2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Track Review: The Savior of Performance EVs?
With everything we love about the Ioniq 5 as well as some of the things we miss about ICE cars, has Hyundai made the perfect EV?
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Here at MotorTrend, we’re very fond of the Hyundai Ioniq 5—so much so we named it our 2023 SUV of the Year, and our appreciation has only grown since then. Its attractive exterior styling, functional interior, and focus on good, honest EV dynamics all add up to make one heck of a package, and when you factor in its relatively attractive price point, it’s hard to find a downside.
Word first got out Hyundai was planning a hot version of this SUV in 2023, and we saw its promise on our initial prototype drive. Then, later that year, we got to drive a production 5 N on the road. Now we’ve been let loose in the 5 N WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The Ioniq 5 N is by no means just a dual-motor Ioniq 5 Limited with a simple software remap. Revised exterior features include a new open grille with active shutters and air curtains. The hood is adorned with a Black H emblem and flat aluminum N badge that add wow factor for those watching one barrel down via their rearview mirror. The N is 2.0 inches wider than the standard 5, and it rides on 21-inch forged wheels.
Out back, an N-exclusive rear spoiler adds nearly 4 inches to the rear overhang, and a new rear bumper with diffuser is also fitted. The addition of a handsome surround strip on the lower trim, as well as checkered-flag-inspired reflector and CHMSL all hint at what this car was designed to do: go fast on racetracks. In fact, Hyundai recently announced plans to race a single make series with the 5 N–based eN1 Cup car. The company will also take a production 5 N up Pikes Peak in June (more on that soon).
Arrive and Drive
During a pre-brief before we hit the track, Hyundai stated the Ioniq 5 N is a car you can drive to the track, put in a good number of laps, and then take home, all in the same day. This isn’t a rare claim for performance cars, but for an EV it presents some obvious issues, which Hyundai believes it has addressed.
Hyundai wants the Ioniq 5 N to be the benchmark performance EV, and to that end it set an internal target that the car should be able to complete two full laps of the 15.7-mile version of the Nürburgring Nordschleife at full tilt without any loss in performance. A tall order considering many EVs begin to trail off after just a few minutes of hard use.
However, as I unwound the Ioniq’s steering wheel, aimed the car down Laguna Seca’s start/finish straight, and punched the accelerator—my 10th lap without any sort of recharging—I realized Hyundai has not only achieved its goal but blown right by it.
Another thing struck me on that same straight, lifting off the accelerator, making the adjustment to revector the car prior to the blind crest that serves as Turn 1, was that I kept having to remind myself the Ioniq 5 N is an EV. That may sound silly, but two clever systems make it possible. For instance, as the revs fell, the inertia of the car’s weight transfer lightly pushed my head forward. Let me explain.
N E-Shift and Active Sound+
First, the proprietary N e-shift system replicates the feeling of an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, missed shifts, power interruptions, and all. (Of course, as we pointed out in our prior drive review, this negates the primary advantage of an EV when it comes to performance: bottomless, immediate, and uninterrupted torque. But it’s damned convincing.) And what’s the feeling of a combustion engine without a soundtrack to go with it? Enter Hyundai’s N Active Sound+, which syncs the interior speakers with e-shift’s efforts and provides an aural accompaniment.
A flick of the right-side paddle (yes, this EV has paddles) behind the wheel switches the “automatic DCT” into manual mode, and with that, the final piece of the puzzle is revealed: You’re driving a car that feels like a 641-hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder and dual-clutch transmission … which is actually a 4,900-pound electric SUV.
Putting It All Together
On the track, the 5 N is tight as a drum—and oftentimes as loud as one. There are three different audio profiles to choose from; I sampled all three and came back to the most authentic Ignition mode. That one draws inspiration from the 2.0-liter four-cylinder Hyundai engine, and it helped massively with pacing out a lap via familiar routine, sorting shift points, identifying braking zones, and understanding the car’s behavior.
Dynamically, the Ioniq 5 N does a great job of hustling its mass around the track, masking its weight under braking and in the corners. Even with the traction control off and set to full Race mode, the car remains calm and composed, resulting in a settled chassis that’s happy to receive midcorner inputs—and which rewards with a tail wag from time to time. Indeed, the 5 N does have a Drift mode, which we saw demonstrated to great effect. It throws most of the power to the rear wheels and electronically locks the mechanical rear diff, facilitating the shredding of a set of N-specific Pirelli P Zeros in roughly two minutes. When you’re not torturing them, those P Zeros offer spectacular grip, and we didn’t experience them falling off even as the track temperatures rose and pressures mounted.
The Ioniq 5 N also uses its energy regeneration system to further simulate an ICE track car’s weight transfer, ensuring the front end—which has the same suspension geometry as the standard Ioniq but with every single component re-engineered for N—tucked in nicely to every corner, no matter how hard it was pushed. The brakes stood up to the test, too, with no discernible degradation in their outstanding performance.
Last in its bag of tricks, the 5 N has a Grin Boost button. Located on the steering wheel, a press deploys the full 641 horsepower, 40 more than usual, for up to 10 seconds. It even has a different, high-revving audio track that replaces the Active Sound+ noises for added drama.
Benchmark Set
What must it feel like to work in Hyundai’s design and engineering divisions right now? Already purveyors of some of the best and best-looking EVs and hybrids, and with a great and varied roster of ICE cars, as well as successful global racing programs on dirt and asphalt, the teams can now add to their resume the fact that they really have set a benchmark for performance EVs. And with a slightly bigger battery than the regular Ioniq 5 plus Hyundai’s fast-charging ability that can take the car from 10 to 80 percent in just 18 minutes, it seems as though Hyundai also has the EV part of this performance EV figured out. If there's any downside, it’s that total maximum range estimates stand at just 200 miles or so. Guess you better just find a close home track.
As I rocket through Rainey Curve, hook right, drop the car from third into first, swing left, and power up for another glorious lap, it's clear we’ve come far in the decade since electrification went mainstream, and it’s boggling to think Hyundai has arrived here in just half that time. As it prepares to celebrate the ninth anniversary of the N brand, the Ioniq 5 N—without question the best EV I have ever driven—feels like just the beginning.
