Cheaper electric Hyundai Ns on the way

Hyundai is mulling whether to launch cheaper electric performance cars with 400-volt architectures, potentially opening the door for the new IONIQ 3 to serve as the basis for what would be a milestone model.

Senior Hyundai executives have suggested the brand has lifted a previous restriction that limited its N division to high-end, 800-volt architectures like you’ll fund under the lauded IONIQ 5 N and imminently arriving IONIQ 6 N.

With Hyundai’s relatively affordable petrol-powered N cars having carved out a valuable following, the brand is gearing up to tackle how to replace hot hatches like the i20 N and i30 N with electric alternatives.

Its hand has been forced in markets like Australia and Europe where emissions laws financially penalise carmakers for selling too many pure-combustion vehicles and in turn, are making petrol N cars more expensive for buyers, and if demand drops, some models could become commercially unviable.

While there’s no current plan to abandon petrol-powered Ns, Hyundai is assessing whether it should launch an IONIQ 3 N that’d be almost guaranteed to carry a sub-$75,000 price tag.

A cheaper 400-volt platform would probably be required to achieve this, meaning less power, slower charging and inferior heat management compared the $115,000, 478kW/770Nm IONIQ 5 N.

Vaunted ex-N boss Albert Biermann was strongly opposed to the idea of a 400V electric N car, mainly due to a fear the cooling system would be insufficient for track use.

However, senior executives have signalled the brand’s adopted a more flexible approach to how future N cars are engineered, and 400V EVs could be on the menu.

Speaking with carsales at the IONIQ 3 premiere, made clear the brand is no longer tying itself to the IONIQ 5 N formula.

“We are looking into different ways to expand the N line-up,” Hyundai Europe product vice president Raf van Nuffel said, adding the brand is also not restricting itself to purely electric performance models in the longer term.

Crucially, van Nuffel added that massive power figures are less important in “more compact N” models with “less weight”.

“N was always about cornering and fun to drive. When we launched the i30 N, it was not about the sheer 0-100km/h number and so on. It’s about having fun while driving,” he said.

That thinking aligns with the front-wheel drive IONIQ 3’s relatively lightweight 1550kg mass; 680kg lighter than the dual-motor IONIQ 5 N.

Rather than chasing headline outputs, an IONIQ 3 N could return the focus to balance, steering feel and adjustability – the philosophy that underpinned the original i30 N.

Hyundai is watching how rivals are approaching the emerging electric hot hatch space.

Kia’s upcoming EV3 GT, which combines a 145kW front motor and 70kW rear motor for a combined 215kW/468Nm, might provide clues about a future IONIQ 3 N seeing as the EV3 and IONIQ 3 share architectures.

Alternatively, Hyundai could opt out of a rear motor in favour of dialling up a circa-200kW front motor to echo the i30 N’s character.

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