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.
Hyundai has been a world class brand for years now, nothing like their mid 2000s self. Ioniq 5 got world car of the year several years in a row. Hyundai and Kia have topped the list for several years.
https://www.worldcarawards.com/files/WCA_History_Year.pdf?p=45726
Car awards are fake bullshit. Kia and Hyundai have had major engine issues for years with shavings in motors, flagged by Consumer Reports. Up to 2019 for recalls, then 2020s have the same problem.
https://safetyresearch.net/hyundai-kias-billion-dollar-engine-problem-that-broke-the-nhtsa-civil-penalty-barrier/
Ioniq 5 has had a chronic ICCU problem.
(Not OP)
Hyundai/Kia certainly have some selling points, and I would seriously consider the Ioniq for my next car. But we shouldn’t pretend that they’re beyond reproach. The whole theft problem came from years of them cutting corners. Their response to it showed a level of corporate incompetence that borders on malice. And the cherry on top, the ICCU response mirrors the previous incompetence. From what I’ve seen, the infotainment software is buggy and unintuitive.
They still offer a good value for the money, but you may pay for that with time/frustration. Like everything else, we should evaluate it honestly.
The fact that they devalue over 50% in 3 years says a lot.
Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty to complain about with my Ioniq 5. But being a bad car isn’t one of them. I haven’t had the ICCU issue, but I do have a letter from them telling me as soon as I do get it to just take the letter with the car in to get it all replaced. I don’t really know what else you expect them to do. A full recall wouldn’t have solved anything because as far as I’m aware they still aren’t entirely sure what causes it.
My wife has a kia that she had the theft immobilizer installed on. They also told her to go in and get it for free. I understand that wasn’t most people’s experience, and their public excuses were bad too but /shrug.
The problem with both of those examples is that’s where it landed eventually. You’re ignoring all of the time that Kia ignored/denied the issue, then the half-assed answers done with only a quarter-ass (The Club, distributed through an unpredictable patchwork of local PDs), and only after several years finally fixed it. Or at least that’s what they claim.
BTW, I don’t think they installed physical immobilizers, at least not on all models. It was some sort of software update, but I don’t have the details on how it could even work. But at least it came with The Club direct from Kia/the dealer.