2024 Best Electric Car Over $80K: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N v Kia EV9

Lifting the purchase-price ceiling beyond $80,000 for Part Two of our exhaustive Wheels Best EVs testing theoretically blows the field wide open – from Mercedes-Benz’s entire EQ electric line-up to the superb Porsche Taycan and splendiferous Rolls-Royce Spectre.

But we’ve approached our judging of this significant milestone in automotive evolution just like the time-honoured Wheels Car of the Year award – meaning we’ve focused on criteria such as ‘performance of intended function’ (which reinforces that this is not a direct comparison test) and, crucially, ‘value for money’.

Which is where the Mercedes-Benz EQS 7-seat SUV ($195K), Porsche Taycan ($175-$374K) and Rolls-Royce Spectre ($770K) begin to falter somewhat – especially against the enormously capable Kia EV9 7-seat SUV ($97-$121K) and game-changing Hyundai Ioniq 5 N ($111K).

And so that's where we're focusing this test: Hyundai v Kia.

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Hyundai Ioniq 5 N v Kia EV9: Which is the best EV over $80K?

What sets the EV9 and Ioniq 5 N apart is that there’s nothing else like them – each is a first in its theoretical subset.

The Kia EV9 remains the world’s only ‘affordable’ mainstream seven-seat electric SUV – at least compared to the EQS SUV, which is almost double its price – and the Ioniq 5 N is the world’s first-ever attempt at producing a super-hot performance EV that has a chance of replicating, or even exceeding, the bandwidth of a frigging great combustion-engined performance car.

In terms of each EV’s ability to achieve what it set out to do, both overwhelmingly nail the brief. As the largest, most expensive Kia vehicle ever produced, the EV9 carries a substantial degree of expectation, simply for those reasons.

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Yet such is the depth of its build and materials quality, the holistic execution of its design and packaging, and the excellence of its architecture that it truly sets a new benchmark for what premium value for money means.

Our test EV9 is an Earth AWD, meaning the primo electric driveline (283kW/600Nm for 0-100km/h in 6.0sec) blended with the narrower 255/60R19 Kumho tyres (rather than the GT-Line’s 285/45R21s) for a terrific combination of performance, efficiency and dynamic personality.

It might lack the razzle-dazzle of the GT-Line’s huge sunroof, vast alloy wheels and multitude of small yet classy visual, technological and tactile upgrades, yet the Earth AWD still possesses everything any family (or enthusiast driver) could really want in a large electric SUV.

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For the practicality and what it offers for the money, the EV9 is a tremendous vehicle. And it's surprising fun as well.

From a passenger-carrying perspective, it can comfortably seat seven adults and does so while also providing intelligently designed places to put stuff and generously expansive vision so everyone can see stuff. And from behind the wheel, this huge 2552kg EV transcends its size via its fluency.

The EV9 blends its steering weighting and response, handling balance, body control and tyre grip really nicely in corners, yet it also offers layers for anyone who’s keen enough to see what this super-sized SUV is truly capable of.

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Dynamically, Kia's superstar SUV has personality … which is most unexpected from an electric vehicle so 'large and in charge'.

Admittedly, such is the expanse of the EV9’s frontal area that there’s a noticeable efficiency difference between sticking to 110km/h on the freeway and pushing the envelope towards an indicated 125km/h – despite the slickness of its 0.28 drag coefficient – so replicating its 512km WLTP range claim and 22.3kWh/100km official combined energy consumption figure can’t be guaranteed.

Yet we managed to extract 477km and a 20.4kWh/100km average from a full charge in this EV9 Earth AWD – across a hugely varied, and often hard-driven, testing environment – which surely speaks volumes for the breadth of the EV9’s abilities.

And had we found an ultra-fast charger after all that, the EV9 would’ve taken just 24 minutes to shoot from 10 to 80 percent charge when replenishing its 96kWh (useable) battery.

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The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N introduces us to a type of car we didn’t even know we wanted

Despite its excellence in virtually every area, however, the Kia EV9 brilliantly hones, refines and reimagines what is already a known quantity – a large seven-seat family SUV, just what so many buyers want today.

But, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N introduces us to a type of car we didn’t even know we wanted… and now that we’ve experienced it, we’re completely on board with it.

I can understand why people might be dismissive of the Ioniq 5 N. It’s a high-performance electric vehicle with enough tweakable settings to make your head spin, trying to replicate the feeling and excitement of a truly great combustion-engined hot hatch.

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You might rightfully be asking ‘why?’ Or ‘who needs all that kerfuffle?’

The answer is the type of enthusiasts who’ve been frothing over everything from the Renault 16 TS to the Alfasud Ti, Peugeot 205 GTi, Volkswagen Golf R, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX and even Hyundai’s own i30 N.

Decades worth of punters who love the thrill of a relatively small, keenly fast, involvingly agile performance car. And that’s the Ioniq 5 N in a nutshell.

Firstly, it’s a design masterpiece. Both inside and out, the N treatment has taken nothing away from the Ioniq 5’s visual and tactile seductiveness, and perhaps even added to it.

More importantly, however, it’s what the 478kW/770Nm Ioniq 5 N brings to the table in terms of performance and driving dynamics that truly creates a benchmark … without detracting at all from its liveability, driveability, and functionality.

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The Ioniq 5 N shows this is absolutely the way forward for performance EV motoring – a rewardingly creative way, at least. And if this is the future, then I don’t think we have much to be afraid of.

Sure, you’re not listening to an engine anymore and, sure, the Ioniq 5 N’s ‘Ignition’ induction sound is unashamedly digital. But this deliberately fake engine/exhaust noise (which is not the default setting – you need to select it) sounds better in this car than the overlaid synthesised stuff we’ve experienced in a whole bunch of combustion-engined cars over the years.

Yet that’s such an inconsequential aspect of the Ioniq 5 N experience. The rest of the car is so damn rock-star – performance included – that its status as an EV pretty much disappears into the background … until you need to charge it (in a world-beating 18mins from 10-80 percent).

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VERDICT: IONIQ 5 N is 2024's best EV over $80K

The more you get to know the Ioniq 5 N, the more you get out of it.

It has so much more personality and bandwidth than you’d ever think possible from an EV, with dynamic limits far beyond what most people will ever discover.

Yet this car isn’t about the extremes of handling ability or lap times – it’s about entertainment and involvement, about having a wealth of intriguing options, about choosing a flavour that suits your mood. In this regard, the Ioniq 5 N seems to never stop giving.

What it offers, though, is more than just bandwidth – it has nuance. And the nuance of the Ioniq 5 N’s personality and the way that it drives is almost limitless.

Just because the Earth’s resilience to climate change appears to be withering, doesn’t mean that the passion of motoring and driving enthusiasts needs to follow suit – as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N so eloquently proves.