Hyundai RN22e 2022 Review

It’s almost impossible to calculate the net worth of experimental vehicles like the 2022 Hyundai RN22e when you factor in all the custom components and countless man hours spent designing, developing, installing and finetuning the myriad prototype parts, let alone how the vehicle drives.

Millions of dollars would perhaps cover the financial side of things, but the RN22e will keep evolving as its innovations are advanced; it’s a so-called ‘rolling lab’ as opposed to a model-specific pre-production prototype, which in a lot of ways makes it almost priceless.

Ultimately, the car previews the hardware, capabilities and character of the upcoming 2023 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N and the 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 N, both of which are expected to retail for more than $100,000 when they come to market.

It also has close connections to the 2023 Kia EV6 GT, which is already available in Australia priced from $99,950 plus on-road costs.

Let’s get one thing clear right from the off, the 2022 Hyundai RN22e is not some advanced pre-production vehicle decked-out with creature comforts and toys; it’s a mechanical test bed and not much more.

Yes, there is a pair of 10.25-inch screens – digital instrument cluster and infotainment – but the displays have been altered to better suit the engineers’ need for data collection and monitoring.

The seats are single-piece racing buckets mounted to old-school rails, providing manual adjustment fore and aft, while the steering wheel is a tri-spoke racing unit devoid of an airbag or any of the usual cruise control, infotainment or display controls.

A pair of harnesses clamps the front occupants in place and stops the driver at least from reaching the (retained) primary climate controls on the dash.

Given it uses the same E-GMP platform and battery housing as the standard Hyundai IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 production cars (as well as other models from Genesis and Kia), it’s fair to assume the 2022 Hyundai RN22e would perform well in a crash.

That’s been shown in maximum five-star ratings handed down by ANCAP and affiliate crash safety authorities to the IONIQ 5, Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60, for example.

As mentioned, the occupants are held in place by a set FIA-spec harnesses, and the passenger cell has been reinforced with a full roll cage.

It’s an engineering development mule rather than a road-going model, so for now at least, the RN22e goes without the extensive driver assist safety systems that would be integrated into a production car.

Most of the key tech innovations for the 2022 Hyundai RN22e revolve around performance and driver engagement.

The headline acts are the N Sound+ synthetic engine noise system, N e-shift virtual gearshift, e-TVTC twin-clutch rear differential, track-rated battery cooling system and N Drift mode, all of which we’ll detail in the following sections.

Lurking underneath the body derived from the forthcoming Hyundai IONIQ 6 is a high-performance dual-motor battery-electric drivetrain in the 2022 Hyundai RN22e.

It generates a combined 430kW of power and 740Nm of torque – some 191kW/135Nm more than the current Hyundai IONIQ 5 AWD.

It’s enough to launch the winged blue beauty from 0-100km/h in less than four seconds, but a concrete figure is conspicuous only by its absence.

Kia claims the EV6 GT, which uses the same platform and powertrain, will stop the clock in 3.5sec.

The Hyundai RN22e’s extra firepower over the IONIQ 5 comes from a bespoke new rear motor that develops 270kW all on its own as well as an angrier software set-up that elevates both motors’ rev limit from 15,000rpm to 20,000rpm.

This in turn allows the RN22e to encroach on 260km/h without the need for a Porsche Taycan-style two-speed transmission.

The motors draw current from the same 77.4kWh battery as seen on the standard IONIQ 5, albeit with a more advanced pre-conditioning system and individual cell cooling.

This is another detail shrouded in mystery and ultimately not at the top of N engineering team’sr priority list for the 2022 Hyundai RN22e.

One of the key benefits of the E-GMP architecture is its 800V charging capabilities, which according to Hyundai correlates to a maximum DC charging power of 350kW, depending on the vehicle.

Given the similarities between the powertrains, we’ll again look to the Kia EV6 GT as a guide in terms of driving range.

Kia says its flagship EV will cover up to 420km on a single charge, but its bigger SUV stature would undoubtedly have an impact compared to something slipperier like an IONIQ 6, which has a drag coefficient of 0.21Cd.

The RN22e’s huge fixed rear wing, wide body and other track-focused aero features add grip at the expense of drag, so we’d expect the rolling lab’s driving range to be reasonably close to, if not slightly better than the EV6 GT’s given the missing creature comforts.

It’s clear from the moment you pull away in the 2022 Hyundai RN22e that it’s a very different beast compared to other Hyundai Motor Group E-GMP electric cars.

Even just looking at it you can tell it means business, and that impression is emphasised further when you switch it on and the N Sound+ system comes to life, sounding like something out of a Terminator movie and changing note depending on throttle position.

You can literally sit and rev it…

The imposing sound design is paired with a subtle vibration deliberately sent through the seat to make it feel as if there’s an engine running somewhere, and while you know it’s all fake, it’s hard not to buy into the atmosphere and extra sense of occasion.

Synthetic but not tacky, the N Sound+ audio is transmitted by a pair of exterior speakers as well as those within the car, meaning the RN22e sounds as nasty from the outside as it looks.

That sense of attitude translates to the driving experience too, because the RN22e is seriously fast, hugely capable and definitely not afraid to punish ham-fisted driving styles.

Fling it into a corner and it won’t hesitate to kick sideways as the rear tyres lose the battle between grip and gravity before snapping back into line if you’re not delicate enough on the throttle to bring it back calmly; there’s a lot of grip and a lot of weight at odds here.

But while it doesn’t always appreciate being hurled around like some lightweight sports car, the RN22e is also not as much of monster as you might think.

Whereas a lot of EVs can make you feel detached from the largely digital driving experience, especially when pushing, the RN22e feels refreshingly analogue and involving.

Unlike other Hyundai steering systems which can feel unnecessarily and artificially heavy, the RN22e’s electronically-assisted rack feels very natural both in terms of weight and speed, with the front axle providing genuine feedback as to what the front wheels are doing.

This sense of connection is emphasised further by the 33:67 rear-bias of the dual-motor powertrain because the front wheels aren’t struggling to deal with too much responsibility between the steering, braking and power.

Instead, the front axle pulls the nose of the car in towards the apex of a corner while the rear pushes hilariously hard from behind, skipping and bucking in the faster turns as the e-TVTC rear diff does its thing and tries to distribute power as evenly and effectively as it can.

Plough into a turn too fast or off-line, however, and the front will scrub wide in classic heavy all-wheel drive fashion, and if you’re too heavy on the throttle the back-end will quite happily come out to play given the mountain of torque instantly available.

Enter: the N e-shift virtual transmission.

Rather than just a set of pre-programmed virtual steps available at the pull of a paddle, the system genuinely replicates an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, to the point of having a virtual rev limiter, virtual shifts you can feel and altering the power delivery in accordance with the ‘revs’.

That last point in particular makes the RN22e a much more docile beastie when powering out of corners because you can short shift up into a higher ratio and keep the tail-end in check, just as you would in a high-powered internal combustion vehicle.

Sure, it might not produce the fastest lap times, but for mere mortals it makes the whole experience that much more familiar, especially when the N Sound+ system is factored in with its blipping downshifts and changing revs.

The system is so elaborate there’s even a virtual redline and rev limiter that’ll stop the car accelerating any further if you forget to change up.

A lot of people have questioned the validity of having such systems on an EV when one of its core attributes is its single-speed point-and-squirt performance.

But having experienced them for ourselves, the innovations add an extra level of involvement to the RN22e’s driving experience that’s missing from most other EVs.

And you can always turn them off…

You can’t actually buy the 2022 Hyundai RN22e, but as we’ve mentioned you will be able to purchase the production models it spawns, including the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N and the soon-to-be revealed IONIQ 5 N.

Hyundai has already confirmed the production E-GMP N cars will feature more polished versions of the e-TVTC differential, N Sound+, N e-shift and N Drift, while the powertrain will be left largely untouched from its current state in the RN22e.

We don’t expect the IONIQ 5 N to be quite as dynamically gifted as the RN22e on track, due to its bigger stature and higher centre of gravity. The IONIQ 6 N will be closer to the mark.

But if this preview drive is anything to go by, the N division’s involvement in Hyundai’s excellent new-generation EVs is worth getting excited about.

2022 Hyundai RN22e at a glance:
Price: N/A
Available: N/A
Powertrain: Two permanent magnet synchronous motors
Outputs: 430kW/740Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 77.4kWh lithium-ion
Range: 420km (estimated)
Energy consumption: 19kWh/100km (estimated)
Safety rating: N/A