Having money opens a lot of doors for enthusiasts. There’s never been a greater divide between the haves and the have nots with well-off enthusiasts spending insane amounts of money on vehicles, while the rest of us are left pondering how in the world did the price of eggs go from $1.20 in June 2019 to roughly $3.80 now. Things are more expensive than ever before, pricing a lot of enthusiasts out of the world of fun electric vehicles, as getting into a performance-oriented EV either means joining the dark side or spending a ludicrous amount of money.
In that regard, the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N is the holy grail. At roughly $68,000, the IONIQ 5 N brings supercar levels of performance to the majority and wraps it in a package that doesn’t require sacrifice. It has what some may call gimmicks in the name of fun while having genuinely staggering engineering. For enthusiasts who have been on the outside looking in as automakers prioritize 6-figure EVs, the IONIQ 5 N makes up for it and then some.
The IONIQ 5 N is beyond worthy of praise. It’s worthy of recognition, awards, and honors. If this outlet had an annual “Best Of” or an “Award Winners” list, the IONIQ 5 N would certainly be at the top of the pack for EVs.
What The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N Does Well
Honestly, it does so many things well that it would take me forever to distill it into a single article that doesn’t come off as a sponsored post or a middle-school love note. Acceleration, handling, tech, design, engineering, and how it makes you feel are a shortlist of the IONIQ 5 N’s strengths. Hyundai has raised the performance bar for EVs that cost less than $100,000 with the IONIQ 5 N, which boggles the mind and overwhelms the senses.
Gut Curling Acceleration
The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N comes with dual electric motors that are rated at up to 601 horsepower. That figure is when the EV is in its normal drive modes. Engage N Grin Boost and the SUV will increase output to 641 horsepower for a short 10-second burst. Sticky tires, an advanced all-wheel-drive system, and instantaneous torque allow the IONIQ 5 N to rocket to 60 mph in 3 seconds.
The IONIQ 5 N somehow feels quicker on the road. Few vehicles make me nauseous these days, but the mighty Hyundai had my head spinning and brought me back to my karting days. How Hyundai managed to get an SUV this big and this heavy down the road at that kind of pace is astonishing.
Grip For Days
With a curb weight of roughly 4,900 pounds, the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N takes the route of adding a ludicrous amount of power and relying on advanced engineering instead of cutting weight. There’s no way of hiding the IONIQ 5 N’s weight around corners, but Hyundai’s engineers found a way to mask it. The IONIQ 5 N grips the road like a squirrel gripping onto the last nut before curling away to hibernate. The electric SUV rewards skilled, or just brave, drivers willing to tackle corners at obscene speeds with the ability to get around them with minimal drama. Track down an unskilled driver in a supercar and you’re sure to show off how powerful engineering can be over obscene amounts of money.
Undeniably Fun
There’s been a lot of coverage of how modern electric vehicles are taking the fun out of driving. For the most part that sentiment is true. Automakers are cramming so much tech into EVs that the driver doesn’t have the prominent role they once did. Most EVs lack the soul and character of a gas-powered car, embodying one too many characteristics of their automated makers. The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N, though, is unquestionably fun. Like, a Joker-esque grin from ear to ear, howling with a mix of pain and laughter, and can we go on that ride again, fun. It delivers an experience that I haven’t experienced in any other EV and it does so with a few tricks.
Standout features, among many, with the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N include N e-Shift and N Active Sound. The former is a system that replicates the driving experience of an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with simulated shifts and the other is a feature where the EV emits sounds (like pops and bangs) that coincide with the shifts. If you’ve seen it in a video or read about it in other articles, it sounds hokey. But the scary part is that it works and it works really well.
Engaging N e-Shift basically turns the IONIQ 5 N into an automated-manual car where you have to shift. Slamming on the throttling, revving the engine out, and going for an upshift brings a snort and a thunderous kick in your butt that’s hilarious and adds to the driving experience. In manual mode, it will hold gears and bang on the rev limiter and if you attempt to downshift while the EV is high up in the rev range, it will ignore your request. These features work in harmony to connect what your butt feels to what your ears hear, resulting in an experience that feels more internal combustion than EV.
It’s Still An IONIQ 5
The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N may have heavily bolstered seats, a steering wheel that looks like it belongs on a Ferrari instead of a Hyundai, and an aggressive body kit that’s better suited for a racecar, but the IONIQ 5 N is still a Hyundai. So, it can seat five comfortably, has a large cargo area, comes well-equipped, and has an impressive amount of tech. You could drive this EV every day and use it as a family vehicle. Then when you’re free on the weekends, you can drive to the track, destroy everything else at the event, and get ready to do it all over again.
What The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N Doesn’t Do Well
I’m going to keep this short, because these aren’t really shortcomings, but more par for the course with a high-performance EV. You’re going to become a regular at your local charging station, because this car is not efficient. It has 221 miles of range, which isn’t great, and eats electricity like a blue whale eats plankton. I found myself charging the IONIQ 5 every single day when I had it for a week.
The ride is harsh, bordering on being too harsh for daily use on city roads, and for some strange reason, every time we hit a bump in the EV, something in the back rattled uncontrollably. I wasn’t able to find the rattle, but it didn’t make me think the IONIQ 5 N would hold up to years of abuse or Baltimore’s roads well.
The IONIQ 5 N has way too many modes. It’s too much to keep track of and at some point in your time driving the vehicle, you’ll find yourself on the side of the road reading the manual or scanning the web for answers on what mode does what and how to engage a specific mode. It’s overwhelming and detracts from the enjoyment.
The Verdict
I’m sure there are better performance-oriented EVs out there, but I haven’t driven them and I’m certain I’ll never be able to own one of them. But I can, realistically, own the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N. I could afford one and that’s what makes it so special. This isn’t an EV for the top 1% of Americans, it’s an EV for the majority of enthusiasts and it democratizes the radical performance that EVs have become known for.
Beyond its performance, the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N is fun to drive because of its special N e-Shift and N Active Sound. More than just party tricks, these features help the SUV feel engaging and fun, which has been missing from EVs. Take some time to set the IONIQ 5 N just right and it rewards you with a unique experience you won’t forget.
