Review: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

Many car companies They have crazy-performance sub-brands that cater both to the genetic predisposition of automotive engineers to show off and to customers for whom regular acceleration and handling just aren’t good enough. BMW has its M division, Range Rover has SVR, or Special Vehicle Operations, Hyundai has N.

The “N” apparently refers to two things: the Namyang district in South Korea, home of Hyundai’s Global Research and Development Center, where N was founded; and Nürburgring circuit in Germany, where all N models are tested at ridiculous speeds until, supposedly, their tires explode into clouds of shredded rubber.

Well, Hyundai has its first electric N model, the Ioniq 5 N. WIRED was very impressed with the 2021 Ioniq 5 and found it hard to find fault with it. One criticism we had at the time was that some might have expected the EV to be a bit sportier. The 5 N is here to correct this flaw, perhaps to an excessive degree. It’s also clear that Hyundai has developed this Ioniq 5 on steroids with the intention of it being what most car obsessives call a “driver’s car,” whether you’re into electrics or not.

Audio illusion

Aside from the maximum 641 hp, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in an astonishing 3.4 seconds, a top speed of 260 km/h and a race mode that reduces power just enough to allow the N to lap the Nürburgring in less than eight minutes. twice With no overheating and a frankly bewildering array of customisable options to fine-tune almost every aspect of the 5 N’s handling and performance, the most immediately obvious feature here of a driver-focused approach is the N’s ‘e-Shift’.

With e-Shift engaged, the steering wheel paddles combine with the car’s motors, regenerative braking system and 10-speaker sound setup (two exterior, eight interior) to simulate the gear changes of an internal combustion car, not just audibly, but physically as well.

Fake engine noise resonates throughout the cabin, while the motors and regenerative braking manipulate torque resistance to simulate the momentary dips and shifts in thrust you get when changing gears. These “dips” combine with a corresponding change in fake noise and produce an eerily convincing sensation of driving an internal combustion engine car. There’s even increased regenerative braking and improved acceleration at higher fake revs.

Of course, Hyundai is blatantly pulling a scam and trying to fool you. But as with all illusions, if it works, even if you know it’s a complete gimmick, you just don’t care. And I didn’t. In fact, I loved it. And this is coming from someone who has until now hated (or perhaps “loathed” would be a better word) fake engine noise.

The fact that Hyundai has managed to pull off this trick is apparently down to a full year of software development, plus extensive simulation and track testing just for this feature. Tyrone Johnson, the new managing director of Hyundai Motor Europe’s Technical Centre and previously one of the people behind the recent Ford Focus RS, told me he wasn’t immediately sold on the concept.