New Hyundai Ioniq 6 N goes on sale in UK
Incoming 650hp fastback shares much with 5 N - including its high asking price...
It is hardly a secret that the Ioniq 5 N, as good as it is to drive - and the car was among our favourites back in 2024, let’s not forget - has not exactly been a global sales smash. Even in the UK, apparently second only to the US in sales, they seem conspicuous for their absence on the road. There are doubtless many contributing factors to that situation, not least the state of the performance EV market generally. But certainly the fact that it was priced from £65k at launch did it no favours. When faced with a choice between it and literally any other hot hatch for less, most buyers evidently chose the latter.
Still, God loves a trier. Which is good because when it came to the job of landing on a starting price for the new Ioniq 6 N, a 650hp version of the firm’s electric fastback, Hyundai apparently saw no reason to change the game plan: starting price for the single specification - £65,800. Of course, it was hardly feasible that a car sharing much of the 5 N’s running gear would be heavily discounted. But it is also hard to believe that the same strategy is poised to deliver a dramatically different result.
Of course, the one thing in its favour is that buyers might be inclined to compare the model with a different class of rival - you will hardly need us to tell you that a BMW i4 M60, a 601hp EV favoured by the market, is currently from £73k. And you cannot get 600hp from a new Taycan without paying Porsche £96k. Even something as worthy as a Volkswagen ID 7 GTX Plus, which has nowhere near the 6 N’s output, is from £59k. And if none of those could be called a direct rival to the Hyundai, it does paint a picture of the current four-door, saloon-shaped EV segment.
At any rate, buyers will likely know that the 6 N is offering something different. The platform and running gear are shared with the Ioniq 5 N, which means alongside the headline output and 3.2-second-to-62mph performance, you get Electronically Controlled Suspension, the e-LSD, an enhanced N e-Shift system and all the associated Corner Rascal-ness we’ve come to expect. There’s no denying the model’s idiosyncratic styling either, embellished here with five-spoke 20-inch alloys and that fixed rear wing.
Inside you get front bucket seats clad in a mix of Alcantara and leather. That much is standard. If you want a colour other than Serenity White pearl, that will be extra: Performance Blue pearl, Abyss Black pearl and Nocturne Grey metallic are £750; Nocturne Grey matte and Gravity Gold matte are £1,250 - and so is the tilt and slide Vision Roof. So a maxed-out 6 N retails at £68,300.
“The Ioniq 5 N revolutionised the world of performance cars, proving that an electric car could still raise the pulse of a driving enthusiast,” said Ashley Andrew, Hyundai’s UK boss. “Ioniq 6 N delivers even more to the enthusiast driver; all the benefits of the 5 N’s high-performance E-GMP base, a suspension setup that produces both a different character, all encapsulated in the aerodynamic Ioniq 6’s electrified streamliner shape.” If you’re partial to the latter, the UK order books are open now.
The drivetrain looks entertaining with the ability to control the torque distribution, fake gears etc.
Hopefully they suffer some absolutely catastrophic depreciation, though it's not looking like the 5N has.
k it then. Pointless.However, in a world of everything looking the same, Hyundai should be applauded for producing something out of the norm, just like Renault used to do.
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