First Drive: 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Is Stormy Inside, Serene Outside
Hyundai builds the first truly engaging all-electric sports car
Consider the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N the automotive equivalent of a duck cruising across a pond. Above the water, the duck appears calm. But below the surface, its webbed feet are furiously churning away, hidden from sight but working hard.
To the outside observer, the Ioniq 5 N is a quiet EV whose owner is doing their part for the environment by using electricity to power the four-door hatchback.
Meanwhile, inside, the driver is enjoying all of the features that come with a high-performance internal-combustion-engined (ICE) car: “shifting” the gearbox at the redline, bouncing off of the “rev limiter,” hearing the “engine” get louder as “revs” increase, and enjoying the sounds of the “exhaust” burbling and popping on downshifts and upshifts.
- 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N: CR's Take What We Like What We Don't Like What We'll Keep an Eye On Active Safety & Driver Assistance Systems
But none of this is actually happening because the Ioniq 5 N is fully electric and doesn’t have an engine, a multigear transmission, or an exhaust system. What it does have is one of the most impressive synthesized driving experiences of any electric vehicle, making it feel inside the cabin like you’re driving a rip-roaring gasoline-powered sports car without broadcasting any of that to the outside world.
Sign up for CR’s Cars email newsletter to be notified when we post our latest road-test results.
