2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N First Drive Review: EVs can have soul too

“This is a third-gear corner.”

The instruction crackles out of the walkie talkie secured in the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N’s cupholder. It’s a pretty standard instruction to hear out on a track—in this case Spain’s Circuit Parcmotor Castellolí—if not for one small issue: the Ioniq 5 N doesn’t have a third gear. Except when it does, as I snatch the left paddle to be met with more engine braking and a fusillade of pops and bangs, from an exhaust that also doesn’t exist.

That’s the magic of the Ioniq 5 N: through a combination of oodles of engineering and sheer passion, it wills into existence that which isn’t there. Even in just a day of driving it on road and track, the message is clear: this is the most fun, engaging, and yes, soulful EV I’ve ever driven.

There’s a certain symmetry to the N: the first electric model from Hyundai’s performance division is built off the brand’s first dedicated electric model, which launched two years ago. There is a brace of styling updates, some of which will trickle down to the facelifted Ioniq 5 that will arrive in North America later this year. This includes the already-iconic rear taillight treatment, which sees a subtle change to the dot matrix as well as the illumination pattern.

Each corner has been punched out by an inch (25 millimeters) to fit wider wheels, slathered in Pirelli P Zeroes. The wheelarches have functional vents too, improving aero efficiency and helping to keep those enormous brake discs cool (15.75-inch front, 14.2-inch rear). There are numerous enhancements under the skin for more rigidity, along with a 0.6-inch (15-millimeter) drop in ride height. A sizeable spoiler juts out up front, with an equally massive diffuser balancing the look out back. Perched atop the hatch is a large wraparound roof spoiler, complete with a triangular high-mount brake light like the first N to grace our market, the dearly departed Veloster N. And what’s that, a rear wiper?!

The Luminous Orange highlights are present regardless of exterior color, though the subtle difference between it and the new Soultronic Orange Pearl makes this writer’s eyes twitch. All of the cars for the drive are the signature Performance Blue in matte form however, and that looks excellent.

It’s not as if the regular Ioniq 5 is exactly tardy. With 320 horsepower, it’ll do the dash to 60 mph (96 km/h) on the quick side of five seconds. Just the N’s rear motor alone puts out 378 horsepower during standard operation. A more powerful front unit contributes a 223-pony-strong corral of its own, for 601 horsepower. Prod the N Grin Boost button and there’s an additional 40 hp to play with. We’re talking Lamborghini Urus levels of thrust here.

What’s more, there’s no turbo spool-up or hot cam to wait for. Bury the right-most pedal and the angular Hyundai does its best to rearrange your internal organs, especially when using launch control. Officially it now cracks off that acceleration run in 3.25 seconds; if anything, on this lightly dusty track, the Ioniq 5 N is quicker. N e-shift is surreal: it flawlessly simulates the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission found in the Elantra N, complete with a faux rev counter in the instrument cluster. There’s even a jolt as each “gear” hits home, and regen braking stands in for engine braking on downshifts, capable of testing the seatbelts with 0.6 gs.

The Ioniq 5 N also brings in an upgraded battery pack, adding nearly 10-percent more capacity to 84.0 kilowatt-hours. This new pack occupies the same space as the old one, and we can expect it to also arrive in the MY25 cars. Official range is 221 miles (356 kilometers), though based on the displayed consumption during the parts of our road drive where my partner and I weren’t caning the thing, I believe that number is conservative.

The pre-track briefing is an acronym onslaught. To simplify, the N performance options allow drivers to tailor the car to their liking. Are you going out for a handful of lap record attempts? N Race Sprint mode, natch. Longer stint? Endurance. A dedicated battery preconditioning page targets specific temperatures for different needs: drag mode allows for a slightly higher temp for peak, brief bursts of speed; track mode keeps things cooler for longer runs. Speaking of, the Ioniq 5 N has a dedicated cooling system to minimize overheating and thus power loss. Owners can go all pick-n-mix on the settings, and save them to one of the two custom N mode buttons on the steering wheel for easy access.

Even before I’m done my first hot lap, I have to remind myself this is an EV. Not just because of N e-shift either: the Ioniq 5 N successfully translates the enthusiasm and eagerness of the ICE N models to a larger, more powerful and yes, heavier platform. Through the track’s high-speed sweepers and compression zones, the Ioniq 5 N remains composed and neutral in balance. Squeeze the throttle and tease out ever more of those 601 electric ponies, and there’s that edgy willingness to rotate that so marks out the Elantra N from its front-drive contemporaries. Get eager with the accelerator before the apex and the Ioniq’s angular rear will start to swing wide. The long wheelbase telegraphs the move early, and the quick ratio of that unique N steering wheel allows for quick, accurate counter-steer. In short, it’s a friggin’ blast.

E-shift is the way to go on track. Are the noises and shift patterns fake? Sure are—just like the backfires in plenty of modern ICE cars. They provide key references, familiar touch points on the path to more hot lap satisfaction. It’s not as if there isn’t a ton of work behind them, either: Hyundai N head man Joon Park has spent roughly a decade working on the “Evolution” soundtrack. Gran Turismo 7 players might recognize the tunes, as Park worked with Gran Turismo series creator Kazunori Yamauchi to make them for the N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo digital race car. It debuted in 2015. The turbo-four “Ignition” theme is spot-on, with the clever touch of “backfire” only coming out the rear cabin speakers. Don’t worry, folks outside get a taste too, as there are two external speakers.

When we’re all done running hot laps around Parcmotor Castellolí—or more accurately, when we have to be coaxed out of the cars—there’s a quick exercise with the N Drift Optimizer. When active, it allows this imprecise meatsack of a writer to enter a corner and simply floor the go-pedal, only having to worry about steering angle as the car’s ECU balances everything else. If that isn’t enough, you can simulate a good old-fashioned clutch kick by pulling on both paddles at once. Hell yeah, hoon times.

Where the standard Ioniq 5 offers an airy, light-toned cabin, the N is all business. Read: a whole lot of black, with a few splashes of signature blue for good measure. Following in Porsche’s lead, Hyundai has employed ample Alcantara along the door panels and the bucket seat centers. The latter are mounted almost an inch lower than in the standard car, but in a surprise—and welcome—move, still maintain ventilation.

Also welcome: a whole new center console is bolted between the footwells, supplanting the sliding jobbie. Not only does it add a bit of rigidity, padding on either side keeps knees from banging during high-g maneuvers.

Hyundai has dropped in its ccNC infotainment system here, though the design so closely resembles what has come before that I assume it’s the old one at first. It's quicker now. At long last, there is a full complement of USB-C ports, and wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto.

I’m not going to pretend $67,475 ($80,149 CAD), including destination charges, is an affordable figure. That’s serious money: well-optioned Mustang Dark Horse or BMW M2 territory.

But nothing else offers this level of performance at this price, especially if you look at other crossovers, electrified or not. A BMW X3 M wouldn’t know which way the Ioniq went on track. The related Kia EV6 GT or Genesis GV60? Both down on power and adjustability.

The tough sell is the huge jump from the only other remaining N car—the Elantra N—to this. Has Hyundai’s high-po outfit earned enough respect from enthusiasts to play at this price range? We’ll see how long Ioniq 5 Ns sit on dealer lots. My guess: not very long at all, unless the inevitable mark-ups keep ‘em there.

Until I drove the Ioniq 5 N, my previous EV high-water mark was the Porsche Taycan: a fun vehicle that just so happens to be electric, not the other way around. Now I’m sure the ’25 updates have given it even more on-track prowess, as evidenced by contributor Kunal D’Souza’s first drive of the 1,092-horsepower Taycan Turbo GT.

I’m not sold that it’d be more fun, though. In its quest to get closer to the perfect EV performance car, Hyundai has introduced imperfection by way of the simulated idiosyncracies that so endeared internal combustion icons to us. All those headline figures are almost secondary: it’s the feel that matters. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is a watershed moment for performance EVs, drawing the driver in with a level of feedback and involvement even a great many ICE cars struggle to realize.

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