Hyundai Ioniq 5 N road test: stellar hot hatch brings unmatched driving fun to the EV era

How far we have come: a 2.2-tonne family car from a mainstream brand capable of hitting 100km/h from a standing start in just 3.4 seconds. The very idea of it should make your eyes pop.

You can throw nearly three tonnes of metal and plastic at the horizon these days thanks to the incredible torque delivered by electric motors.

The thing is, from behind the wheel, it’s all very point and click. You sit atop a weighty mass, riding the “skateboard platform” while cocooned from the realities of the road.

They may boast luxurious high-tech cabins with sophisticated suspension and drive set-ups, but it’s a bit like eating in Chapter One restaurant immediately after dental work. You appreciate the ambience and the effort that’s gone into it, but you’re numb to the taste and flavour.

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We can count on one hand the number of EVs that really are fun to drive. Thankfully, the Ioniq 5 N definitely is in that elite class. This car is alive.

And you don’t need to hurtle at the horizon to appreciate this Hyundai’s engaging ability. All this car needs is a challenging road. For good or ill, we have plenty of those on this island.

What makes this car sing out is its agility, its chatty steering feel and a suspension set-up that keeps you in contact with the road below – but not to the extent you need a chiropractor on speed dial.

The magic of the Ioniq 5 N is its ability to be both a functional family car with room across the back seat for three teenagers, but also the sensation that from behind the wheel it feels like you are driving a proper hot hatch – a tidy, nimble little rocket that belies this EV’s 4.7m length and 1.6m height.

Hyundai has hot-hatch pedigree, earning its stars on the world’s rally circuits over recent years. In showrooms that was reflected in models such as the i20 N and i30 N.

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Transferring that ability to the EV market is no mean feat, as evidenced by the limited number of rivals to this latest N car.

The problem has always been the weight of the hefty EV batteries. As Albert Biermann, the engineering guru and father of the N cars, describes it in interviews: “We made the elephant dance.”

Bierman was Hyundai’s R&D boss, having been poached from BMW’s elite M Division. Now officially retired, he’s executive technical adviser at Hyundai, but one suspects still the choreographer-in-chief.

To master the required moves, this N version comes with a plethora of set-up contrived electronic options and driving modes – too many in my humble opinion.

One such is the simulated engine noise, that even incorporates the sound and sense of gear changes like with an eight-speed well-tuned semi-automatic.

Using 10 interior and exterior speakers, it reacts to a mix of speed and throttle position to mimic the sound of a throaty petrol car. It’s fun on the first few outings, and the sensation of flicking through the gears via the steering paddles is eerily realistic.

But it’s a gimmick. Most of the rumble and roar is contained inside the cabin; outside it sounds as contrived as it is. It’s probably useful to warn pedestrians and cyclists of your presence, but for all its similarities to a high-end arcade simulator, it’s a bit silly.

In contrast, the N’s torque vectoring in corners, the electron limited slip differential, the boost button for that immediate splurt of power, and even the launch sequences, will put a smile on every car nut’s noggin.

This N car even claims drifting prowess, thanks to a Torque Kick Drift function that simulates the clutch kick action of rear-wheel-drive cars to get the tail sliding. We didn’t put this to the test.

All the set-up options may seem a little mind-melting at first, but they serve to create a car that pushes the boundaries of what defined and differentiated hot hatches from outright sports cars: that ability to mix hardcore performance with everyday practicality. The Ioniq 5 N can be sedate, and it can be insane.

The all-wheel drive set-up – with a rear-motor dominance – gives the car great confidence in corners, aided by the aforementioned torque vectoring set-up that sends power to the right wheel. It delivers the sort of cornering fun we once adored in legends such as the Ford RS and even the stonking Mitsubishi Evo. This Hyundai warrants inclusion in this sort of company.

It’s not outlandish in its power usage either. During a 200km run we managed to achieve a credible 24kWh/100km consumption figure, which for a car like this is pretty impressive, but on other drives where we had more fun that figure started to stretch into the 30s and higher. You can see how its 84kWh of useable battery power could quickly dissipate.

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There are a few rivals to consider, starting with its cousin, the Kia EV6 GT. Tis Hyundai is better than it. Then there’s the old brigade of petrol rivals, purists such as the VW Golf GTi. The breadth of this Ioniq’s performance range along with its practicality outdoes the German.

At €80,000, the EV is a few strides up on the price walk from its petrol alternatives, but it does offer more, both in terms of performance and practicality.

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Perhaps it’s a sign of how crazy the car market has become but peruse the current pricelists across several brands right now and the Ioniq 5 N’s price doesn’t seem that bad. Seek out anything with a similar performance and the Hyundai is a bit of a bargain.

It’s been overdue for someone to deliver a hot hatch take on the EV market and we thought it would have come from one of the European brands. But Hyundai has earned a reputation for being fast off the blocks to market demands and once more steals a lead on its longer established rivals.

Lowdown: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

Power: 84kW battery pack powering two electric motors delivering 641bhp and 740Nm of torque in an all-wheel drive format

0-100km/h: 3.4 seconds

Range: 448km (WLTP)

Price: €79,995

Verdict: The best driving fun you can have in an EV right now