2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N SUVOTY Review: It's Like We Hate Having Fun

We adore the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Our 2023 SUV of the Year features expressive styling, brilliant packaging, and refined road manners, not to mention its fast charging and strong safety credentials, among other distinctions. After 18 months with an Ioniq 5 for a long-term review, pretty much all we could gripe about was its lack of a rear windshield wiper and shorter-than-indicated range. We admire it so much that some on our staff have even wisely chosen the Ioniq 5 as their personal daily driver.

For 2025, the Ioniq 5 returned to our SUVOTY competition, and this time it arrived packing preposterous power, innovative driving tricks, and upgraded tech—plus it even has a rear wiper now. Yet the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N didn’t even make it to this year's finalist round. What gives?

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In N specification, the Ioniq 5 morphs into an intensely sporty machine. It almost won our 2025 Performance Vehicle of the Year competition, joining elite machinery such as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Ferrari 296 GTB in the finals. This 641-hp dual-motor monster is stunningly quick, tying the GT3 RS at 2.8 seconds in the 0–60 sprint.

At SUVOTY, the Ioniq 5 N’s performance envelope thrilled the judges. “If you drive it, you love it,” digital director Erik Johnson said. Technical director Frank Markus called it “far and away the most fun on the winding track.” With its faux paddle-shift transmission, rev-limited tachometer, and burbling exhaust, the Ioniq 5 N does an uncanny imitation of a high-performance, combustion-powered car. Press a button, and it transforms into a quiet, docile EV. The N’s hardware and software combine to deliver a charismatic overall breadth of capability that supports our engineering excellence criterion.

Beyond that, however, prospects for the N faded. Thanks to its new, larger 84.0-kWh battery, the N is a rare EV that exceeds its EPA range rating in our road-trip test, but the 224-mile result is still low. Although Hyundai’s latest infotainment system is an improvement, its charge planning on navigation routes remains inadequate. At least the battery can replenish quickly; we gained 137 miles in the first 15 minutes after plugging in.

As cool as the N looks, alterations to a vehicle we’ve seen before don’t do much when it comes to advancement in design. Its updated center console is better considered, but the supportive yet firm bucket seats conspire with a sport-tuned ride to diminish daily driving comfort. And the rear wiper it has now should’ve been there from the start.

Judges were split on the N’s value proposition. Some thought its starting price under $70,000 was a steal for such a quick and entertaining vehicle. Others saw its ordinary materials and short range as poor bang for the buck.

In addition, the question that nearly undid the Ioniq 5 at the 2023 SUVOTY event arose once more for 2025—is it really an SUV? “In N guise it’s been lowered to the point where its front splitter was digging into sand on the off-road course,” senior features editor Jonny Lieberman said. “It's marketed as one, hence why it was there, but it was hard enough to call the regular Ioniq 5 an SUV when it won. Deeming the N variant an SUV is, to me, a bridge too far.”

Even though Hyundai didn't prevail again, on its own, the N is a monumental vehicle that serves as a bellwether for the future of EV performance. This addition to the Ioniq 5 lineup makes us adore it even more. After all, like Johnson said, it “proves EVs can be visceral, emotional, and hella fun.”

This review was conducted as part of our 2025 SUV of the Year (SUVOTY) testing, where each vehicle is evaluated on our six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value, and performance of intended function. Eligible vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised.

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