The automotive industry is at an interesting juncture right now. Fastest Car necessarily Most fun Drive. Automatic transmission It changes much faster than humans, Electric Vehicles Without a transmission The fastest accelerating vehicle on the roadBut what happened to the driver engagement and fun factor? Hyundai electricity Ionic 5N aim Compromise N e-Shift mode switches between absolute speed and driver involvement. In this mode Simulates 8-speed dual clutch Automatic Once activated, the transmission engages and the driver can switch “gears” using steering wheel mounted paddles. Car and Driver While this mode promotes greater driver engagement, it also proved to slow down driving times.
in car and driver test, The Ioniq 5 N accelerated from 0 to 60 mph in just 3 seconds using launch control and drag mode. Drag mode pre-warms the battery and does not simulate shifts. N e-Shift mode does not allow launch control or N Grin Boost, which gives you access to 40 extra horsepower, but allows you to calibrate the battery in drag mode. In this test, instead of trying to pull the paddle to maximize speed while allowing the car to “shift,” I let the car itself shift fake gears. This time, the fastest 0-60 mph run the car could manage was 3.5 seconds, 0.5 seconds slower than the set time without activating N e-Shift mode. It was also 1.1 seconds slower to 100 mph, 0.2 seconds slower from 30 to 50 mph, and 0.6 seconds slower from 50 to 70 mph.
To simulate the intuitive feel of an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic, this EV’s N e-Shift drive mode software creates a torque drop between simulated gear shifts rather than normal operation, unleashing the entire power without a pause. If the driver chooses to “shift” the “gears” using the paddles, the Ioniq 5 N is programmed to emulate an ICE car hitting the redline, resulting in embarrassment if they miss a “shift.” When N e-Shift mode is not activated, the Ioniq 5 N behaves like most EVs, never shifting real or making fake shifts.
Hyundai’s N e-Shift mode is designed to inject driver engagement, real or simulated, into the Ioniq 5 N EV. As fewer and fewer cars offer an analog driving experience that robs you of speed and wastes time like a manual transmission, we have to let go of our obsession with 0-60 times. Just because a car can reach 60 mph faster than the speed of sound doesn’t automatically make it fun to drive. The magic that happens when a driver forms a connection with the car is more of a holistic experience, not one that’s formed in three seconds where your brain is shoved to the back of your skull. Dare I say it, it’s about ambiance. The Ioniq 5 N deserves praise for its dedication to an overall fun driving experience, even if it means going a little slower.
