Hyundai IONIQ 5 N Ioniq 5 N vs Kia EV6 EV6 GT

On the numbers, no. The Ioniq 5 N and the EV6 GT share a 3.5-second 0 to 100km/h time, an 84kWh battery, a roughly 450km range and an 18-minute 10 to 80 per cent charge, so the roughly $13,300 gap does not buy you a quicker or longer-legged car. What it buys is character. Australian reviewers rate the N's e-Shift gearbox and Active Sound as the most involving drivetrain in any EV, and the Hyundai adds a longer wheelbase and cheaper servicing. Read the N as worth it if driver involvement leads your brief. Read the EV6 GT as the smarter buy if it does not.

No, they are matched. Both cars peak at 478kW and 770Nm, and both claim 3.5 seconds to 100km/h. The specs can look different because of how each maker quotes standing output: the Ioniq 5 N lists 448kW normally and unlocks 478kW for 10 seconds on its N Grin Boost, while the EV6 GT reaches the same 478kW peak in its launch mode. In everyday driving the two feel every bit as quick as each other, which is the point: the tied sprint time is the proof that neither has a performance advantage. The difference between them is how involving that speed feels, not how much of it there is.

This is close to a dead heat. Both use the same 84kWh battery, and the claimed WLTP range is 448km for the Ioniq 5 N against 450km for the EV6 GT, a 2km gap that real-world driving will blur. Charging is where the shared 800-volt E-GMP platform shows: both take about 18 minutes for a 10 to 80 per cent DC top-up on an ultra-rapid charger, and both accept up to 10.5kW for AC charging at home. As with any performance EV, the range falls away faster when you use the performance, so treat the WLTP figures as a best case rather than a promise.

The EV6 GT starts ahead by roughly $13,300 at the door. The Ioniq 5 N narrows it on the recurring costs: its services fall due every 24 months or 30,000km against the Kia's 12 months or 15,000km, so it visits the workshop half as often, and its battery is covered for eight years or 160,000km against the GT's seven years and 150,000km. Roadside cover differs in shape, not length: the Kia runs a flat eight-year term, while the Hyundai's two-year cover renews at every dealer service for the life of the car. Both carry a seven-year warranty, though the Hyundai's holds only when you service with Hyundai.

Both cars try to make electric speed feel involving, but Australian reviewers give the Hyundai the win. The Ioniq 5 N's N e-Shift simulates an eight-speed gearbox with deliberate jolts on each shift, while N Active Sound pipes synthetic engine notes through the cabin, so you drive it like a combustion performance car rather than a single-speed EV. The EV6 GT offers its own performance modes and launch control, but reviewers judge its execution of the same tricks less committed. If you want the EV that most rewards a keen driver, the consensus points to the 5 N. If that theatre leaves you cold, the GT delivers the same pace with less fuss.

The Ioniq 5 N has the edge on space. Its 3,000mm wheelbase runs 100mm longer than the EV6 GT's, which shows in rear-seat room, and its 480-litre boot folds down to 1,540 litres, with a power tailgate to load it. The EV6 GT matches the Hyundai on the seats-up boot at 480 litres and has the higher ground clearance at 155mm to the N's 142mm. Both are five-seat, five-door SUVs with the flagship equipment you would expect, so day to day either works well. If back-seat room and outright load space decide it, the 5 N is the more usable of the two performance twins.

No, and this is important to know at this money. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is unrated: ANCAP's five-star result for the standard Ioniq 5 explicitly excludes the N. The Kia EV6 GT is in the same position, excluded from the EV6 range's rating, so its flagship carries no star either. That is not the same as unsafe. Both fit a full active-safety suite as standard, including autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and a 360-degree camera. But if an independent crash-test star rating is central to your decision, neither of these performance halos carries one, and you should weigh that against a rated alternative.

Because these two share a platform, a battery and their pace, the decision is about temperament and money, not spec. Buy the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N if the drive is the point: its e-Shift gearbox and Active Sound make it the most involving EV on sale by Australian consensus, and it is the roomier car with cheaper servicing. Buy the Kia EV6 GT if value leads: it ties the N on the sprint, the battery, the range and the charge time for about $13,300 less, and adds a longer roadside term. Involvement and space to the Hyundai, price and running costs to the Kia. Neither carries an ANCAP star, so weigh that either way.