Motoring

Hyundai IONIQ 5 N named Car of the Year

by: BTM - Tue, 02 Jan 2024

Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 N electric hyper hatch has made a storming start to life by being crowned Car of the Year at the 2023 TopGear.com Awards.

The IONIQ 5 N was revealed earlier this year at July’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it received universal acclaim as a pioneering technological blueprint for the Hyundai N division’s EV future.

The high-performance model combines the Electrified-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) of the standard IONIQ 5 – the 2022 World Car of the Year – with N’s motorsport-bred technologies and expertise. This unswerving focus on delivering maximum excitement behind the wheel persuaded TopGear’s expert team of judges to name the car the best of 2023.

Among the IONIQ 5 N’s array of key technical advances that won over the judges is a powertrain which delivers greater power output and enhanced performance in battery cooling and braking. The IONIQ 5 N’s electric motors spin up to 21,000 RPM, providing up to 609 PS in normal conditions, or 650 PS when the car’s N Grin Boost (NGB) feature is engaged, maximising acceleration for up to 10 seconds; 0-62mph is achievable in 3.4 seconds, while a top speed of 161mph is attainable on tracks.

The IONIQ 5 N’s success marks the second time in three years that a Hyundai N car has taken the Top Gear Car of the Year honour, following the i20 N in 2021.