The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N's Wild Powertrain Gives Performance EVs a Jolt

STATE-OF-THE-ART HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE FOR THE MOST COMPELLING PERFORMANCE EV ON THE MARKET.

- Christian Seabaugh

It's rare when a new car comes along that offers a feature we universally point to as the future. A game-changer, a technology that alters how we think about (and drive) cars. A tech we expect all automakers to eventually copy. The high-performance 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N's unique dual-motor technology is one of those advancements, earning it a well-deserved inaugural Motor Trend Best Tech win in the powertrain category.

At first glance, there's nothing particularly unconventional about the Ioniq 5 N's powertrain. It uses a typical setup for all-wheel-drive EVs: permanent-magnet motors at both axles, packaged in a relatively lightweight, high-performance 800-volt system, with power supplied by an 84-kWh battery pack. The front motor produces 273 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque, while the rear makes 406 hp and 295 lb-ft, good for 641 hp and 568 lb-ft all in. A 21,000-rpm “redline” and dual-stage inverters for increased power output and energy efficiency are also paths already set forth by other high-performance EVs such as Tesla’s Plaid series and the Lucid Air Sapphire, respectively—but those come at a significantly higher price point than the $67,675 Hyundai.

But where the Ioniq 5 N's powertrain separated itself to earn the 2025 MotorTrend Best Tech win was in how Hyundai tuned its hardware with innovative new software, unleashing loads of customizable parameters.