This review first appeared in the August 2025 edition of the Cruisin' News,
"Oregon, Nevada and California's classic
auto news & marketplace."
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Sacramento, California -- So, you have been reluctant to get an electric vehicle for multiple
reasons ... including the painful prospect of missing out on the fun of blowing
off various, classic sports cars.
Fear not, the tested 2025 Hyundai
Ioniq 5 N AWD exists to scratch your itch.
Consider dual electric motors rated at a
road-ripping 601 horsepower. Wow, this thing scoots along with alarming
intensity.
But wait, there's more.
That little red button placed at 3
o'clock on the steering wheel is called the N Grin Boost feature. Think of it as what the IndyCar Series
drivers call the "push to pass" button.
Push it and you get an additional
40 more horses for 10 seconds. I should
point out that the owner's manual informs one that great care should be
exercised when pushing the button.
Wise advice, that. Because pushing
the button delivers a press-you-into-the-seat wallop. I'd advise using it on a wide open stretch of
road, with both hands firmly on the steering wheel.
It's that serious a rush. I felt like I was riding a streak of
lightning. Yes, I was hooked. It's one
of the highest highs I've experienced behind the wheel in some time.
And it's essentially guilt-free,
given the electric vehicle equivalent ratings of 84 miles per gallon in the
city and 72 mpg on the highway.
While all of this is terrific, be
advised that the Ioniq 5 is a full-on luxury liner. My tester was priced at $67,685 and loaded up
with plenty of perks to justify that number.
While I was blazing around
Mustangs, Corvettes and other iconic sports cars, I also was enjoying
heated/ventilated seats, highway driving assist, a 12.3-inch digital instrument
cluster, a premium Bose audio system, metal pedals and ambient lighting.
The hands-free power liftgate and
wireless phone charger also came in handy.
My tester looked particularly
aggressive with an all-black interior and an exterior paint job of "Abyss
Black."
But for me, it all comes back to
performance.
Not only have Hyundai engineers
filled up the horsepower tank, they have incorporated useful sports/performance
car technologies to maximize driving enjoyment and precision.
Tech features include drift
control, torque distribution, launch control and sway control.
Simply put, I can't remember when
I've had so much fun driving a sport-utility vehicle. And an electric one to boot.