- Hyundai’s new fastest electric car is a hot-hatch spin on its popular Ioniq 5
- The new model generates 641bhp from front and rear electric motors, with 0-60 dispatched in 3.4 seconds
- The car debuted at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on Thursday
Another brand joins the electric hot hatch roster
Hyundai’s new performance-oriented Ioniq 5 N debuted at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this week. Compared to the standard Ioniq 5, the N has a four-wheel-drive system, and an exact doubling of power over its sibling – 641bhp, compared to the 320bhp provided from the Ioniq 5 Long Range AWD.
This could be the EV that car enthusiasts have been waiting for – a no compromise electric hot hatch that still has enough room to be used as a daily runabout. Hyundai has coined it as an “everyday sportscar”.
The company’s new performance model will stand out on the road, too. It sits 20mm lower to the road for improved handling, and comes in 50mm wider, to accommodate larger, grippier tyres. This is on top of the exterior tweaks which include red accents, new spoilers and diffusers. There are also functional air vents for keeping the battery cool.
The car also has an increased number of body and chassis reinforcement points over the standard model, to further improve handling.
Another interesting feature is the optional ‘N e-shift’ and ‘N Active Sound +’ features. The former emulates the transmission and power delivery of a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered performance car, while the latter pumps fake engine exhaust sounds through ten speakers, located both in the cabin and on the exterior. We’ve seen a similar feature on the Abarth 500e, which we heard at EV LIVE, and actually found pretty convincing.
“IONIQ 5 N, was developed to take driving fun to a new level by utilizing the latest technologies available. Starting with IONIQ 5 N, N brand aims to deliver N’s signature fun driving experience regardless of petrol, electric or hydrogen. To accomplish this, we’ve closely monitored the voices of our N fans in order to fine-tune our first all-electric N with the goal of electrifying the driving passion of our most demanding N-thusiasts.”
Till Wartenberg, Vice President and Head of N Brand and Motorsport, Hyundai
What about the competition?
Electric hot hatches have so far been few and far between. MG recently revealed its 435bhp MG4 EV XPOWER. Abarth’s 500e is available to buy now, but with 155bhp is arguably in a different class to these hyper hatches. Renault’s performance branch Alpine is expected to launch a hot-hatch variant of the future Renault 5, too.
There’s no word on price yet, but the Kia EV6 GT on a similar platform will set you back around £61,000. With the performance additions to the Ioniq 5 N, we can expect a slightly higher price tag. But, with performance that holds up against supercars, this could make the Ioniq 5 N one of the best electric sports cars to buy.
