Fifteen years ago, the concept of a 600-horsepower electric Hyundai would have blown people’s minds. And yet, here we are today. The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is real, and it makes 641 hp when you hit the boost button. That’s a whole lot of power, identical to what you get in a Lamborghini Urus. Depending on how you spec your Urus, though, the $67,475 Ioniq 5 N could be a full $200,000 less expensive.
All that power meant we knew the Ioniq 5 N was going to be quick, at least in a straight line. Very quick. 0 to 60 mph in 3.25 seconds quick. With nearly 5,000 pounds to haul around, though, we had to wonder whether it would actually be fun in the corners. As it turns out, yes, the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is an absolute blast to drive, and unlike the Kia EV6 GT with which it shares a platform, it’s as at home on a race track as any electric crossover could possibly be.
Full Disclosure: The folks at Hyundai wanted me to drive the Ioniq 5 N so badly, they paid for my flight to Monterey, fed me expensive dinners, paid for all my drinks and rented out Laguna Seca so I could roast some pricey tires. They also provided a hat and pressure gauge that I forgot to take home with me. Hopefully, I’ll live.
If you’re not sure who is going to spend $70,000 on an electric Hyundai with a 3-second 0-to-60 time, you’re not alone. Arguably, Hyundai doesn’t know, either. Typically automakers develop a customer profile for a new car, which gives us a little insight into what kind of person it believes the car will appeal to. When I asked Hyundai spokespeople about the Ioniq 5 N, they said they didn’t do that this time around. If you wanted to be cynical, you could say that’s because Hyundai knows not many people will buy it, but on the other hand, you could also say Hyundai built the performance EV it wanted to make without worrying too much about appealing to a specific customer.
Put on your hypothetical product planner hat and you can get a decent idea of who the Ioniq 5 N will probably appeal to. They probably make at least $200,000 a year, which means they probably own their own home or at least live in a nice enough building to have access to a charger. They’re an enthusiast who wants a sports car but needs something that will be practical enough to transport a kid or a couple of dogs. They also probably have a second car that allows them to justify buying an EV that would be inconvenient to roadtrip.
At the end of the day, though, it doesn’t really matter because the Ioniq 5 N is so damn fun to drive. A quick test drive through a few turns will have you convincing yourself that the high price and relatively low range aren’t that big of a deal. Forget numbers and practical comparisons, this thing is just an absolute riot. After only a few minutes on the road, my drive partner and I couldn’t stop giggling as I tossed it into corners at questionably high speeds. It’s a car that makes you want to do stupid shit, and I mean that in the best way possible. When Hyundai said the Ioniq 5 N would be a “corner rascal,” it wasn’t lying.
The giggle-inducing character even applies to the fake dual-clutch transmission shifting mode that Hyundai’s engineers decided to give the Ioniq 5 N, which is a legitimately fun feature. I knew it was lying to me, and I knew it wasn’t actually making me faster, but I also didn’t care. Fast EVs have incredible performance numbers, but in my experience, there’s also something lifeless about the way they accelerate once you get going. Yes, you can see the numbers on the speedometer going up quickly, but you don’t really feel it once your stomach has caught up with the car. Even something like the 1,400-hp Ford Mach-E race car didn’t feel nearly as quick as it actually was. Hate the concept all you want on principle, but the fake shifting makes going fast in Ioniq 5 N more interesting. I probably wouldn’t use it on a daily basis, but I promise it’s more than a gimmick.
You also get fake engine sounds that you can thankfully turn off. Initially expected that to be one of the first things that I did, and yet, I didn’t. If this was my daily driver, I probably would, but something about this ridiculous car making ridiculous noises just felt right as I drove way too fast along the streets in Monterey. I know it’s wrong, but it just felt right, and while I would love to be a purist who draws hard lines in the sand, if you’re getting silly, why not go all-in?
There are all sorts of settings you can adjust to make the car handle the way you want, including a drift mode, but what impressed me so much was just how much fun I had without even thinking about what mode I was in or what settings I had chosen. Despite its 4,800-pound weight, the Ioniq 5 N’s suspension and chassis did a great job of keeping things under control, and the brakes remained strong no matter how much I asked of them. It was also pretty comfortable, so you don’t have to worry about paying for the performance with a harsh ride.
On track at Laguna Seca, the Ioniq 5 N is also far more enjoyable than it has any right to be. Getting used to the center of gravity being underneath me while also learning the track took a little time, but with every lap I was able to confidently push it harder and harder, knocking a shocking number of seconds off my initial lap time by the time the track drive was over. With another couple of laps I probably could have gone even faster, but my bravery also has its limits, and, as it turns out, the corkscrew is much more intimidating in person. That’s my fault, though, not the Ioniq 5 N’s.
As capable as the car is on the track, I have a hard time believing that owners are actually going to take their Ioniq 5 Ns to the track. I saw about 200 miles of range on a nearly full charge, which is probably fine for daily driving if you can charge at home, but if you have to drive to the track and there isn’t an available charger, you could easily end up without enough range left to get back home afterward. Three hot laps plus a cooldown with a Hyundai driver going hard killed 20 percent of the Ioniq 5 N’s battery. If you’re serious about your lap times, the party will be over in less time than it takes to stream an episode of “Happy Endings.” And even if your local track has chargers, the weight means you’re going to go through tires almost as fast as you burn through the battery.
If you’re the kind of practical person who wants to read numbers and details so you can make the best decision for your next purchase, the Ioniq 5 N probably isn’t for you. It’s a very expensive Hyundai with a limited range, and at its core it’s still a fairly large electric crossover with a bunch of go-fast bits thrown in for good measure. But on the flip side, this is the first time I’ve driven an EV and had anywhere near this much fun. I wanted to hate the whole fake shifting thing and normally don’t want anything to do with fake engine noise, and yet there I was, having an absolute blast in a car that does nothing but lie to you. I’m supposed to care about hard numbers and give good buying advice, and all I can talk about is just how much fun I had. I guess I don’t mind being lied to if it makes the experience more enjoyable. And trust me, calling my time behind the wheel of the Ioniq 5 N “enjoyable” is really understating it.
If the car’s not for you, it’s not for you. Honestly, it probably isn’t a car for most people. Considering it costs more than I make in a year, it’s certainly not for me, but that’s my problem, not Hyundai’s. Even Hyundai would probably admit the Ioniq 5 N doesn’t really make all that much sense on paper, but why buy a car that a spreadsheet says is objectively the right choice? Live a little and buy the car that makes you feel things even if the badge on the hood isn’t the most prestigious. If your friends laugh at you for spending $70,000 on the poor person’s Lamborghini Urus, who cares? They’re just stuck-up losers who wouldn’t know a good time if it punched them in the face.
I truly have no idea if the Ioniq 5 N will be a success or not. Hyundai talked a lot about how sales of the i30 N ended up being far higher than their internal sales estimates, so it’s always possible that the Ioniq 5 N will do something similar. I don’t know, I’m not the product planner, nor should I be. I just know the car I drove was a hoot, and I hope other people get to have as much fun in the Ioniq 5 N as I did. Even if Hyundai has built something that not many people are going to buy, I still love that they put it into production anyway.
