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Thinking of buying an EV? You might want to move quickly
- Welcome to Car and Driver. This is the Hyundai Ioniq 5N, and it's our EV of the year award winner for 2024. (upbeat music) Each year we gather the newest all electric vehicles on the market, ranging from entry level commuters to trucks and SUVs. We test the performance and range of each vehicle and drive them back to back on the same roads. We evaluate usability, driving enjoyment, value, and so on within the context of each vehicle segment. Ultimately, we seek four criteria, value, fund to drive, advancement of technology and mission fulfillment, and the Hyundai Ioniq 5N was our overwhelming favorite. Now, this probably shouldn't be too surprising because two years ago we gave the award to the regular Ioniq 5 crediting its usefulness, quickness, design, and efficiency. Last year, the award went to the Ioniq 6, which shares a platform with the 5. Now we have this N versions, which builds upon the formula that made the regular five such success in our books, but adds to it a lot of power and better handling. That sounds like a recipe for success to us. (upbeat music) Don't think of this as yet another quick EV. Think of it as a hot hatch that happens to be electric and yeah, it's confusing if Hyundai calls it an SUV, but it's just a little easier to digest it that way. Put all that aside though, and think about the personalities that you get. You want a quiet commuter, you got that. How about a 641 horsepower rocket that can out accelerate a Corvette to the quarter mile? That too. How about an EV that can drift? Yep. (tires screeching) We recorded 60 mile an hour acceleration in three seconds and the quarter mile in 11.1 seconds at 123 miles an hour. Getting that performance requires using the car's drag mode, which needs time to prewarm the battery as much as 20 minutes in our testing in cooler weather. (upbeat music) (laughs) Yeah, in the regular drive mode, you're left with a measly 601 horsepower, like, oh darn, right? But let's zoom out a little bit because you kind of expect that from an enthusiast EV. In fact, broadly the biggest criticism you can put against this kind of EV is that, yeah, it's quick, but generally these all kind of feel the same. So you have to appreciate how much work Hyundai put into giving the N distinct personalities. The sheer volume of settings is actually a bit overwhelming. There's like 11 different options for a front to rear torque distribution, for example, from front wheel drive to rear wheel drive, and it doesn't help that many of the names are filtered through this like tangled web of marketing speak, so it isn't immediately obvious what a lot of these options do. Like what's N pedal? What's this red NGB button? I don't know, better read the manual. But take the time to learn these settings and adjust 'em to your preferences and you'll find that there's probably something for everybody. In fact, you can set two custom settings to your ideal driving preferences and use these two buttons here at the bottom of the steering wheel, like radio presets to change them. Depending on the mode, that means you can have a mode for a commuting, a mode for back roads, and a mode for a race track. Now, some people may not want to be engineer. They might prefer Hyundai's end division to have a personality or a preference for what the personality of its enthusiast cars should be, that's entirely valid criticism. Others, I'm sure will enjoy having the ability to tailor the car's preference for a variety of circumstances. Now, either way, no matter how you drive it, enjoyable handling and steering is kind of core to how this car's made. You're gonna enjoy driving it on the commute. You're gonna enjoy driving on the back road. That's all nice and good. It feels fun through corners. On our skid pad, it generated 0.96 G and our testing director called it one of the most power over steer cars that he's driven in that test, and that's with the front rear torque distribution set at 50:50. On that front, this car does have a drift mode. Let's see how it works. (upbeat music) But many cars have drift modes these days. As of the time of this recording though, the 5N is the only EV that simulates having a quick shifting automatic transmission. Working with configurable fake engine sounds, Hyundai's actually effectively and convincingly recreated the experience of driving a actual transmission with paddle shifters all the way to and including lugging the engine in top gear and bouncing off the limiter. Listen to this. (car honking) Yeah, that might sound gimmicky and silly to some. You also might wonder why Hyundai didn't choose a better sounding exhaust note. But the truth be told, one of the challenges with driving a powerful EV on a racetrack or some mountain roads is that you don't really have reference points to tell you how fast you're approaching a corner. And engine sounds gears. Even fake ones help tell you where you're at with regard to speed. They give you that extra sensory feedback that can help frankly, even if it is a little silly and plenty on our staff thought it was still, it might be slower, it might not sound as good as it could, but I'll be darned if it doesn't actually help place my speed on these corners and it's pretty enjoyable here. I gotta admit, and here's the thing, if you don't like it, you can just ignore it and it's not gonna make the experience of driving this thing any worse. (engine roaring) It's pretty convincing. So fun to drive, check. But what about range and charging? For the former, we run a real world 75 mile an hour highway range test to give you a figure that you can take in conjunction with EPA range figures. Hyundai's claim speaking of is 221 miles for the N and in our test it achieved 190 miles. That isn't too far off the last Ioniq 5 all-wheel drive we tested at 210 miles. But note that the N has a 9% larger battery and it also rides on stickier Pirelli P Zero summer tires. Although EV rated ones with additional sound ending. As for charging, we record a 10 to 90% fill using the fastest charger available. The N like the regular Ioniq 5 uses an 800 volt electric architecture that allows it to take full advantage of 350 kilowatt DC fast chargers. On one of those chargers that was working properly, we recorded that test in 35 minutes. (upbeat music) The Hyundai Ioniq 5N is tremendously fun to drive offering distinct personalities that owners, if they choose, can adjust to their preferences. It's quicker than most of its competitive set, if not all the vehicles in its competitive set and it retains an interior that's spacious and functional while also being adept at the race track and serving the needs of the daily commute. All that for less than $70,000. In some, this unquestionably fulfills our EV of the year criteria while also showing what the future of fun to drive EVs might look like. (upbeat music)
Thinking of buying an EV? You might want to move quickly
The best time to buy an electric vehicle may be right now. That's because a $7,500 federal tax credit could soon disappear.President-elect Donald Trump has said he will move to eliminate the tax credit, possibly as soon as he takes office. It is even conceivable that the tax credit's elimination could be made retroactive to the beginning of January, which would give EV buyers only a week left to be certain of locking in the credit."I would be very inclined to say yes, it's going away," said Ivan Drury, director of insights at car buying site Edmunds. While it's unclear exactly how Trump would eliminate the credit, Drury said he expects it won't last long into the new administration. It could be done as part of tax legislation that Republicans are promising early in 2025. Or a Trump-controlled Internal Revenue Service could simply issue a new rule making the credit unavailable."The simplest route that's possible, is the one that they're likely to take," Drury said.But the tax credit is only part of the reason that it could make sense for potential EV buyers to act sooner than later. The combination of the federal tax incentive, and weakening sales could make this an ideal time to buy an EV.The slowing demand by American buyers, and more choices of EV models, led to record inventories of electric vehicles on dealer lots earlier this year, and that glut remains in place. Drury said that 64% of EVs sitting at dealerships are last year's models, nearly twice the percentage of traditional internal combustion vehicles. Automakers traditionally release the next year's models in the fall rather than waiting for the new year.The glut of EVs and increased competition has led legacy automakers to offer attractive financing terms to try to move the older EV models. Data from Edmunds shows that the average lease payment on non-Tesla EVs is down 40% from the start of 2023, far more the drop in transaction price alone. The difference is that the average interest rate on the lease has been cut by more than half."If you buy an EV now, you're not only sure of getting the EV tax credit that might not be there for much longer, you got incentives from automakers that can't move them," said Drury. "You're doubling down. It won't get any better."Industry caught in the lurchThe loss of the tax credit, and the inevitable weaker demand that would follow, could lead legacy automakers to pull back on their EV production more than they already have, Drury said. So the incentives now being offered could vanish as well.The auto industry will likely fight to preserve the tax credit. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry trade group that includes most automakers – but not Tesla – wrote a letter to Congress in October, ahead of the election, urging that the tax credit remain in place.The letter says U.S. manufacturers rely on the credit to compete with Chinese EV production and advancements. Global automakers have invested billions of dollars in the transition from gasoline-powered cars to electric vehicles, and a forced pullback could lead to huge losses.But the group and individual automakers declined to comment on their plans, or their views on what happens if the tax credit goes away, when contacted recently by CNN.And Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who donated hundreds of millions of dollars to help Trump get elected and who has been spending extensive time with the President-elect, has encouraged Trump to end the credit. Musk has said it would "only help Tesla."The disappearance of the tax credit would probably hurt legacy automakers planning to roll out more EVs in the coming years, such as General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, or other small EV upstarts like Rivian, none of which have profited off of EV sales yet, due in large part to vast startup costs. If demand for EVs falls along with the disappearance of the tax credit, those automakers could be forced to pull back on their EV production to trim their losses, reducing competition for Tesla among EV car shoppers.Even with the slowing EV demand, many experts still forecast that total U.S. sales of EVs could continue to edge higher, just at a much slower pace than in the past."We still have upwards of 20 EV models coming into the market in 2025," said Chris Hopson, principal automotive analyst for S&P Global. He said those increased offerings will bring in new buyers, and more electric cars will be sold as a result.He said that if the tax credit disappears early in the year, it could cause S&P to pull back on its EV forecast somewhat, but he would still expect a modest gain. But how the automakers react to the lack of tax credit could determine how much sales fall. They could cut prices more than they have in recent years."Automakers can play with pricing to adjust for lack of credits," Hopson said.And some states may step up with their own tax credits to make up for the loss of federal tax credits. That's something California is looking to do.During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump frequently criticized EVs, though he qualified that criticism once Musk became one of his more prominent and financially important supporters. Still, Trump promised to get rid of an electric vehicle target from the Environmental Protect Agency of a minimum of 35% of new cars sold by 2032, which he refers to as an "EV mandate."
The best time to buy an electric vehicle may be right now. That's because a $7,500 federal tax credit could soon disappear.
President-elect Donald Trump has said he will move to eliminate the tax credit, possibly as soon as he takes office. It is even conceivable that the tax credit's elimination could be made retroactive to the beginning of January, which would give EV buyers only a week left to be certain of locking in the credit.
"I would be very inclined to say yes, it's going away," said Ivan Drury, director of insights at car buying site Edmunds. While it's unclear exactly how Trump would eliminate the credit, Drury said he expects it won't last long into the new administration. It could be done as part of tax legislation that Republicans are promising early in 2025. Or a Trump-controlled Internal Revenue Service could simply issue a new rule making the credit unavailable.
"The simplest route that's possible, is the one that they're likely to take," Drury said.
But the tax credit is only part of the reason that it could make sense for potential EV buyers to act sooner than later. The combination of the federal tax incentive, and weakening sales could make this an ideal time to buy an EV.
The slowing demand by American buyers, and more choices of EV models, led to record inventories of electric vehicles on dealer lots earlier this year, and that glut remains in place. Drury said that 64% of EVs sitting at dealerships are last year's models, nearly twice the percentage of traditional internal combustion vehicles. Automakers traditionally release the next year's models in the fall rather than waiting for the new year.
The glut of EVs and increased competition has led legacy automakers to offer attractive financing terms to try to move the older EV models. Data from Edmunds shows that the average lease payment on non-Tesla EVs is down 40% from the start of 2023, far more the drop in transaction price alone. The difference is that the average interest rate on the lease has been cut by more than half.
"If you buy an EV now, you're not only sure of getting the EV tax credit that might not be there for much longer, you got incentives from automakers that can't move them," said Drury. "You're doubling down. It won't get any better."
Industry caught in the lurch
The loss of the tax credit, and the inevitable weaker demand that would follow, could lead legacy automakers to pull back on their EV production more than they already have, Drury said. So the incentives now being offered could vanish as well.
The auto industry will likely fight to preserve the tax credit. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry trade group that includes most automakers – but not Tesla – wrote a letter to Congress in October, ahead of the election, urging that the tax credit remain in place.
The letter says U.S. manufacturers rely on the credit to compete with Chinese EV production and advancements. Global automakers have invested billions of dollars in the transition from gasoline-powered cars to electric vehicles, and a forced pullback could lead to huge losses.
But the group and individual automakers declined to comment on their plans, or their views on what happens if the tax credit goes away, when contacted recently by CNN.
And Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who donated hundreds of millions of dollars to help Trump get elected and who has been spending extensive time with the President-elect, has encouraged Trump to end the credit. Musk has said it would "only help Tesla."
The disappearance of the tax credit would probably hurt legacy automakers planning to roll out more EVs in the coming years, such as General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, or other small EV upstarts like Rivian, none of which have profited off of EV sales yet, due in large part to vast startup costs. If demand for EVs falls along with the disappearance of the tax credit, those automakers could be forced to pull back on their EV production to trim their losses, reducing competition for Tesla among EV car shoppers.
Even with the slowing EV demand, many experts still forecast that total U.S. sales of EVs could continue to edge higher, just at a much slower pace than in the past.
"We still have upwards of 20 EV models coming into the market in 2025," said Chris Hopson, principal automotive analyst for S&P Global. He said those increased offerings will bring in new buyers, and more electric cars will be sold as a result.
He said that if the tax credit disappears early in the year, it could cause S&P to pull back on its EV forecast somewhat, but he would still expect a modest gain. But how the automakers react to the lack of tax credit could determine how much sales fall. They could cut prices more than they have in recent years.
"Automakers can play with pricing to adjust for lack of credits," Hopson said.
And some states may step up with their own tax credits to make up for the loss of federal tax credits. That's something California is looking to do.
During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump frequently criticized EVs, though he qualified that criticism once Musk became one of his more prominent and financially important supporters. Still, Trump promised to get rid of an electric vehicle target from the Environmental Protect Agency of a minimum of 35% of new cars sold by 2032, which he refers to as an "EV mandate."
English (US)