Hyundai’s first electric N model has already started something of a trend, with a few brands, including Porsche and BMW, now borrowing some of its signature features.
For the 2026 model year, Hyundai is upping the ante. Hyundai announced on Wednesday that the 2026 IONIQ 5 N has a “substantially lower starting price” at just $59,900, or $6,300 less than last year’s model.
“Our 2026 IONIQ 5 N is one of the most critically acclaimed models we’ve ever offered,” according to Ricky Lao, director of product planning at Hyundai Motor North America.
Despite the lower price, the new 2026 model brings a few updates. For one, the 2026 IONIQ 5 N now has a native NACS port, following the standard IONIQ 5, enabling access to Tesla Superchargers without an adapter.
$59,900 is still vastly outside of the pricing most people can afford.
Especially when you have Chinese EVs at half to 1/3 of that price in most countries.
Sure, but this is also basically a top model performance version of the ioniq 5, which starts at 35k. That’s closer to a reasonable number.
But you realize this promo uses words like “affordable” to describe an insane price tag. That’s the point I took from this, even before “[the price on a completely different model not mentioned here is] closer to a reasonable number.”
If you think this is insane, you haven’t shopped for a new car recently.
The average cost of a new car in the US is apparently 51k, so you’re dead on. This “performance verison” is well within the range of a normal upgrade package.
And $6300 price drop is just Hyundai testing the waters, because car prices have NOTHING to do with manufacturing costs.