2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N prototype review

The newest edition to the South Korean brand’s red-hot N division brings potent performance that’ll leave the competition in its dust.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is simply a more entertaining high-performance EV. Due to arrive in Australia in the first half of 2024, it’s expertly engineered to satisfy EV fans who love driving. But the Ioniq 5 N can also make petrolheads feel right at home behind its thick-rimmed steering wheel.

The reluctance of internal-combustion engine lovers to switch to EVs will likely melt if they test drive this Hyundai.

The Ioniq 5 N is Hyundai’s fastest car yet.

The new model also opens a brand-new chapter for Hyundai’s performance-car sub-brand. The Ioniq 5 N isn’t only the first-ever EV from the N division, it’s also the first with all-wheel drive. Likely to sell for about $100,000, it will also be the most costly N car ever made. And the fastest, too.

Though production won’t begin until later this year, Hyundai decided to provide a preview of what’s to come.

So they organised a test drive of near-finished Ioniq 5 N prototypes on the icy lakes and snowy roads of the company’s winter test centre in the north of Sweden.

Patterned cladding wraps the prototypes, concealing details of the 5 N’s new bumpers, side sills and rear spoiler. There’s more camouflage on the chunky new steering wheel, covering its extra buttons and dials.

The Ioniq 5 N will weigh about 2.5 tonnes.

And there’s also a lot that Hyundai isn’t yet ready to talk about. Power outputs and performance, for example. Details of the changes made to the Ioniq 5 N’s braking, steering and suspension are not being divulged, either.

More will be revealed when the Ioniq 5 N makes its first appearance in public. This is scheduled for July in Britain, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. In the meantime, here’s what we know about the hot Hyundai.

The N model is based on the dual-motor Ioniq 5. It shares the same designed-for-EV platform and fast-charging 800-volt battery pack.

Changes include lower and stiffer suspension, larger brakes, a speedier steering ratio and massive 21-inch wheels wearing wide Pirelli rubber. The Ioniq 5 N will weigh a hefty 2.5 tonnes or so. Inside there’s a new elevated storage area between the sporty front seats, which also doubles as a leg support for the driver.

Power figures haven’t been revealed yet, but it is likely to be close to 450kW.

As with most dual-motor EVs, the 5 N will be fast. Though the exact power output was never mentioned in Sweden, there were some hints from engineers and execs. The number will be very, very close to 450kW.

So much power, delivered via wide and grippy rubber, means the hefty Ioniq 5 N can be expected to deliver a 0-100km/h time of about 3.5 seconds on dry bitumen.

What Hyundai is eager to highlight on the ice and snow is the electronic systems they’re developing to enhance the fun-to-drive factor to a level never before seen in a hot EV.

One of them is a driving mode called Drift Optimiser, designed to make it possible for a normal driver to slide sideways round corners. Only once the complex routine to turn it on has been performed, of course.

On the big circle scraped on the lake ice it works brilliantly. Power is mostly delivered through the rear wheels. The front motor only acts to provide stabilising shots of torque when there’s a danger of spinning out.

But the highlight of the Ioniq 5 N’s software is a mode that makes this EV drive very much like a high-performance petrol-powered car with one engine and a double-clutch gearbox, even though the Hyundai has two higher-revving electric motors, each driving through a single-speed transmission.

A virtual tachometer display and a noise generator that sounds like a robot going “Brrmm, brrmm” provide familiar visual and audio cues. Tapping the steering-column paddles shifts up or down through a set of virtual gears.

There’s a brief pause in acceleration as the non-existent gears shift and the feeling is uncannily accurate. Engine braking increases going down a gear, for example.

Even though it’s a totally synthetic experience, it’s impossible not to be deeply impressed by what the N team has achieved.

If the Ioniq 5 N is as much fun on bitumen as it is on ice and snow, it’ll surely become the most desirable high-performance EV out there.