Design Driven: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

“Just try and keep your licence.” The advice offered to CDN from the man who delivered the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. Yes, we are a little late to the party, the car has been out for nearly a year. What can we say, we don’t get out much. Plus, in most cases design is best appreciated when the object in question is static. Cars do need to look good on the road as well as the driveway but a design walkthrough is a little tricky when the intended target is moving. 

And the N can certainly move. It's fast. Very fast. True you can file that under similarly groundbreaking observations: water continues to be wet etc etc, but this is worth mentioning when you consider the type of speed it delivers. In searching for an adequate descriptor CDN came up with the following: discombobulating, unfathomable, surprising, and, least generous, nauseating. In fairness, the last one applies mainly to N passengers. 

The instant, disconcertingly silent thrust hits your co-pilot in the bread basket like a lump hammer wrapped in cotton wool. The aural cues that tip one off to an imminent burst of acceleration being absent, your corporeal form is left scrabbling vainly for comprehension. The Ioniq 5’s mass, partially obscured by the folded-paper crease lines, coloured body-panels and clamshell bonnet, underlines its improbability. This is essentially a family car that can match the pace of a McLaren. 

In creating a simulacrum of combustion engines as a response, there is a tacit acknowledgement of the shortcomings of electrification

Hyundai’s N team has addressed the sound issue by adding their own. Spaceship-y electric noises, jet aircraft style whines or a low rumbling pretend engine are all alternatives to near silence. There is also a mode that uses torque control to emulate the feel of an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission. In this mode, the technology conspires to imitate a system of propulsion it is designed to replace. It is clever and fun, seeking to negate the common complaint that EV sportscars are soulless. But in creating a simulacrum of combustion engines as a response, there is a tacit acknowledgement of the shortcomings of electrification. 

As a daily companion, however, the Ioniq 5 N is hard to fault. Eco-mode smooths the edges off and simmers everything down to a manageable level. The boxy bastard can take off like a scalded cat when you want it to, but negotiating the stop-start nature of London traffic is a doddle. Plus, the centre of the city, off-limits to most owing to punitive congestion charges, opens up. 

The benefits are interlinked: you get to experience the city’s grandness – there is nothing quite like a Regency terrace to lift the soul – and the ugly necessity of the North Circular is dispensed with. In this scenario, driving in London becomes (almost) a pleasure. The Ioniq 5 is manoeuvrable, nippy enough to correct poor lane selection and cocoons you from the world outside. A brilliant Bose sound system insulates you further, creating a little oasis of calm or a defensive wall of sound, depending on your tastes. 

The Ioniq 5 N is a fine cruiser: quiet, effortless even

Despite its aptitude at low velocity, the N is not really about city driving. If the various drive settings are to be believed, it is about hitting the track, engaging drift mode and feeling the Gs! While all this is possible, a track day was out of scope for CDN so we had to make do with the M3 southbound. On the open road, the blistering pace of the N is highly entertaining. A fun thing to do is accelerate from a rolling stop on a slip road to join the motorway. The national speed limit comes up in seconds, and the temptation to just keep leaning on the throttle needs almost superhuman powers of resistance. 

Once up to speed, the Ioniq 5 N is a fine cruiser: quiet enough, effortless even. In this state, it is best to spurn the special effects and just drift along au naturel. Adaptive cruise control has been around for a good while but is still brilliant and a modern-day essential. Lane assist, not so much. Nevertheless, Hyundai’s HMI team has done interesting work in creating an interface that suits the N’s high-performance nature. The digital dash reconfigures itself according to driving mode, which speaks to the steady gamification of everyday life. On a more practical level, the interface is easy enough to use: responsive and clearly set out.

The achilles heel is the range. The very nature of the N invites a heavier than average left foot, which soon depletes the battery. You really pay for those bursts of power, which places you at the mercy of England’s less than stellar charging network. "Flatters to deceive" is the phrase that comes to mind. Charging speeds begin promisingly but crater long before the 84kWh battery is full, which meant long waits at service stations. Not Hyundai’s fault but tiresome none-the-less. Probably better to adopt a “Japanese meal” approach to charging: little and often. 

All told, the Ioniq 5 N is a compelling package: fun, practical and with an aesthetic unlike anything else currently on the road, whichever model you plump for. By its nature, the N will have limited appeal compared to its less potent siblings, but there is very little to count against it.