if you’re a traditional performance car fan you either have to deal with that or stick with internal combustion vehicles. What you don’t want to do is buy an EV and then say, “I need my electric car to make noise!” That’s like saying you want your TV to still have a snowy image from your weak terrestrial signal coming off your rabbit ears antenna. There were people saying that when cable TV first arrived. But none of them want to admit it today…
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