Hyundai Ioniq 5 N v Kia EV6 GT: How the South Korean electric SUVs will compare to each other

Hyundai and Kia are on a collision course in 2023.

The two South Korean brands are set to go head-to-head with all-electric performance SUVs in the form of the upcoming Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and the Kia EV6 GT. Both models share the same ‘e-GMP’ platform and a newly-developed dual-motor powertrain that makes 430kW and 740Nm.

But despite the on-paper similarities, the man behind both cars, former Hyundai and Kia R&D boss Albert Biermann, has revealed the key differences that will separate the pair. Mr Biermann, who is now in semi-retirement but remains a technical advisor to the Hyundai Motor Group, was in Australia last week for the N Festival at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia along with Till Wartenberg, vice president N Brand management and motorsport.

The pair explained while much of the mechanical package is shared between the two models, there are some key differences. Most notably is the concept behind the pair, with the Hyundai intended to be capable of racetrack hot laps with owners, whereas the Kia is designed to be a grand tourer.

“We’ve positioned the vehicles differently, it’s two different brands,” Mr Wartenberg said. “For N we follow the three-pillars of N Performance - the corner rascal, racetrack capability and everyday sports car. So whatever we have as features and driving conditions and handling environment of the car, follows those concepts. For example, the everyday sports car is the element of emotion which is where the virtual shift comes in and the N sound-plus.

“What Kia is doing is more GT-oriented. They go fast, but they’re not specifically for the racetrack. So whenever it comes to cornering… their features are less developed than ours.”

Mr Biermann added, while the Kia has been tested on a track during its development, lap times and on-track performance were never a key benchmark.

“When we developed the Kia [EV6] GT of course there was racetrack testing but it was never supposed to be a racetrack-capable car,” Mr Biermann said. “It’s different from an N car. An N car has to be on the track and it has to survive on the track for a certain amount of time.”

There are some crucial technical differences between the two cars too, most significantly the battery. While the electric motors are the same the Hyundai will use the next evolution of the battery technology and will have a different inverter that has been developed to help its on-track stamina.

The Ioniq 5 N will also get some freshly-developed technology previewed on the RN22e concept car that was revealed earlier this year and made its Australian debut at the N Festival. 

“Everything new technology wise that we’re testing on this car [RN22e], or at least most of it, will go into production,” Mr Wartenberg explained. “For RN22e we have the first version of N e-shift, the virtual gear shift, and the N e-sound, the virtual sound; it has internal and external speakers. We’re trying out the best way of having our fun-to-drive philosophy on N on the production model of the Ioniq 5 N, which goes into production next year.”

The so-called ‘N e-shift’ is a virtual gearbox that has been designed to simulate gear changes, complete with a faux rev limit and the ability to stunt your speed until you change up. While the ‘N sound plus’ is a virtual soundtrack that pumps sound through speakers inside and outside the car as the speed rises and falls. Both systems have been developed to retain that ‘fun-to-drive’ spirit of the N Performance cars (although both can also be switched on and off), and both will be available on the Ioniq 5 N.

“We want to deliver some sort of jolts and downshifts,” Mr Biermann said. “Sound-wise it’s very challenging to make the popping noise when you’re downshifting, but we’re still working on this a lot to bring the experience close to the N-DCT experience in an N combustion car.”

He added: “It’s for the guys that are looking for the involved driving, the fully immersive [experience].”

The N sound plus will feature three sounds and Mr Wartenberg said the company is working to introduce a fourth sound which would be crowd-sourced from Hyundai owners and fans, and would be downloadable to the car and likely change each month.