Tag Archives: Hyundai

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N First Drive Review: The Ultimate Blend of Performance and Style

Posted on by

Welcome to Mobile Monday! Today, we’re shifting gears to explore a larger “mobile” experience—one on the road rather than in our hands. We’re diving into the world of high-performance electric vehicles with Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 N. This car seamlessly merges high performance with everyday practicality, setting a new benchmark for electric vehicles. It shines on the racetrack and excels in daily use, making it a standout in the electric vehicle market. Its design reflects a bold, forward-thinking approach, combining cutting-edge technology with sleek, modern aesthetics. Integrating advanced driver-assistance systems and customizable driving modes ensures that the Ioniq 5 N can adapt to various driving conditions, offering a versatile experience. Moreover, Hyundai’s commitment to sustainability and performance is evident in every aspect of this vehicle, from its powerful electric motors to its aerodynamic design features.

Designer: Hyundai

Exterior and Interior Design

Hyundai IONIQ 5 N

The Ioniq 5 N boasts a sleek, aggressive design that combines style and functionality. Its bold, open front grille enhances cooling, while active air flaps and air curtains improve aerodynamics. The car’s wider stance, complemented by pronounced fender flares, houses larger 21-inch forged wheels with 275mm tires, offering superior grip and stability. A larger rear spoiler and rear diffuser enhance the vehicle’s sporty look and contribute to its aerodynamic efficiency. Small touches like dark emblems and a luminous orange strip add to its striking appearance.

Inside, the Ioniq 5 N features a driver-focused layout with high-quality materials. The specially designed steering wheel includes four focused buttons, such as a boost button and customizable settings, allowing drivers to tailor the vehicle’s performance. The bucket seats provide excellent support and sit lower than the standard Ioniq, bringing the driver closer to the road for a more immersive experience. The pedal layout is optimized for performance, with larger brake and footrest pedals for better control.

The interior also includes a fixed center console with ample padding for added support during dynamic driving. This layout combines practicality and comfort, featuring advanced technology with a sporty feel. The digital cockpit provides all necessary information at a glance, ensuring the driver remains focused on the road.

Performance and Customization

Customization is a key feature of the Ioniq 5 N. The vehicle offers various driving modes, allowing drivers to adjust settings like torque distribution and regenerative braking and even simulate gear shifts with the N e-shift feature. These modes enhance the driving experience, providing a tailored feel for different driving conditions. The N e-shift, in particular, mimics the sensation of gear shifting, adding a visceral element to the electric driving experience.

The integration of motorsports DNA into production cars is emphasized, bringing the excitement of motorsports to everyday driving. The Ioniq 5 N exemplifies this synergy, bringing the excitement of motorsports to everyday driving. The electrification of the N models introduces the Ioniq 5 N as the first electrified N model designed to set new standards for high-performance EVs. The three pillars of the N brand—cornering ability, racetrack capability, and everyday sports car usability—are embodied in the Ioniq 5 N, offering an exhilarating driving experience while maintaining practicality and efficiency.

With 601 horsepower and an additional boost mode, the Ioniq 5 N is the most powerful Hyundai ever produced. Extensive design and engineering efforts emphasize precision and optimization for everyday driving and track performance. Design elements such as the steering wheel with dedicated mode buttons, bucket seats, and enhanced pedal layout are all designed to provide a thrilling driving experience.

Comparing the Ioniq 5 N and Ioniq 5 N NPX1

The unveiling of Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 N NPX1 concept at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2024 marks another significant leap in the evolution of high-performance electric vehicles. Based on the Ioniq 5 N, this concept showcases an array of N-specific enhancements designed to push the boundaries of performance and design.

IONIQ 5 N NPX1

Externally, the Ioniq 5 N NPX1 features carbon fiber components, including a front splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser, and a prominent rear wing spoiler. These elements enhance the vehicle’s aggressive aesthetics and contribute to improved aerodynamics and reduced weight. The concept’s lightweight hybrid carbon wheels further reduce unsprung mass, improving handling and acceleration. The high-performance brake pads and down springs enhance braking efficiency and driving dynamics.

Inside, the NPX1 concept continues its high-performance theme with luxurious Alcantara material, providing a premium feel and improved grip for the driver. The steering wheel, a central control hub, features dedicated buttons for customized performance settings, allowing drivers to tailor their driving experience.

IONIQ 5 N NPX1 Interior

Comparing the Ioniq 5 N and the Ioniq 5 N NPX1 reveals striking similarities and notable advancements. Both models share the same underlying platform and high-performance ethos. However, the NPX1 elevates this foundation with exclusive N Performance Parts that will soon be available for purchase. Using real carbon fiber and hybrid materials in the NPX1 emphasizes Hyundai’s commitment to innovation and performance.

While already a high-performance vehicle, the Ioniq 5 N is designed for everyday usability. It offers a refined interior with practical features like advanced driver-assistance systems and Hyundai Pay for seamless transactions. The NPX1, however, is a more focused iteration designed to showcase the future of N Performance enhancements. It incorporates race-inspired components that not only improve performance but also offer a preview of what customers can expect from Hyundai’s tuning parts in the near future.

Both vehicles emphasize a balance between performance and practicality. The Ioniq 5 N provides the thrill of a sports car while remaining practical for daily use. Its adjustable driving modes and high-performance features make it versatile for different driving conditions. The NPX1, on the other hand, is a showcase of potential, pushing the envelope of what an electric vehicle can achieve with the right enhancements.

The NPX1’s carbon fiber additions are more than just aesthetic. The front splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser, and rear wing spoiler all play crucial roles in improving the car’s aerodynamic profile and reducing weight. These enhancements ensure that the NPX1 looks the part and performs at the highest level. The lightweight hybrid carbon wheels are a significant upgrade, offering better performance and efficiency.

The NPX1’s interior enhancements, with its use of Alcantara and metal accents, provide a more immersive and luxurious driving experience. These materials are not just about looks; they also contribute to the overall driving dynamics by offering better grip and comfort. The metal door scuffs add a layer of durability, ensuring that the interior can withstand the rigors of high-performance driving.

Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car

Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car

The introduction of the Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup car marked a significant milestone. This dedicated race car, developed for the eN1 Cup series, demonstrates Hyundai’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of electric motorsports. The car features numerous technical enhancements and modifications for racing, maintaining the core EV system while optimizing for performance. This connection between motorsports and production vehicles underscores the N brand’s focus on delivering youthful excitement and high performance.

Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car

Externally, the Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup car includes a wide-body kit and a prominent rear wing to improve aerodynamics and downforce on the track. The interior has essential racing components such as a multi-point roll cage, a bucket seat, and a six-point safety harness for maximum driver safety.

Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car and 5 N

The Ioniq 5 N and the Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup car offer high-performance driving experiences but cater to different driving aspects. The Ioniq 5 N is perfect for those who want a powerful, sporty car that they can drive daily, featuring a luxurious interior and advanced technology. However, the Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup car is tailored for the racetrack, offering uncompromising performance and safety features designed to meet the demands of competitive racing.

Driving Experience

Driving the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is a thrilling experience that seamlessly blends high performance with everyday usability. Whether carving through corners on a racetrack, enjoying the dynamic handling on a winding road, or simply commuting to work, the Ioniq 5 N delivers an engaging and versatile driving experience that sets a new standard for electric vehicles.

Driving the Ioniq 5 N at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

The opportunity to drive it at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca highlighted its capabilities and left a lasting impression. On the track, the Ioniq 5 N proved to be a formidable contender. The moment you hit the accelerator, the 601 horsepower and the additional boost mode propel you forward with an astonishing burst of speed. The electric motors deliver instant torque, making acceleration seamless and thrilling. With its two-way adjustable dampers, the vehicle’s advanced suspension system ensures that it remains planted even at high speeds. The larger 21-inch wheels with 275mm tires provide exceptional grip, allowing you to tackle the track’s notorious turns confidently.

Driving the Ioniq 5 N at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, I was impressed by its stability and precision. The car’s braking system truly shined on the track. The 4-piston 400 mm front brakes and 1-piston 360 mm rear brakes offered powerful stopping power, essential for high-speed driving. The regenerative braking system recovered energy and provided deceleration that enhanced control during aggressive driving. The N e-shift feature added an extra layer of engagement, simulating gear shifts and giving a visceral feel that is often missing in electric vehicles.

The Ioniq 5 N truly earns its “corner rascal” nickname. The all-wheel-drive system can be adjusted to distribute torque almost entirely to the rear wheels, making the car feel nimble and agile. The electronic limited-slip differential and the precise steering response allow you to navigate tight corners easily. The car feels incredibly balanced, and the weight distribution is optimized to enhance cornering stability.

Pedal response is another highlight. The car’s three-level adjustable regenerative braking allows for fine-tuning off-throttle behavior, enhancing weight transfer and improving turn-in. Whether on a winding mountain road or a technical racetrack, the Ioniq 5 N delivers a dynamic and engaging driving experience that makes every twist and turn a joy to navigate. On the legendary Corkscrew at Laguna Seca, the Ioniq 5 N maintained its composure, demonstrating exceptional handling and balance.

Despite its high-performance capabilities, the Ioniq 5 N remains practical and comfortable for daily driving. The interior blends sporty and luxurious elements, featuring high-quality materials and advanced technology. The bucket seats provide excellent support for spirited driving while remaining comfortable for longer journeys. The adjustable driving modes allow you to switch from a sporty setup to a more relaxed one, perfect for city commuting or highway cruising.

Advanced driver-assistance systems ensure safety and convenience, while features like Hyundai Pay and wireless Apple CarPlay enhance the user experience. The Ioniq 5 N’s fast-charging capability, which allows the battery to go from 10% to 80% in just 18 minutes, makes it practical for daily use, minimizing downtime and keeping you on the move.

Driving the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is a thrilling experience that seamlessly blends high performance with everyday usability. Whether carving through corners on a racetrack, enjoying the dynamic handling on a winding road, or simply commuting to work, the Ioniq 5 N delivers an engaging and versatile driving experience that sets a new standard for electric vehicles. The opportunity to drive it at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca highlighted its capabilities and left a lasting impression, showcasing Hyundai’s dedication to innovation and performance.

The post Hyundai Ioniq 5 N First Drive Review: The Ultimate Blend of Performance and Style first appeared on Yanko Design.

Hyundai Ioniq 6 Review

Posted on by

PROS:


  • Stellar range

  • Compelling style

  • Good technology

CONS:


  • Tiny trunk

  • Limited headroom

  • Inaccurate range predictions

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

A comprehensively good car with striking looks and world-class efficiency.

The battle for aerodynamic performance has created some compelling shapes over the years, but it’s mandated far more that would be called boring. Amorphous machines like the Mercedes-Benz EQS and the Tesla Model S haven’t exactly won the hearts or minds of many buyers. But still, it’s an important fight. With buyers demanding ever more range and efficiency from their EVs, a car cheating the wind is even more important now than ever.

The Ioniq 6 is Hyundai’s most extreme aerodynamic experiment yet. With a drag coefficient of just 0.22, it’s the slipperiest car ever from the South Korean manufacturer. Impressively, it’s a figure that approaches or matches other, more boring shapes like the aforementioned Mercedes and Tesla.

Despite that, it’s a car that has a distinctive, fetching shape and a visual appeal all its own. That it looks like nothing else on the road is a good start, that it’s such a comprehensively good car and is available with 300 miles of range is even better.

The Packaging

The shape of the Ioniq 6 is quite basic, just a simple front-to-rear arc that doesn’t by itself offer much in the way of intrigue. But within that low-drag profile is a series of details and highlights that make this sedan special.

The most interesting angle is the rear. Instead of simply tapering down to the ground, designers integrated a large spoiler into the back of the Hyundai. This definitely serves an aerodynamic purpose, but more importantly, it adds an air of sportiness to what could otherwise be a utilitarian profile.

Like the rest of the car, that spoiler is riddled with pixel lights and other details, creating a car that looks as interesting up close as it does from afar. Even the little fin antenna perched up on the roof contains some surprises, a transparent housing that exposes its circuitry when you get up there and really look at it. That is something you will want to do with the Ioniq 6.

Unfortunately, the car’s slippery profile does come with its compromises, starting with storage space. There’s effectively no storage space under the frunk, and the trunk is not much better. The opening to the boot of the Ioniq 6 is wide but low, exposing only 11.2 cubic feet of storage space. That’s about a third less even than the Sonata, a car of otherwise similar dimensions.

In fact, the Ioniq 6 is nine inches longer even than the Ioniq 5. That length does impart some advantages, like a copious amount of legroom in the rear seats. Headroom, though, is more limited. Passable, but far from generous. Rear seat occupants get a pair of USB-C ports and even a 250V three-prong outlet for juicing up more power-hungry devices.

Two more USB-C ports are lurking in the armrest, plus a USB-A port up front and a Qi wireless pad. You’ll need to use one of those ports if you want either Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, because neither is supported wirelessly.

Up front, headroom is acceptable but still not great. I’m six feet tall, and my hair just brushed the headliner with the driver’s seat situated as low as possible. Otherwise, seating is comfortable, power-adjustable and offering adjustable lumbar support plus heating and cooling. That heating is powerful, so much so that even on some very chilly mornings I found its highest setting too intense.

Interface

Like nearly everything else here, seat heater controls are buried in the touchscreen. There’s a small HVAC panel low on the center console where you can adjust temperatures and trigger the defrosters, but otherwise you’re left stabbing at that panel.

It’s a 12.3-inch unit, joined at the hip with another 12.3-inch panel that forms the gauge cluster. It’s the same basic layout as on the Ioniq 5 and it looks and works well here. The two displays are framed in matte silver, giving a clean, cohesive look.

Thumb controls on the wheel make adjusting things like cruise control and media volume easy, while a set of delightfully chunky and tactile stalks behind handle the usual duties for turn signals and wipers. A third stalk, situated low and on the right, is the gear selector. Twist it forward for D, rearward for R, and push in the button on the end for P.

At first, it’s a little easy to get the shifter confused for the wiper stalk, but otherwise, the control layout is intuitive, while the feel of all the controls is excellent.

As is the look of the interior. Though dominated by dark plastics on this particular car that have a bit of a harsh feel to them in places (white is also available), the Ioniq 6 manages to be even more interesting on the inside than on the outside. Subtle ripples on the door cars grow in amplitude from top to bottom, emerging like standing waves as you get close to the handles integrated into large arm rests that feature massive, bright speaker grilles.

Those speakers are from Bose and offer plenty of power to fill the cabin. There’s perhaps not an excess of finesse from the sound performance here, the prodigious bass coming from the trunk somewhat overshadowing the tweeters in the A-pillars and the speaker perched high on the dashboard.

Upturned edges visually dominate the dash itself, flourishes meant to highlight the integrated, digital side-view mirrors present in international markets but sadly lacking in the U.S.-specification car you see here. Still, it’s a compelling look, all of it punctuated by countless little squares, pixels found everywhere from the dashboard down to the generous storage space on the floor between the seats.

Four more pixels are embedded in the steering wheel, each backed by LEDs that sweep in color in response to drive mode and other features. The Ioniq 6’s ambient lighting can likewise be set to cycle as you tap the Drive Mode button on the steering wheel, with green for Eco, blue for Normal, and red for Sport.

If there’s one disappointing thing in the interior, it’s that Drive Mode dial on the steering wheel. The knurled edges make you want to spin it to cycle from one mode to the next. Sadly, it’s just a simple button, toggling slowly from one mode to the next.

Sport mode

While not as satisfying as a knob to twist, the resulting transformation is still very rewarding, the Ioniq 6 morphing from gentle cruiser to performance-minded hooligan machine with just two taps.

In Eco mode, the cool green ambient lighting matches the calm and quiet cabin. In this mode, the Ioniq 6 is a real pleasure to breeze your way through traffic or down to the shops. The suspension on the Ioniq 6 is tuned to the soft side, a feel that’s just short of floaty.

The priority was clearly on ride quality, which is generally good, though the low-profile 20-inch wheels and tires can be a bit harsh on sharp bumps, like broken concrete highways and separation joints. Those looking for the ultimate in cosseting will want to spec the 18-inch wheels and tires found on lesser trims.

Tap twice to cycle into Sport Mode, and things get rambunctious. Though the suspension doesn’t change, the throttle response is sharpened to a point where this dual-motor all-wheel-drive unit leaps forward. 320 horsepower and 446 pound-feet of torque are now readily and eagerly applied to your most subtle whim.

The power is easily enough to overcome the grip offered by the low-rolling-resistance tires here, and once the car’s traction control system detects a hint of spin it neutralizes the power output. Driving the Ioniq 6 hard, then, is a game of managing grip, not asking too much lest you draw the attention of the traction or stability control systems.

With that soft suspension and prodigious dimensions, the Ioniq 6 will never be a sports car. But its strong acceleration will leave nearly anything else on the road in its wake, and it’s a genuinely good time to dart through traffic circles and sling out of fast bends. And, with the regenerative braking set to maximum via the wheel-mounted paddles, there’s little need to remove your foot from the accelerator.

Flog it like this, and the Ioniq 6 won’t come close to its EPA rating of 270 miles on a charge from its 77.4 kWh battery pack. With a combination of hard driving and highway speeds in cold temperatures, I still averaged 2.9 miles per kWh for a theoretical maximum range of 225 miles.

That’s actually quite good, given it was flirting with freezing during my testing. And, because I wasn’t going easy on the accelerator. Driven in more temperate conditions and with a bit more frugality, I’m confident that 270 mile figure is achievable.

That said, I was disappointed by the car’s inaccurate range predictions. In one long, 120-mile highway stretch, the car initially estimated I’d have 80 miles of range remaining when I got to my destination. When I arrived, fewer than 30 miles were left on the clock. That’s despite my using the integrated navigation system, so it knew exactly where I was going and how I was going to get there.

That was a letdown, but Hyundai’s latest Highway Drive Assist system at least impressed. The Ioniq 6 stayed rock-solid, centered in its lane, slowing up or speeding down based on traffic in a casual, no-fuss way. The car will even change lanes on its own, only requiring that you, the driver, signal the change. It worked reliably but slowly, the car often pondering a full three seconds before making its move. That’s too long when there’s traffic about.

Pricing and Options

Hyundai Ioniq 6 pricing starts at $41,600 for a Standard Range, single-motor model. The model I tested here is a top-shelf Limited Long Range AWD with 20-inch wheels and a $56,100 MSRP. The lone accessory added was $210 for floor mats. Add the $1,115 destination charge, and you have a final asking price of $57,425.

As fun as the Ioniq 6 is with two motors and all the power they bring, to me, the Ioniq 6 is best when driven more casually and frugally. Given that, I’d spec it with the single-motor long-range SE version. That starts at just $45,500 and, though slower, is rated for a remarkable 361 miles on the EPA cycle.

You’d find me hypermiling my way to work, enjoying the kind of range generally only found in cars costing much more, cars that don’t look and feel anywhere near as interesting as this.

The post Hyundai Ioniq 6 Review first appeared on Yanko Design.