The electric sports car era has arrived, and the first mass-market entry comes not from Porsche, but from…Hyundai.
With the introduction of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, the automaker turned its mainstream electric crossover SUV into a hot hatch with more power, a big wing, more tire, and lots of gas-powertrain fakery for more engagement—all at a reasonably attainable price.
For all these reasons, and because it’s damn fun, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is the Motor Authority Best Car To Buy 2025.
Hyundai clicked every joy button in its engineering arsenal to turn the Ioniq 5 into the 5 N. The two electric motors—one per axle—provide 601 hp and 545 lb-ft of torque. An overboost function, which Hyundai calls N Grin Boost, ups output by 40 hp to 641 hp in short bursts via a red NGB button on the right side of the steering wheel. That extra 40 hp is hard to feel while going 90-plus mph on a racetrack, even with 4,861 pounds to thrust forward. Still, the Ioniq 5 N runs and guns from 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds.
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Despite weighing 813 pounds more than a Tesla Model 3 Performance and 1,565 pounds more than a gas-powered Elantra N, the Ioniq 5 N controls its weight well. It’s balanced and sits low with the 88.4-kwh battery pack situated in the floor beneath the cabin. Rotating the car around a corner is easy, and thanks to clever power-delivery programming, it’s willing to kick out the rear end. That only makes it more fun as it’s easy to correct the slide with the throttle or drift away in plumes of tire smoke.
The Ioniq 5 N shifts, too, and it snaps, crackles, and pops as well. Hyundai aimed to simulate a gas-powered car, and it has done a convincing job. Paddle shifters can control eight simulated shift points, and the car’s software ties power buildup with imaginary revs. Those lightning-quick shifts can be automatic or controlled via the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. Of course all this can be turned off to drive more like a typical electric car.
On the track, the pauses in power delivery from the simulated gearshifts make the car build power slower. The simulated noise doesn’t slow things down, though. It just makes the driving experience more engaging. On backroads stuck behind traffic, the simulated shifts can entertain. They can even convince unwitting passengers that th Ioniq 5 N has an engine under the hood
The performance comes with little compromise, though its weight is a limiting factor in tight turns and fast esses, and it also makes the car chew up tires, as we found in a half a day of track driving at Atlanta Motorsports Park.
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Sports cars aren’t efficient, and while the Ioniq 5 N does better than expected it doesn’t go as far as many will hope. In mixed suburban driving conditions we’ve averaged 2.7 mi/kwh, which would translate to 238 miles of range. That’s more than the EPA-rated 221 miles of range. Neither are large numbers and both fall short of the 300-mile mark we’d like to see. It’s less an efficiency problem and more due to the sticky 275/35R21 Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires at all four corners.
Like a Civic Type R, the Ioniq 5 N doesn’t fly under the radar. It has boy racer “look at me” bits with a big rear wing, a substantial rear diffuser, side sill extensions, and a deep front splitter.
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Inside, it’s mostly standard Ioniq 5 fare with a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, a 12.3-inch touchscreen, and the addition of a new center console with padding to protect occupants’ knees. Hyundai swaps in a set of N sport buckets up front that aren’t terribly constricting. Just like the standard Ioniq 5, the rear seat has a knees-up seating position due to the battery pack’s placement in the floor.
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
The steering wheel and center screen present a daunting array of performance customization features. From various stages of steering boost and suspension firmness to simulated shifts and sound generator choices, the Ioniq 5 N can be tuned for various experiences. That’s all before messing with torque distribution, which can be set to favor the front or rear. There’s even a drift mode
The Ioniq 5 N costs $67,475 including a $1,375 destination charge. For that money consumers get an electric sports car unlike any EV, or sports car, on the market. It’s more than just a good electric sports car. It’s a good sports car, period. It’s visceral, engaging, and fun, and those traits put it over the top as the Motor Authority Best Car To Buy 2025.
You can also read about the winners of the Best Car To Buy awards from our sister sites, The Car Connection and Green Car Reports.
—Senior Editor Kirk Bell contributed to this story
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