Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Beats Chevy Corvette In MotorTrend Comparison Test

The current C8 generation of the Corvette is the best that Chevy's sports car has ever been. Sure, the C8 ruffled some feathers when it was introduced, as some thought its mid-engine setup was Corvette blasphemy. But the C8 is the real deal. Stick with the standard Corvette Stingray and you can have a V8-powered mid-engine sports car with nearly 500 horsepower and a sub-three-second 0-to-60 time for less than $80,000. It's an incredible performance bargain. In a recent MotorTrend comparison test the Corvette saw a challenge to its bang for your buck throne, and that challenge came from an unexpected place: Hyundai's electric Ioniq 5 N crossover. Even more unexpectedly, the Ioniq 5 N beat the Corvette Stingray in MotorTrend's test, which surely will upset more than a few people. We're not surprised, though — the Ioniq 5 N is the real deal, too.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and Chevy Corvette couldn't be more different. One is America's sports car, reborn for its eighth iteration with a mid-engine format, the other is an electric Korean hot hatch from a brand that was once the butt of many jokes. Both cars are on opposite ends of the automotive spectrum, and yet they're both similar in one fundamental way: offering bargain performance. Both have supercar performance for way less than $100,000. To make this matchup work, MotorTrend stuck with the standard Corvette Stingray. Its naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 puts out 490 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque, which gets put down by the rear wheels through an eight-speed dual clutch transmission. Throw in options and the 2LT trim level and the Corvette used in the test rang in at $78,090.

Comparatively the Ioniq 5 N proved to be the bargain in the test. Coming in fully loaded at $68,285, you get a dual-motor setup with 641 horsepower and 568 lb-ft of torque (those 641 horses are available for 20 seconds using the N Grin Shift boost function, otherwise the car puts out 601 hp. The Ioniq's 84-kWh battery gives it 221 miles of range and supports 350-kW fast-charging capability. Unfortunately, being a five-door EV gives the Ioniq 5 N a severe weight disadvantage compared to the C8: the Hyundai weighs 1,308 pounds more than the Corvette. Luckily for the Hyundai, its 111-horsepower advantage more than made up for that weight difference.

Speaking from personal experience, the Ioniq 5 N is shockingly quick. Flooring the throttle sends power instantly to the axles, and the result is warp speed–like acceleration. MotorTrend clocked a 0-to-60-mph time of just 2.8 seconds, which is the same figure I saw when I tested the Ioniq 5 N a few months back. The Ioniq 5 N then went on to put down an 11-second quarter-mile time with a trap speed of 124.9 mph. That performance made the Ioniq 5 N half a second quicker than the C8 in both its 0-to-60 and quarter-mile times.

The cars' performance was closer on the skidpad. The Ioniq 5 N put down 0.96 g in MotorTrend's figure-eight test, with the C8 right behind it at 0.95 g. Both cars even put down identical 24.1-second lap times. Braking performance was another area that was close, though the Ioniq 5 N still came out on top thanks to its bigger hardware. Its combination of 15.7-inch front rotors and 14.2-inchers in the rear helped the Ioniq 5 N stop in just 102 feet, two feet shorter than the C8.

MotorTrend mentioned that both cars had their fair share of downsides. Efficiency was something that affected both cars. The Corvette has 352 miles of driving range with a full tank, but MotorTrend says that depletes fast with spirited driving, which is to be expected. The Ioniq 5 N is far from the most efficient EV out there, too. I know for a fact you can easily eat through the N's 221 miles of range when driving it the way it should be driven. Luckily the Ioniq 5 N supports fast charging, but apparently it wasn't quick enough for MotorTrend's testing staff — they mentioned that while it is the world's fastest charging EV, 18 minutes to get from 10 to 80 percent was still too long. The Ioniq 5 N is also full of customizable performance features and tech options. I loved that aspect of the Hyundai, but some people might not. Going in unfamiliar, many of these features can come across as annoying, confusing or just plain gimmicky, like the simulated shifts or artificial engine noise.

While both cars performed similarly, MotorTrend dubbed the Ioniq 5 N the new king of the attainable performance car. That doesn't mean you should write off the Corvette. As long as you don't go crazy with options, it's still one of the best performance bargains around. Unfortunately for the Chevy, the Hyundai just does the attainable performance thing better, and with a bigger breadth of ability. Over 600 horsepower and the ability to hit 60 mph in under three seconds for less than $70,000? I don't think any automaker on the planet will be able to top that kind of bang for your buck performance anytime soon.