Hyundai Ioniq N5/Hyundai
When I was a student in the early 1980s, two cars starred here: the Autobianchi Ebert and the Fiat 127 Sport. Only 70-75 hp, but for us they were Italian supercars back then. Hyundai 5N has 650 hp
Estimated price:
NIS 420,000
Competitors:
the future Tesla Model 3 Performance
We liked:
sensations, responsiveness to driver commands, performance and not at the expense of usability
We didn't like:
ability to drift, price
When I was a student in the early 1980s, two cars starred here: the Autobianchi Ebert and the Fiat 127 sport. Only 70-75 hp, but for us, certainly relative to what we drove on Israeli roads at the time, they were Italian supercars. Let's
jump forward about 20 years and the stars were the Subaru Impreza WRX/STI and the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO, already with 200-280 hp and drive A double, that then dropped jaws. We were so excited then in front of the Japanese wonder.
Another jump of two decades and the Korans, which we didn't really read until a few years ago in the sports field, are challenging the driving machines, with the promise of a sports tram like we've never seen before. We have already seen performance in trams, but sportiness is a completely different matter. Is the Hyundai 5N the car that will show us and the world what it is?
A flood of electric cars washes over us and they all boast high engine powers compared to cars equipped with internal combustion engines. But between them and sports cars the distance is great. They are heavy, clumsy, devoid of any feeling.
Hyundai entered this world slowly and thoroughly. After establishing a sports division, they entered the World Rally Championship. With the success came the decision to continue developing into series production cars. The sports versions received the nickname N, which has a double meaning: after the district where the production center of the sports department was established, Namyang in South Korea, and after the Nürburgring track in Germany, where Hyundai has a test and development center. In addition, the South Koreans point out that the letter N refers to chicane, the term describing a series of tight turns on a road or track.
Hyundai released N versions of the i20 and i30, popular sports cars with internal combustion engines. The cars were a huge success. But, they are "like everyone else". Peugeot, Ford and others have them.
Hyundai was looking for uniqueness. Electric sports car - not yet. There are powerful, luxurious and impressive cars, but none of them is a sports car, one that will also succeed on the race track.
Aggressive front and channeling the air currents to cool the battery and brakes/Hyundai
If during the race, or just on the road, you have reached the car in front and you need a little more power to overtake, pressing the red button on the right of the steering wheel will add another 41 hp to the 609 hp that are in the base, for 10 seconds
Nir Ben Ari/courtesy of the photographs, from the family album
Any vehicle that is not adapted and designated for the track, reveals all its weaknesses on the track. Understeer, brake decay, loss of damping properties of the brakes and difficulty in controlling curves and turns are noticeable phenomena when a car, no matter how good, gets on the track.
The starting points of an electric car are negative: their high weight, the battery is limited in range and heats up under strain.
But there are also advantages: the ability to control the power and torque separately on each of the axles using a computer and add different and varied elements to the car's function. Hyundai targeted three milestones: cornering attack, track capabilities and daily behavior as a sports car, and this along with a fun behavior to drive.
And how did they do it? 650 hp allow to accelerate the 2,200 kg of the Ionique 5N, from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds. A series of electronic measures will calibrate the car to the track. A
standard electric is calibrated so that releasing the gas pedal will produce little deceleration in order not to shake the passengers. The Ionic 5N has a function called N Pedal: the driver can choose, by pressing a button on the N control panel, one of three degrees of increased deceleration when leaving the pedal. This gives excellent turn-in behavior, so that the car strives to enter and dive into the turn, to turn more easily.
A
sports or racing car with dual drive is pre-calibrated one-time to distribute the torque between the front and rear axles. In the Ionic 5N, the driver has a choice of 11 different options for distributing torque between the axles.
Using the NTD - N Torque Distribution function in the control of the -N The driver can direct the distribution of the torque according to the nature of the track and driving.
In serial trams, there are no gears. In the Ionic 5N, there is a function called N e-Shift which, when activated, obtains the behavior of a car with an 8-speed gearbox. The N control activates the function and the driver can change gears using Two levers behind the steering wheel and adjust the gear to the speed, just like in cars with internal combustion engines and a gearbox.
Downshifting while braking when entering a turn contributes to slowing down the vehicle and accelerating when exiting the turn. When accelerating beyond the rpm, you will get a phenomenon like the ignition disconnecting. Just like in real life.
If we add and activate another function: N Active Sound+, a sound will be heard in the driver's cabin, like that of a beefy gasoline engine, synchronized to speed and especially when changing gears, which comes from a huge speaker In front. You can choose between a deep sound, a higher and more screaming sound and a jet sound. This gives feedback to the driver just like a real situation.
Moreover, if you are driving calmly, in normal mode and suddenly the road twists, the camera in the Ionic 5N will detect a sign that warns of a double turn, system N Road Sense (NRS) will automatically shift the vehicle to N position and increase the driving pleasure.
If during the race, or just on the road, you have reached the car in front and you need a little more to overtake it, there is a way out. Pressing the red button on the right of the steering wheel, on which is written NGB N Grin Boost, you will add another 41 hp to the 601 hp that are in the base, for 10 seconds. This option only exists if you are in the state of more than 30% battery charge.
There is also an N Launch Control system. The system can only be implemented from a standing position, and provides a pre-torque to the engine while standing to provide an immediate response for the vehicle to accelerate from a standstill to 100 km/h in a maximum of 3.4 seconds.
And there is also N Drift Optimizer, which allows power drifts to be performed. The system activates several controls together such as traction control, limited slip differential (e-LSD), while the engines, steering wheel and suspension adjust to an optimal position that allows drifting.
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The steering is excellent. No screeching from the tires. The vehicle goes into revs happily and exits in a Hyundai/Hyundai
Despite a height of 1.585 meters, completely a crossover, there is no roll angle. You can direct this car right on the spot. The N handles like a good hot compact, not a Jeep. Without understeering and with excellent responses
How does this all work on the road? I have to admit, I was impressed. The Ionic 5N is extremely impressive. The additions that distinguish it from its standard siblings are not only aesthetic, but are part of a complex of sportiness, aerodynamics or braking capabilities.
The design has an aggressive front with a black bumper and a mesh covering air vents with shelves that direct the airflow for aerodynamics and cooling the batteries and braking systems.
At the back, an upper spoiler, a lower diffuser and the hot air outlets after cooling what it cooled.
Low section wide tires on 21 inch rims.
In the passenger compartment, in front there are two bucket seats, with the N logo illuminated. The steering wheel is impressive, with a button for selecting the driving modes on the left and a red button - NGB - on the right.
The driving episode began with driving a highway about 100 km from Barcelona to the Parcmotor Castelloi circuit. How fast the Ionique 5N is will be testified by the driver of the Porsche 911 Carrera S who was attacked by two Israeli Ioniques on the highway. He didn't really understand where it came from and was unable to shake us off him , although it certainly tried to do so.
To me, this was the first hint that there was something about the N. Everything happens in this car with ease and the result is excellent. And driving the fast sheep, especially the one back after the track, also reminded that this is a car that is equipped with all the advanced safety measures: cruise control Adaptive with maintaining the driving lane, warning of a dead SUV, forward and backward cameras and in short, everything. This is not one of those sports cars that land in Israel with DNA equipped, and then here they install Mobileye. There is absolutely everything here, except for electric seat adjustment The driver I was missing. And spoiler: at the price this car is going to cost, it's not an excessive request.
Back to the track. 4.5 km long, two straights, one longer and the other shorter, lots of varied turns and elevation changes.
And the N name is really impressive. The power allows for intense track driving, changing gears along with the soundtrack that simulates a race car guzzling fuel, the steering is excellent, there are no squeals from the tires and hardly even a chirp is heard. The vehicle goes into revs happily and leaves with a bang. Even power drifts were received here and there.
Nothing got hot. The brakes did not fade. The experience of jumping from the place with the help of the N Launch Control also worked perfectly. And really, as I mentioned before, everything happens easily, it was really fun.
Despite a height of 1.585 meters, completely a crossover, there is no roll angle. You can direct this car right on the spot. It is likely that the heavy battery at the bottom of the vehicle helps to keep the center of gravity low. The N handles like a good hot compact, not a Jeep. Without understeering and with excellent responses.
Nothing to warm up. The brakes did not fade./Hyundai
Only in one point was I disappointed: in the drifts. I have a lot of experience driving rally in rear wheel drive cars. I was drifting even before this sport was invented and established. But the Hyundai Ioniq 5N refused to give up
Only on one point was I disappointed. Contrary to the pleasure and the most positive experience on the track, the experience of drifting was less successful. I have little drift driving experience and a lot of rally driving experience in rear wheel drive cars. I was drifting even before this sport was invented and established.
But the Hyundai Ioniq 5N didn't want to give up. We conceded few attempts, only five times. In three of them I did spins and in the other two I swung between oversteer and understeer. Does not look dull or uniform. To my credit, I wasn't the only one who had a hard time.
The bottom line: I really liked the Ionic 5N and I will be very jealous of anyone who can afford to buy it here in Israel. The price tag already falls in the collection category of luxury tax, which joins the purchase tax on a luxury vehicle that has become more expensive this year, to an estimated price tag of more than NIS 400,000. The first ones will arrive in Israel. Towards the end of the year. So Hyundai, just one request: you have proven that you can create a sporty electric car that does not make the driver smile even on the track, which no other manufacturer has done before. Now make us more Ns, even if smaller and less strong, but still fun - and much less expensive.
The writer was a guest of Hyundai in Spain
There are even warnings about battery and engine heat. Too bad the driver's seat doesn't have electric/Hyundai adjustment
On the technical side: Hyundai Ioniq 5N
Engine:
two, maximum power 650 hp, maximum torque 77 kgm
Gearbox:
auto, direct transmission. 8 artificial gears
Drive:
double
Battery:
84 kWh
Maximum charging rate:
350 kW
Dimensions:
Length (meters):
4.715
Width (meters):
1.94
Height (meters)
: 1.585
Wheelbase (meters):
3.0
Weight:
2,200 kg C
Tires:
21R275/35
Performance (manufacturer):
0-100 km/h (seconds):
3.4
Maximum speed (km/h):
260
Combined range:
448 km
Safety:
European crash test score:
5 out of 5 stars
Active safety:
autonomous emergency braking when driving forward and backward, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, warning of a vehicle in a dead zone and prevention of deviation into it, warning of opening a door to an unoccupied road
Warranty:
5 years or NIS 100,000 for the vehicle, 7 years or NIS 160,000 for the battery
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