Electric vehicle fans and driving enthusiasts alike will be excited to hear the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N is now officially on sale in Australia. It comes in as the first fully electric model from the N performance sub-brand.
Based on the regular IONIQ 5, obviously, the IONIQ 5 N is a different animal altogether. First starters, the body is almost completely different as it wears a full aero kit with bespoke spoilers front and rear, and gets a set of 21-inch forged alloy wheels.
Underneath it all, it does ride on the same E-GMP architecture as the regular model (and IONIQ 6, Kia EV6, Genesis GV60), but most of the suspension and hardware, and electric motors and battery are different or enhanced. The vehicle uses an 84kWh battery that feeds a pair of electric motors that combine to produce 448kW and 740Nm, or up to 478kW and 770Nm in N Grin Boost mode.
It’ll do 0-100km/h in just 3.5 seconds, or 3.4 seconds in boost mode. The top speed is 260km/h, and the full-charge range is 448km under the WLTP test cycle. It’s also compatible with 350kW DC ultra fast charging, which means the battery can go from 10-80 per cent in 18 minutes.
Drive is sent through a very clever motor system, featuring an electronic limited-slip differential on the rear axle, with an Integrated Drive Axle at the front to reduce complexity and reduce weight. There’s also an N Drift Optimiser mode and N Launch Control to maximise the fun and performance potential. Hyundai Australia’s product development manager, Tim Rodgers, said:
“If the engineers and designers had fallen back on a conventional approach and been too rigid in their thinking, these new technologies, such as N e-shift, N Active Sound+, and N Road Sense, would never have come to life. But a highly ambitious approach was always the absolute cornerstone of how the car was developed from day one, with Albert Biermann driving a lot of the more challenging aspects of the project.”
Just the single variant is hitting Australian showrooms, coming fully kitted out with all of the features and functions available. That includes twin 12.3-inch digital screens inside, a Bose sound system, wireless phone charger, V2L bi-directional charging, and dual-zone climate control with heat pump technology.
The IONIQ 5 N is on sale in Australia now priced from $111,000 (excluding on-road costs). We will have our full review and video of the new model up in about two weeks. See below for the key specs and highlight standard features:
