Hyundai IONIQ 5 N v Tesla Model 3 Performance 2024 Comparison

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N is the most money you can spend on a Hyundai that isn’t a truck. It carries a list price of $110,383 plus on-road costs, popping it well into luxury territory.

The 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance sells from $80,900 plus ORCs, giving it a circa-$30K price advantage – or more if you consider the higher stamp duty and dealer delivery applied to the Hyundai.

Crucially, the Model 3 Performance pricing pops it below the luxury car tax threshold, which allows buyers to leverage the fringe benefits tax exemption currently available to electric vehicles.

For salaried employees who take out a novated lease, it means thousands of dollars in savings annually.

Despite its price advantage, the 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance doesn’t come scantily clad – anything but.

Like the 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N, the Tesla gets bigger brakes, adjustable dampers, heated front seats/steering wheel, dual-zone climate-control air-conditioning, ambient interior lighting, alloy pedals and a powered boot/tailgate.

The Model 3 Performance builds on that with heated outboard rear seats, power adjustment for the steering column and front seats, and a panoramic sunroof.

In its updated ‘Highland’ guise, it also picks up adjustable dampers and more significant design changes; there’s now a unique front bumper and lower splitter as well as a different lower diffuser at the rear to add to the carbon-fibre lip spoiler. The 20-inch Warp wheels also stand out.

The IONIQ 5 N fights back in some key areas. It gets Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, for example, as well as a separate digital instrument cluster to match the 12.3-inch central display (the Model 3 only gets the central display, which doubles as the instrument cluster).

There are also real keys – the Tesla has key cards and allows you to pair your phone as the car key.

Whereas the Tesla gets faux leather trim the Hyundai gets the real stuff mixed with Alcantara. And the IONIQ 5 N gets 21-inch alloy wheels versus 20-inch for the Tesla, although it’s another $2000 for a sunroof.

And if it’s visual differentiation you’re chasing, the N gets plenty. It gets a far more aggressive lower front bumper treatment than regular IONIQ 5 EVs, something mimicked with the rear diffuser. There are also ‘Luminous Orange’ highlights liberally applied.

Oh, and it gets a rear windscreen wiper where other IONIQ 5 variants miss out.

Where the Tesla falls short is in warranty coverage. The factory warranty only applies for the first four years or 80,000km, although Australian Consumer Law would likely protect you beyond that, especially with major failures.

The Hyundai gets a superior five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty.

On the flipside, the Tesla’s battery warranty lasts for eight years and 192,000km whereas the Hyundai covers the same period but up to 160,000km.

Tesla recommends a service every two years. There’s no capped-price servicing but parts are usually fairly affordable, so bank on a few hundred dollars per service.

The Hyundai needs servicing every two years or 30,000km and a pre-paid service plan is $1250 for the first couple of services.

Neither the 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N nor the Tesla Model 3 Performance is rated by ANCAP.

In the case of the Tesla it’s because the latest Model 3 hasn’t been retested since undergoing structural changes as part of the late-2023 model update. But given many of those changes were made to improve safety it’s difficult to imagine the car has gone backwards from its previous five-star rating.

With the Hyundai, the core IONIQ 5 gets a five-star ANCAP rating but the N misses out on the centre front airbag, so it’s listed as unrated.

That means each car gets the same airbag coverage: dual front, front side and side curtain airbags.

On the active safety front, the main thing missing from the Tesla’s safety artillery is rear cross traffic alert and rear auto braking, two things the IONIQ 5 gets.

Elsewhere, each gets blind spot warning, lane keep assistance, forward auto braking and speed sign recognition.

If it’s tech you’re chasing, then the 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance delivers.

Its 15.4-inch infotainment screen is the nerve centre of the car and packs in everything from detailed mapping and the instrument cluster to all manner of infotainment controls, not to mention opening the glove box and bonnet.

The dual wireless chargers are the best in the business, not only nicely positioning phones but also doing a good job of charging (many struggle on that fairly basic expectation). The Tesla also has a single USB-C port up front and two in the rear.

Inbuilt arcade games can while away some charging time, and there are some unexpected extras such as Dog Mode and Sentry Mode, the latter a great way to monitor the car remotely.

Adding to the front screen is an 8.0-inch rear infotainment screen, which like the display up front can stream video and allow game playing.

There are also over-the-air (OTA) software updates along with Tesla’s track record of adding features or functionality along the way. And various useless extras that can at least elicit a smile from the young (and young at heart); fart sounds and a light show top the list.

Plus, the Tesla has inbuilt music and video streaming apps, each of which makes for easy in-car entertainment. Along with excellent native navigation it partially makes up for the lack of third-party smartphone connectivity such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Those two features are standard on the 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N, CarPlay available wirelessly.

But there’s only one wireless phone charger and we found it hit-and-miss as to whether it would actually charge a phone consistently. OTA software functionality is included, although Hyundai has little in the way of a track record of adding features.

The IONIQ 5 N’s eight-speaker Bose sound system in isolation is a terrific way to blast the tunes, but it’s outclassed by the punchy 17-speaker in-house-engineered system used by Tesla.

Both the 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N and Tesla Model 3 Performance get two electric motors, in each case the rear bigger and punching out more power.

The Hyundai’s front motor produces 166kW and the rear 282kW. Combined, they make 448kW/740Nm or up to 478kW/770Nm if you press the red Boost button on the steering wheel.

While Tesla usually does without publishing power figures, for the Model 3 Performance its website claims 343kW of combined output.

Just to confuse things, the certification documentation provided to the government suggests the e-motors make 461kW. And… delve deeper into the owner’s manual for the same car in China and it lists the front motor as producing up to 137kW/219Nm and the rear 265kW/459Nm.

Either way, it’s making a fair whack of power!

There’s no claim on the combined torque output, although reports have suggested 740Nm. Again, sufficient…

Efficiency has long been a Tesla strong suit and it shines through with the 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance, in part because of a relatively low kerb weight and efforts with this updated model to improve aerodynamics.

Claimed electricity use is 16.7kWh per 100km and during our drive loop – which included some enthusiast laps on the racetrack – it used 19.7kWh/100km.

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 N was not as frugal, sucking 26.6kWh/100km in the real world, which not only included the racetrack thrash but some lairy drifting too. That’s similarly up on its 21.2kWh/100km official figure.

That plays out in how far you can travel, too.

Despite having a sizeable 84kWh battery pack, the IONIQ 5 N has a claimed WLTP range of 448km, but during our drive we were clocking more like 320km between top-ups.

The Model 3 Performance’s battery pack is smaller, at about 79kWh (US-made cars reportedly have 82kWh batteries, whereas Australian-market cars are built in China). Tesla doesn’t publish battery capacities, instead pointing to the claimed range, which in the M3P’s case is 528km.

During our drive, the realistic range for the Model 3 Performance was more like 400km.

When it comes time to charge, the IONIQ 5 can accept up to 800V of electricity with a maximum power of 230kW, at which point it’ll boost from 10 to 80 per cent – about 313km of claimed range – in about 18 minutes.

The Model 3 Performance can charge at up to 250kW, albeit at only 400V. That 250kW can only be supplied by the latest Tesla superchargers, with the much-hyped 350kW chargers from other networks only capable of supplying 175kW at 400V.

Still, those Tesla Superchargers can add up to 282km of range in 15 minutes.

When AC home charging, the Tesla can take up to 11kW and the Hyundai 10.5kW. With the larger battery in the Hyundai, it means it’ll take an hour or so longer to charge, although each will comfortably complete the task overnight.

The 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance and Hyundai IONIQ 5 N are designed to be driven harder than your average EV.

From the second you slide behind the wheel, it’s clear the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N is focused on the driver.

The steering wheel is a maze of buttons, many of which tailor the driving experience to your tastes. Two N buttons can be customised with driver settings, of which there is a dizzying selection.

As well as the sensitivity of the throttle response you can tweak the steering, dampers, limited-slip differential, stability control and fake engine sounds (or have near-silence).

There’s also a red/orange NGB (N Grin Boost) button that unleashes additional kilowatts, although why that isn’t simply part of the throttle pedal operation is something of a mystery. A cute gimmick perhaps?

Then there are flappy paddles, which ordinarily adjust the regenerative braking between coasting and various levels of regen.

But those paddles can also become shift paddles, providing faux gear ratios and gear shifts. It’s freakily realistic and even adjusts the intensity of the shifts depending on whether you’ve chosen Normal or Sport mode (each independent of the more customisable N modes).

With the equally-as-realistic engine sounds – or the ‘Supersonic’ sound that is like something from NASA’s next project – it makes for an immensely customisable driving experience, and one that gets closest to any petrol-powered car (or you can dive wholeheartedly into the EV driving experience).

It takes time to learn your way around the screen and even longer to figure out what works for you. But the upshot is a car that delivers for the enthusiasts prepared to invest some time in it.

What’s more, the IONIQ 5 N delivers on the road, too, despite the porky 2230kg body that occasionally reminds you of the physics at work.

It doesn’t take long playing around with those settings to realise the IONIQ 5 N has an enormous bandwidth between its most mundane driving mode and something sharper.

In Normal mode it’s refreshingly relaxed and docile, ambling over bumps and nicely controlling the deceptively large body. It’s a shame about the rattling from the tailgate over jagged surfaces, a rare misstep for an otherwise well-sorted machine.

And get the limited-slip rear diff working hard and the motor producing its heartiest shove – along with engaging acoustics for good measure – and you’ve instantly got a performance car that delivers on thrills.

The Hyundai has a playful rear bias that helps point the nose and occasionally gets the tail wagging.

For anyone coming from a punchy rear-drive performance car, it’s a welcome achievement and testament to what properly programmed 1s and 0s can achieve. The IONIQ 5 N even has a drift enhancer that reverts it to rear-wheel drive for some lairy sideways action.

It’s also hugely quick.

We didn’t have the perfect conditions for performance testing, with a slight uphill. But in testing each car in both directions and calculating the average we at least got an apples-versus-apples match-up.

The IONIQ 5 N almost perfectly matched its 3.4-second 0-100km/h claim, with a tested result of 3.42sec. That’s supercar quick – but the Tesla is quicker.

The Model 3 Performance managed 3.34 seconds under identical conditions. That falls short of its 3.1sec claim to 100km/h, however it’s worth remembering that claim includes ‘rollout’, a drag racing term that eliminates the difficulty in getting a car off the line.

So you could naturally expect another tenth of a second or two when including the genuine 0-100km/h time, which is exactly what the Tesla achieved.

Again, the Model 3 Performance is brutally quick, and feels it.

The M3P is never left wanting for thrust and it’s comfortably the quickest car you can buy south of a six-figure price tag.

It’ll also embarrass plenty of far fancier machinery from a standstill, such is its immense all-wheel drive traction.

It’s on-track where things really start to get interesting in the head-to-head battle between the 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N and the Tesla Model 3 Performance.

The Tesla’s ferocious pace means it leaps decisively out of corners. The tight, twisty Pheasant Wood track where we did our testing is ideal for experiencing that thrill out of hairpins.

But the Model 3 Performance’s talents are one-dimensional. Or, at least, our car was.

The much-hyped Track mode that allows you to tweak front/rear drive balance and the amount of regenerative braking had been disabled on our car.

So, yes, we dialled up Insane mode, which gives you the full throttle experience. And, yes, it’s impressive.

But we could not adjust the dynamics from oversteer to understeer and play around with the level of regenerative braking (as with other Teslas, it’s always quite aggressive). So as you wind things up the M3 leans on its nose and descends into predictable but uninspiring understeer.

There’s little playfulness and little in the way of subtlety and finesse. Point, shoot, go fast, repeat.

Adjustable dampers subtly stiffen the chassis to aid with control, but it doesn’t adjust the overall handling balance. And it only takes a couple of laps to get a brake heat warning pop up on the screen.

Even with the Performance’s bigger brakes, there’s enough pace – and 1854kg of hard-charging Tesla – to fairly quickly reach their limits.

That’s less of an issue on the road, where brake temps were kept in check. And the Model 3’s fiery acceleration and planted nature feel more at home, albeit with the super-direct steering ratio that requires a recalibration of driver inputs.

For a performance machine that feels somewhat out of its depth on the track, the Tesla is far more at home mixing it with everyday traffic.

And relatively supple suspension and a quiet cabin adds to its everyday liveability.

The 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance and Hyundai IONIQ 5 N may both have pace at their core but they’re very different cars inside.

The Model 3 is a sedan whereas the IONIQ 5 is a higher-riding SUV (or at the very least, a crossover). And don’t be deceived by the hatch-like silhouette of the Hyundai. Inside, there’s a cavernous cabin.

That’s particularly noticeable in the rear, where adults have loads of space, albeit light-on for trinkets. Its more upright SUV stance makes getting in and out easy and there’s loads of knee-room.

Headroom, too, is very generous and makes for a welcoming space. Retractable side blinds add privacy, while pillar-mounted vents feed fresh air to occupants and the high-ish seating position makes for a good view.

Under-seat foot space is tight but all but the biggest hoofs will be able to glide under a lowered front seat.

Getting into the back seat of the Tesla Model 3 Performance requires a stoop for taller people, although once there the glass roof makes for an airy experience. It’s less endearing on hot days, although you can buy clip-on covers for shade.

By mid-size sedan standards there’s decent knee-room, although it falls well shy of the Hyundai in overall accommodation.

Up front, each car cossets nicely, the Hyundai with a more commanding view due to its seating position. The IONIQ 5 N has more of a traditional performance car flavour, too.

The front seats do a better job of hugging your kidneys, with heavy bolstering partly making up for the fact you’re adjusting them manually. It’s also a plus having a proper instrument cluster.

Extra buttons and dials on the steering wheel make it easy to dial up customised drive modes and teases a race car aesthetic.

The latest update to the Tesla Model 3 Performance addresses some of the criticisms around finishes in the cabin.

Suede-like door trim makes for a more upmarket appearance and the Performance gets a strip of carbon-fibre across the dash.

Combined with bucket front seats with integrated head restraints, plus alloy pedals, it adds some subtle upgrades to the base cars. But minimalism still dominates and the Model 3 is an acquired taste.

That said, among the minimalism is genuine practicality.

A pair of cup holders and a deep covered console is joined by a second binnacle, which between them take care of all manner of odds and ends.

But there are hiccups, the most obvious one being the indicator buttons on the steering wheel. Having both on one side makes it confusing and inferior to the stalks that are no longer there.

The virtual slider on the side of the screen to select Drive or Reverse is a lot easier to get used to and the steering wheel buttons and thumb wheels take care of most other functions nicely.

The Tesla’s tech focus flows through to the rear where that 8.0-inch screen provides access to all the infotainment systems, including music and video streaming. It’s a great way to keep the kids happy, especially when paired with wireless headphones.

And, yes, that functionality can be disabled up front if you don’t want them slipping into a YouTube trance.

The screen also allows rear seat adjustment of the ventilation system, although you can only adjust the air flow and fan speed, not temperature.

Pop the boot and the Tesla surprises continue. That small sedan opening reveals a long and surprisingly spacious boot, especially once you factor in the under-floor compartment that easily accommodates a carry-on suitcase. There’s also a 60/40-split folding rear seat to swallow longer items.

All up there’s 594 litres to play with, along with a handy 88-litre space under the bonnet. Combined boot and bonnet space totals 682L.

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 N’s boot is smaller at 560 litres, but the broad mouth of the hatch rear-end makes it easier to load things in. Combined with a 60/40-split rear seat, it makes for a practical device, especially if surfboards and bikes are in your mobile future.

The 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance and Hyundai IONIQ 5 N are each potent performance machines able to take the fight to ICE alternatives.

Yes, they’re two very different cars, but they’re trying to do broadly the same thing: put a smile on your dial with minimal compromise to the practicality that makes their more mundane derivatives appealing.

If you want to win the traffic light grand prix in a car that also delivers on tech and everyday liveability, the Tesla Model 3 Performance is difficult to overlook. It delivers brilliant bang for buck and piles in loads of Tesla tech for good measure.

Quite simply, it represents exceptional value with supercar-like acceleration for less than $90K.

But that Tesla ‘one-trick-pony’ criticism creeps back in with the new and improved Model 3 Performance.

It’s competent and brutally efficient and scythes between corners clinically. But it lacks the tactility and finesse that separates fast cars from ones that act like a four-wheeled glove moulding around your senses.

That’s where the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N fights back – hard.

Whereas the Tesla comes across as ballistic additions to the base Model 3 package, the Hyundai feels like a major re-engineering effort that happens to leverage the terrific IONIQ 5 fundamentals.

It all but matches the Tesla for straight-line pace but smashes it for cornering prowess and adjustability. It’s a fast car that also delivers on driving thrills.

And if a racetrack thrash is in your weekend plans, the more potent brakes add to its talent.

Ultimately, the Hyundai is the better performance car, albeit one that comes with a price tag to match.

Importantly, the IONIQ 5 N is also an indication of what’s possible when the thrust of electric motors blends with serious track-honed hardware and innovatively clever software.

With thanks to Pheasant Wood Circuit in Marulan for their assistance in putting together this comparison test.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N at a glance:
Price: $110,383 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Two permanent magnet motors
Output: 478kW/770Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 84kWh nickel manganese cobalt lithium-ion
Range: 448km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 21.2kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested

2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance at a glance:
Price: $80,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Asynchronous/induction motor (front) and permanent magnet motor (rear)
Output: 343kW/740Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 82kWh nickel manganese cobalt lithium-ion
Range: 528km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 16.7kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested