Hyundai’s hotted-up IONIQ 5 N produces a peak output of 650 horsepower, does 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds and helps you to do donuts.

WEST SUSSEX, ENGLAND

Making its debut at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N took to the hill climb and dazzled the crowd with a spectacular show of donuts and clouds of tyre smoke.

If the aggressive bodywork, Performance Blue paint job and 21-inch rims aren’t enough to clue you into the work that Hyundai’s N Division has put into the IONIQ 5 N, its performance figures ought to give you a complete picture.

On paper, the dual motor drivetrain of the IONIQ 5 N produces a colossal 608 horsepower – 226 horsepower from the front axle and 383 from the rear. However, the IONIQ 5 N also has a boost mode (appropriately named “N Grin Boost”) that raises the already stratospheric power figure to an eye-watering 650 horsepower, allowing the car to sprint from 0-100 km in 3.4 seconds.

That makes the IONIQ 5 N the most powerful Korean production car by a large margin. The Kia EV6 GT, which is based on the same E-GMP platform, only gets 577 horsepower.

The Singaporean-made IONIQ 5 impressed us with its sharp styling, commodious interior and generous wealth of features. Thankfully, it appears that the hotted-up IONIQ 5 N retains many traits of the more pedestrian version. Albeit with the requisite go-faster bits and bobs to keep up with its impressive credentials.

The vast majority of the bodywork remains identical, but the IONIQ 5 N gets a reworked front fascia with numerous aero tweaks and a larger intake to provide adequate cooling for the new 84kWh battery. The car also gets a new rear diffuser and larger wheel arches to accommodate the wider 275-section Pirelli P-Zero tyres. Dimensionally, the car is 80mm longer and 50mm wider than the standard IONIQ 5, while the car’s ride height has been dropped by 20mm.

On the inside, the dashboard retains the same dual 12.3-inch screen layout and HVAC/infotainment cluster but sees the addition of a sportier three-spoke steering wheel with more N-specific function toggles and buttons. 

The car also gets N-specific gauges and readouts for the instrument cluster and infotainment screen, along with a fixed centre console (it does have a sliding armrest) with knee pads, shin supports and sportier bucket seats that allow the driver to sit 20mm lower than the base car.

Under the skin, the IONIQ 5 N’s chassis and drivetrain have also been fettled to cope with the astronomical power gain. The car’s structural rigidity has been enhanced with 42 more welding points and an additional 2.1 meters of adhesive.

The steering rack also has a quicker steering ratio with enhanced torque feedback, and there is an N Drift Optimizer that helps drivers maintain drift angles by making minor adjustments to the torque vectoring system. For added pizzaz, the IONIQ 5 N also has a “Torque Kick Drift” function, which simulates clutch kicking in a rear-driven ICE vehicle.

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