There’s plenty Hyundai won’t yet tell us about the Ioniq 5 N, its first electric performance car. Price, power, torque, weight, battery size and even how some of the modes operate are under more wraps than the exterior.
But having driven it extensively on road and track, I can tell you that Hyundai’s N division, currently the maker of the world’s most engaging hot hatches, has taken to the electric era with the same commitment and provided the most fun – and, as crucially, excitement – that I’ve ever had in an EV. Plus a bit more.
As many basics as I can, then: Hyundai’s biggish, tallish crossover has had its body reinforced in places (as N did with the i20), gained new suspension subframes and been given unique kinematics, including more camber, quicker steering, a reinforced steering rack, four-wheel drive from a motor at each end and the ability to divert power as it or its driver pleases. The tyres are 235/35 R21 Pirelli P Zeros and there are 400mm front brake discs (the biggest Hyundai has ever fitted), plus improved battery cooling as N commits to making this car as suitable for track driving as its ICE hatches, plotting a repeatable 20-minute drive, 15-minute charge capability.
Remember that you can select from a bewildering number of driving-mode combinations in the i30 N? Now imagine that but also with everything a four-wheel drive EV can do, including torque-vectoring and adjusting front-to-rear power distribution; plus some synthetic noises (including an ICE one) and a fake tacho and gearshift via the steering-mounted paddles. There’s even a drift mode, made unavailable to me by the engineer sitting beside me as I drove, because they knew that I would turn it on and then get so distracted that I might struggle to turn it off again. They would like to show that there’s rather more to the dynamic depths of the Ioniq 5 N than silliness. There is, and then some. When we conducted a big EV handling test last year, we surmised that we were still at the start of the process of having fun with EVs. The Kia EV6 GT finished third, because it shot a lot of power to its outside rear wheel on corner exit to make itself a bit drifty – daft and fun but a bit basic. The Ioniq 5 N has moved that game on massively, and it has genuine performance-car depths.