Hyundai N – All About Driving Experience, NOT Outright Power

"We're not interested in the horsepower war, but focus on delivering a thrilling driving experience," said Joonwoo Park, Vice President Hyundai N Brand Management Group.

Joonwoo's precise statements to InsideEv pretty well summed up the entire direction and attitude of Hyundai's N division, which is primarily focused on giving customers a "presion tool" that delivers fun driving experience rather than a "ticking time bomb."

He continued by saying that operating a car with 1,000 horsepower is not just thrilling but also a unique visceral experience, likening it to a controlled explosion that, if not handled carefully, may land you in jail or worse. In other words, useless for daily use.

Hyundai prioritises having fun behind the wheel, which stands in stark contrast to the industry's fixation with simply boasting about high output statistics.

Joonwoo went on to recount his personal experience driving high-performance electric vehicles (EVs), such as the Porsche Taycan Turbo S and Tesla Model S Plaid, which offered thrilling acceleration but terrifying when faced with unexpected stops or curvy roads.

However, the Ioniq 5 N on the other hand would provide an all-around experience thanks to its easily available 601 HP for extended use and a boost mode that allows it to reach 641 HP for short bursts of power. To be honest, most drivers would even find 601 horsepower to be quite excessive.

Till Wartenberg, Vice President of N Brand & Motorsport at Hyundai, continued, "We want to achieve a balance between performance and accessibility." This was made clear at a recent journalist driving session at Laguna Seca Raceway, when the Ioniq 5 N's capabilities challenged even seasoned drivers.

Hyundai wants to create a fun driving experience that is affordable for everyone, not just for high-performance EVs. However, present economics (or lack of scale in it) would still not completely support this idea because EV costs are still high due to their low production volume and slow adoption rate.

That is still top on Hyundai's N brand target though…