Best Tech 2025: The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N’s Wild Powertrain Gives Performance EVs a Jolt
State-of-the-art hardware works hand in hand with innovative software to create the most compelling performance EV on the market.
It’s rare that a new car comes along offering a feature that 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 MotorTrend Best Tech win in the powertrain category.
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At first glance, there’s nothing particularly unconventional about the Ioniq 5 N’s powertrain. It uses what’s become atypical setup for all-wheel-drive EVs: permanent-magnet motors positioned at both axles, packaged in a (relatively) lightweight and high-performance 800-volt system, with power supplied by an 84-kWh battery pack. Sure, they’re powerful—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—albeit at a significantly higher price point than the $67,575 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 for discerning enthusiasts.
Accessible via BMW-like “N buttons” on either side of the steering wheel and further customizable through the car’s infotainment suite (though not without some fussiness), drivers will find a wide variety of performance parameters to play with, some of which have internal combustion analogues and others that don’t. Familiar fare includes several drive modes, launch control, and a drift mode that uses the rear electronic limited-slip diff and front motor to help induce tail-out antics. Hyundai has also added what it’s dubbed N Grin Boost (effectively a push-to-pass button), and—much to the delight of Subaru WRX STI and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo fans on staff—N Torque Distribution, which lets the driver dial in the front-to-rear power split from 100/0 to 0/100 in 10 percent increments.
Performance EV enthusiasts will also likely be acquainted with some of the Ioniq 5 N’s other myriad settings, such as various on- and off-track battery conditioning modes, adjustable regenerative brake feel, and software that allows for left-foot braking, along with sprint and endurance settings. But what’s truly new to the space are Hyundai’s innovative N e-Shift, N Pedal, and N Active Sound+ modes.
N Pedal uses familiar steering-wheel-mounted paddles to specifically adjust the front motor’s regenerative braking capability, allowing the driver to transfer more weight to the nose of the car, thereby achieving quicker turn-in.There are three preset levels to tailor the Ioniq 5 N to either the road or racetrack. N e-Shift is even more radical, fundamentally altering the car’s behavior by digitally mimicking the torque delivery of a turbocharged four-cylinder channeled through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. With N e-Shift engaged, the Ioniq 5 N effectively becomes a 641-hp Elantra N, simulating shifts by interrupting power delivery, employing a virtual redline, and even going so far as to bog down on early “upshifts” or deny early “downshifts,” all of which conspire to transform how the car operates. The virtual transmission works hand in hand with Active Sound+ to replicate the experience of driving a gas car in anger, right down to the raucous soundtrack that matches your throttle inputs. (Those who grow tired of listening to the 2.0-liter can also opt for a sci-fi-like symphonic motor sound or the soundtrack from a fighter jet.)
Combined, the Ioniq 5 N’s transformative new hardware and software opened the minds of even the most skeptical EV critics among our staff. “You can’t say a car like this won’t change anyone’s mind, because it’s factually wrong,” executive editor Mac Morrison said. “I know this because it changed my mind. I have zero interest in an electric car as an enthusiast car, but if that’s where we’re headed, I sure as hell will immediately take a car like this over any electric car that is not like this.”
Much of that has to do with the Ioniq 5 N’s thrilling, explosive, addictive powertrain—one that lets drivers further tweak it to suit their driving style instead of conforming to a distant engineering team’s vision of how its car should be driven. The Ioniq 5 N can feel like a hot hatch, a super SUV, or a sport tourer—it all depends on how you set up what at its core is an already great-handling, well-balanced performance machine.
“There are some cars that make you feel like there’s something else there—like they’ll be talked about for years to come,” director of editorial operations Mike Floyd said. “This is one of those cars. What Hyundai has done in a few short years with its N program of performance vehicles is nothing short of astonishing, and as of now, the Ioniq 5 N is the pinnacle of what it's been able to achieve, gas or electric.” It’s also the absolute pinnacle of powertrain technology in the past year, and for that it deservedly earns our 2025 MotorTrend Best Tech powertrain win.
2025 MotorTrend Best Tech Powertrain Finalists
Lucid Air Sapphire: We love the innovative software feats Lucid accomplished in its 1,234-hp sport sedan—especially the way the car uses torque vectoring to virtually “change” its wheelbase, shrinking for corners and lengthening for straights. The rest of the Air Sapphire’s performance software is equally ambitious, but simply put, much of it doesn’t work as well as it should at the $250K asking price.
Lucid Air Pure: Lucid deserves all the credit in the world for building the most efficient and longest-range EV on the market. We’d be more impressed, however, to find those features in a car half as expensive as the Air Pure’s $70,000 starting price.
Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance: We certainly enjoy driving the C63 S E Performance, but liking a car and gracing it with an award are two entirely different things. For us, this performance plug-in hybrid—anchored by a 2.0-liter turbo I-4 and nine-speed auto up front and a permanent-magnet motor with a two-speed auto in back—is a bit of a head-scratcher since it’s barely more efficient than the twin-turbo V-8 it replaces, and cutting the cylinder count in half takes away so much character.
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I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
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