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MOTORS: Hyundai Ioniq5N breaks the established rules in so many ways





Hyundai Ioniq5N.
Hyundai Ioniq5N.

Quite rightly, we are pre-occupied with potholes plaguing our roads and bumping up our car repair bills and insurance premiums.

But it’s not all doom and gloom and if you’re lucky you can find some great roads which are in pretty good condition.

I’m sure it’s more than coincidence that some of the best are to be found on Royal Deeside where Aberdeenshire Council have clearly found enough spare cash in their roads maintenance budget to ensure that our Head of State doesn’t have to play pothole lottery as they tootle about the stunning area.

Just down the road, the picture is also quite bright as I discovered when I took a drive out of Blairgowrie and up through Glenshee to Braemar. The further north you go, the road surface improves and apart from some sticking-plaster patching, there are fabulous smooth, flowing stretches, especially during the quieter, out-of-ski season.

What made this trip even more enjoyable was that I was at the wheel of the most exciting and interesting car I’ve driven in a long time.

It comes all the way from South Korea from Hyundai - a company which has undergone an amazing transformation in recent years.

The Ioniq5N breaks the established rules in so many ways, not least as the first all-electric performance car - and with so many quirky features, it’s great fun, especially when you get the chance to let it stretch its legs on some fantastic roads.

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If you think EVs are boring and sensible, the 5N will have you thinking again, as long as you have the £65,000 to spare and the extra £2150 for the one-piece panoramic sunroof and stunning Performance Blue paintjob of the featured car.

Hyundai have really cracked the EV business and are turning out some pretty surprising examples of the breed.

The larger Ioniq6 is a head-turner combining great styling with superb technology and was the well-deserved winner of the Scottish Car of the Year title last year.

What the engineers have done now is to take its wee EV brother, the Ioniq5, and incorporate some of the lessons learned from Hyundai’s success in the World Rally Championship to make a brilliant driver’s car.

The list is almost endless, but the styling changes on the outside, like the bold front end, side skirts and rear diffuser, are only part of the story.

Out of sight under the surface is extra welding and adhesive bonding for greater strength along with changes to the twin electric motor mountings, subframes, steering and axles to cope with the combined power of 650PS and stunning 740 Nms of torque.

That comes together to propel this projectile from a standing start to 62mph in just over three seconds to a potential top speed of 161mph which helped it complete a lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in under eight minutes - an unrivalled achievement for an EV, especially one weighing more than 2.2 tonnes.

Not just that, but it is superbly well-behaved with amazing grip and stability and feels as sure-footed as just about anything I have taken on the road, never mind the racetrack.

Hyundai Ioniq5N.
Hyundai Ioniq5N.

The cockpit - it feels and looks like the control centre of a complex flying machine - is a mass of screens, buttons and detailed information displays with everything you could possibly want or need to know, including the temperature of each of the electric motors driving the front and rear axles.

But the best bit is the active sound system which answers the common criticism that EVs are too quiet with the absence of feedback from under the bonnet or exhaust.

You can set a range of simulated effects from an eight-speed manual gearbox, complete with burbles and throttle blips, to the sound of a jet engine at full thrust.

It’s just a bit of fun... and that’s something we can all do with as we tackle the challenges on our roads.

Hyundai Ioniq5N.
Hyundai Ioniq5N.

Hyundai Ioniq5N AWD

PRICE: £65,000 (£67,150 as tested)

ENGINE: 84kWh battery dual motor/one speed auto

POWER: 650PS

TORQUE: 740 NM

TOP SPEED: 161mph

0-62mph: 3.4 secs

RANGE: 278 miles

CHARGING TIME: 18 minutes (350 kW ultra-fast charger)


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