Hyundai Ioniq 5 N on the cusp of global debut
Nurburgring testing almost complete, final teaser is live - not long to wait now...
There’s been considerable cause for enthusiasm about the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N for a while now. The base car is a great EV, all the N hot hatches have been brilliant, and features like Drift Mode suggest a real enthusiast focus for N’s first electric car. With a Festival of Speed reveal now just a few weeks away and the Nurburgring test programme almost complete, Hyundai has confirmed additional N details. And it’s sounding really, really good.
Hopefully, that can be taken literally, too, thanks to new features N e-Shift and N Active Sound +. ‘Many performance enthusiasts’, reads the press release, ‘have been outspoken about their dissatisfaction with the lack of driver feedback behind the wheel of many EVs’. Hear, hear. Hence the inclusion of the new tech; N Active Sound + is made up of 10 speakers (eight in the car, two outside) and offers three different soundscapes for the Ioniq. Evolution is an ‘N signature electronic sound’, said to be inspired by cars like the RN22e; Supersonic will give ‘the drivers the sensation of a fighter pilot’. Right.
So far, so EV. But Ignition is arguably the most interesting of the trio, as it aims to emulate the 2.0-litre petrol engine of the i30 N, complete with pops and bangs. The N e-Shift will help with the tribute act here, mimicking the behaviour of the eight-speed DCT by controlling motor torque output and adding a jolt to simulate a gearchange. Maybe it’ll be rubbish, but Hyundai has got pretty good at delivering a proper noise and sense of occasion to its ICE hot hatches, so let’s see. The manufacturer says that its aim ‘is to allow drivers to seamlessly utilize driving techniques honed with ICE cars for a more immersive driving experience that feels closer to ICEs than EVs.’ Which sounds right up our street.
There’s more, too. Hyundai makes much of ‘N’ standing for Nurburgring as well as Namyang; to that end, there’s more tech for the Ioniq 5 to make it genuinely capable on a circuit. N Battery Preconditioning and N Race are what you need to know about, working with improved cooling hardware ‘to maximise performance or longevity’ on circuit. And yet more buttons to press, but it does sound interesting. The preconditioning is split between a Drag and Track setting; the former sets the battery temp optimally for maximum power straightaway, while Track aims to keep things cool for a number of consecutive laps. N Race - keeping up?! - then exists for ‘more direct control on the car’s energy usage’. It can be configured to either Sprint or Endurance, which kind of do as they say on the tin: full power whenever you need it is available with Sprint, while Endurance ‘maximises Ioniq 5 N’s range on the racetrack’ by limiting sudden power spikes, which in turn means temperatures don’t build up so fast.
Braking is taken care of by huge 400mm discs, aided by 0.6g of regen - said to be an industry-leading figure. Just as importantly, Hyundai reckons that the blending between regular and regen braking is ‘seamless’, which creates ‘an imperceptible transition to the driver’. Brake pedal feel is key to an enjoyable track driving experience, so this is encouraging.
The Ioniq 5 N has just completed its 10,000km durability test on the Nordschleife, which feels like a pretty momentous achievement, although Hyundai insists it is now embarking on another ‘to push Ioniq 5 N’s limits’. What a sight at a tourist day this could make - it certainly seems that Hyundai is keen, as with every other N hot hatch, for owners to use their car on a track. The global reveal for the Ioniq has been confirmed as July 13th at the Festival of Speed, when we can expect full details and technical specs. If this Ioniq 5 is as impressive as Hyundai’s ICE hot hatches, enthusiasts really will an electric car to be excited about.
The whole artificial sound thing has got me thinking.
I've always rubbished it in an ICE car as its trying to make a certain engine sound like something it isn't, however in an EV it sort of makes sense.
There is no noise in a BEV per se, just a whiney noise.
If driving is all about sensation (that's what we're told by the likes of various motoring mags etc), then noise is one of our senses, so this tech satisfies that sense?
Even better if it sounds like warp drive on the Millennium Falcon!
Can't wait to see it.
Personal choice but I don't understand why anyone would want to drive about in an EV whilst listening to a recording of an IC engine. If I must have enhanced sound in an EV to make it more engaging then just amplify the motor & transmission noise it already makes, seems a more authentic solution.
Having owned a petrol N car, I can confirm that Hyundai certainly has the ability to make an enjoyable, well sorted and engaging drivers' car, so I wouldn't bet against this being more of the same.
Albert Biermann has of course retired now, but still remains in a technical advisory capacity. I hope his influence is as strongly felt as in these as it is the early N cars.
king stupid idea. pal has a Taycan which has this and after a week of demonstrating the noise to everyone who'd listen he realised its stupidity and after another week he worked out how to cancel it.king stupid idea to you? Got it.Is it being classed as a hot hatch or an SUV? What actually is it?
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/Uyfwwy2t[/url]At least no one has said it looks like an integrale yet
Is it being classed as a hot hatch or an SUV? What actually is it?
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/Uyfwwy2t[/url]king stupid idea to you? Got it.The noise being referred to here will only be available inside the car, unless you drive with the windows open.
Artificial engine noises on a car with no engine all seems rather childish to me. If I wanted engine noises in an electric car, I just need to give my 3 year old nephew a lift. He's growing up on a farm and is a specialist in making mechanical noises.
I'm sure he'd happily shout "Bruuum, brrrrruuummmm, bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuum, vrum, Pop, Bang, Bang, brummmm, brrrruuuuum" for me from the back seat whilst I took a Renault Zoe around the Nurburgring.....
His chainsaw impression would also be quite good to simulate accidentally finding the wrong gear on a downshift and lunching the gearbox too.
Is it being classed as a hot hatch or an SUV? What actually is it?
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/Uyfwwy2t[/url]Also people have people and things to transport not everyone can make do with something the size of an MX5.
I said in another thread that manufactures would be able to replicate all the idyosyncrasies that ICE's have. For what purpose? I want an EV to be better and once the weight issue is overcome they will be. It's a bit like playing high res music on a really good HiFi and replicating the noise associated with even the best record decks.
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