Hyundai Ioniq 5 N put to the 0-100km/h test (2024)

Porsche 911 GT3 RS, McLaren F1 and the Ferrari Enzo. These are cars that the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N can be associated with, thanks to the modest-looking hatchback’s extreme performance.

It’s true, the Ioniq 5 N is insanely quick. And in a way, it’s an unfair advantage, comparing the all-electric Hyundai to those iconic supercars. After all, EVs are kind of cheating, and it’s like comparing large cans of Red Bull to the electric chair. It’s a total different kind of buzz.

It’s all down to that “N”, Hyundai’s performance division, ala BMW M, Audi RS and Mercedes’ AMG brands, which have all proved to be super popular with Kiwi car enthusiasts.

It’s also the division that seems to have the desire to go the extra mile, such as Hyundai’s N Festival, its Drift Bus, and even its entry into Pikes Peak and the upcoming World Time Attack.

We already tested the Ioniq 5 N a few months back, and looked at its rather insane specs: up to 478kW, 740Nm, and N e-shift, an engine sound generator that’s remarkably well done: convincing, different, able to replicate gears and switchable with a touch of a button.

What we weren’t able to do is test its rather stunning performance claim of 0-100km/h in just 3.4 seconds.

Partly due to the safety aspect, but also because of the complexity of the Ioniq N. A few days just isn’t enough to properly soak up the array of information and settings, that makes the 5 N part car, part arcade machine, part rollercoaster.

Doing 0-100s in a 5 N isn’t easy, even though it is. Like any electric car, in default mode the Hyundai hurtles away from standstill at an alarming rate, with the relentless shove of a rollercoaster, neither having to deal with shifts, nor the non-linear nature of a combustion engine as it builds revs and sweeps through its power and torque curves. Nope, none of that, no tyre-spin, no attention-grabbing noise, theatrics or drama, just pure, intoxicating acceleration. And even a sound, if you like. Which we didn’t bother with for testing.

So we cracked open our RaceBox acceleration-ometery-bob and locked into a dozen satellites on a closed section of road to see what we could do.

Pull up to a stop, lift off brake pedal and mash the throttle. Boom! 3.5 seconds! As simple as that. No trickery, no fiddling, everything in default drive and normal modes. Just incredible!

Its initial surge of acceleration is immense, but it’s still not enough to break traction, it just grips and goes, maybe tapering off a fraction around 80km/h, as EVs do, but still getting from rest to the national limit in the same times it takes to race-read aloud the full alphabet A to Z. Go on, try it: I got the same 3.5 seconds.

So, with such a quick time straight out of the box, unwrapping the deeper levels of tech should surely reach new highs? Or lows, as it were.

The 5 N is full of electronic trickery, with pages of data and buttons to view and press and activate and tailor, to extract every last kilowatt. But Hyundai also makes that part fairly easy, too, and similar to a button of goodness in those Euros, the red NGR button on the steering wheel is the shortcut to speed: N Grin Boost may be a little cheesy, but it enables everything, and as it lines up again for another drag run, the dashboard is a little more purposeful and angry in red, with a boost bar graph for the extra urge that’s limited in time: both in use, and another mandatory 10 seconds to cool off.

NGR button pressed, whammy! Another 0-100km/h in 3.49 seconds. Not bad, but maybe there’s more. N Launch Control, it’s time to step up.

So we dug deeper into the menus: within the N mode menu page, there are dip switches for either Drags or Track modes, which bring the battery into the optimum temperatures. At 20 mins for drags, we don’t have that time to wait today, however there are a few options that must be enabled for launch control: putting the Motor into Sport or Sport+ mode, the ESC is set to Sport or off, PLUS both NGR and N e-shift need to be switched off.

There’s also the ability to choose between three different levels of road grip, for slippery, medium or grippy surfaces, via the separate Performance Options screen. Let’s go with grippy. Lastly, the ESC needs to be disabled and the Launch Control needs to be turned on: a small, chequered flag icon appears in the dash.

If all that sounds a little too complex, it does hold some settings, and there is the ability to shortcut most of that palaver with the programmable N button on the steering wheel.

With both pedals buried, and body braced, lifting off the brake pedal launches the 5 N with the same ferocity, zero wheelspin, just a constant wave of acceleration: it gets to 60km/h in less than two seconds, and another 1.6 seconds to get to 100km/h, resulting in a time of 3.46 seconds, putting it in the leagues of those supercars that are quoted at 3.2 secs (911), 3.2 secs (McLaren) and 3.6 (Enzo).

Over the standing quarter-mile, it just keeps pushing, and turns over a time of 11.40 seconds.

What’s more impressive is the in-gear acceleration of not just the Ioniq 5 N, but most quick EVs: floor the throttle from 60km/h, for example, and it doesn’t need to drop down any gears, bring up the revs or boost turbos; it’s just instant, responsive, and sharp acceleration. And the way the 5 N jumps from suburban speeds is ludicrous.

Equally impressive is the way the Ioniq 5 N switches off: select Eco mode and everything softens off, including throttle response and acceleration: its 0-100km/h in Eco mode is still quick, at 6.4 seconds, just not as brutal, maximising battery life and passenger comfort.

At $135,000, it’s not a cheap car, but few cars can match its performance and unique style, comparable to and between the likes of $85k Tesla Model 3 Performance, and Porsche’s $245k Taycan 4S. The Hyundai is so much more of a complete performance package than the Tesla, and in a a different demographic to both, so comparisons are largely moot.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N does it all in a relatively unassuming, rather practical, and matte-blue hatch body with dot matrix lights. And we didn’t even get to explore the N Drift mode.