Hi, I'm John Davis and this is MotorWeek !

We're tripping breakers in the high-voltage Hyundai IONIQ 5 N... Then, we'll get hands on with a fender rolling workshop... We'll uncross wires to find the truth on current EV sales... Ending with a utility from an American luxury innovator, the Cadillac XT4...

So, come drive with us, next!

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First, there was the wheel.

Then, the tire.

"We'll call it TireRack."

Forty years later, we're not slowing down.

JOHN: Hyundai launched their N performance label in 2012, and eight years later, they selected IONIQ as the name dedicated to full battery-electric vehicles.

Now in 2024, these two sub-brands are coming together for the first time in this Hyundai IONIQ 5 N. Sounds like a good plan to plug in and go!

♪ ♪ There is no shortage of high-performance EVs out there, but this 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N may just be the one we've had the most fun with yet.

Being the first all-electric member of Hyundai's N high-performance family, as you can imagine, updates are much different than the usual turbochargers and suspension tweaks.

Way beyond the unique N-logoed interior trim, we're talking about special two-stage inverters, battery preconditioning and e-shifting.

And of course, there's more power too.

Hyundai has taken the IONIQ's dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup and more than doubled the power of the front motor.

Rear motor output is up as well to boost max output to 641 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque.

A bigger battery too; 84 kilowatt hour charging to 80 percent in 18 minutes on a 350 kilowatt DC fast charger.

And it gets enhanced cooling too with a new battery chiller.

N torque distribution allows you to adjust power front to back through 11 different settings.

Additional welding and structural adhesives are in place to help it all stay together.

Plus, beefier axles make sure the power arrives at the 21 inch aluminum wheels which are wrapped in 275 Pirelli P Zero performance tires.

And they've even had a little fun with the driver engagement aspects too.

Acceleration tests at our Mason Dixon track were truly unique, as there were a wealth of settings and simulated engine sounds to play with.

You can sit there at the line and rev your "engine" if you want or punch up N Launch Control which allows you to dial in your grip level before you rocket off the line with max acceleration.

From the quivering tach needle to the various engine noises to choose from, it feels much more like a real car than any other EV we've been in; it's actually kind of weird that we like it so much.

N Grin Boost may be one of the most appropriate names of the year, as we couldn't stop smiling every time we felt that 10 second boost of added power.

What a wild ride!

And then, there's N e-shift, which actually lets you shift through a virtual 8-speed DCT, cutting power briefly whenever you trigger the shift paddle.

It works with N Active Sound + which delivers appropriate noises to match the experience.

Currently, you can choose among Ignition, Evolution, and Supersonic soundscapes.

Don't worry, we did get some hard numbers while we were playing around with all that stuff: 3.2 seconds to 60, almost a second and a half quicker than the regular IONIQ 5 we tested two years ago and 11.3 seconds for the quarter-mile at a super-fast 123 miles per hour.

As for cornering, the steering hardware is quickened, while software updates enhance sensitivity; with the ability to dial in as much feel and weight as you want.

Add in an N Drift Optimizer and you've got a recipe for whatever high-speed hijinks you want to try.

We're not sure what kind of magnets are in these electric motors, but their biggest attraction seems to be to pavement, as this car was absolutely stuck to the track through our handling course.

According to Hyundai, these are the most powerful brakes they've ever put on a car.

Not only did they bite down hard, but they seemed to work better the more we abused them.

All this performance is wrapped in some aggressive body work with lots of added black trim and an extended hatch-top wing.

The N sits almost an inch lower than the standard IONIQ 5, is 2.0 inches wider, and has an extended rear diffuser that makes it more than 3.0 inches longer.

Hyundai puts max range at 221 miles, which is actually one more than the base SE IONIQ 5, which we'd say is pretty accurate as we were on pace for a 225 mile driving loop.

Pricing for the 5 N starts at $67,495.

In creating the 2025 IONIQ 5 N, Hyundai has done so much more than just crank up some electric motors.

They've created a phenomenal sports car that gives us great hope that a future devoid of internal combustion engines might not be so bad.

And, it's done without taking themselves too seriously; delivering a high-performance EV that is seriously fun, no matter what speed you're driving it at.

♪ ♪ The headlines are everywhere: electric vehicle sales are down!

Dealers are swamped with unsold EVs!

Car companies are doubling down on internal-combustion engines!

The EV era is over before it began!

And so on... You know, there's a lot of misinformation swirling around these days about the state of the current EV market.

So, what are the facts and where might EVs go from here?

♪ ♪ We're in the midst of the most revolutionary shake up of the automotive market since the car replaced the horse as our preferred form of personal transportation back in the early 1900s.

Then, as now, drivers faced the same decision of choosing petrol or electric power for their cars, and carmakers offered both options.

As it turned out, the rapid expansion of our interstate road system outpaced the electrification of rural America, paving the way for petroleum to take the lead in widespread availability, and to largely squeeze electrics out of the car market.

Fast forward a hundred years: America is now wired from coast to coast, and advances in battery technology have made it possible for electric vehicles to perform competitively with gas and diesel models.

But more importantly, environmental concerns have become an important factor in determining our fuel of choice, fostering the second coming of the electric vehicle.

Now EV sales, including both plug-in hybrids and pure battery electrics, are surging beyond the early adopter and novelty stage, rising 46.5 percent in 2022 and 53.8 percent in 2023, achieving a record 9.0 percent of the total car market last year.

After such rapid growth, some moderation was expected, but are EV sales really falling as headlines proclaim?

The short answer is...no.

While, growth has slowed, plug-in vehicles still grew 7.9 percent in the first six months of 2024, continuing to out perform total car sales which rose only 2.3 percent.

JOHN O'DONNELL: There's a lot of articles and media suggesting that we've already reached a plateau for EV sales, and that's false, that's incorrect.

The rate of adoption is slowing, but it's still, uh, increasing nationwide.

State by state, it varies.

Uh...

The coasts, east and west coasts, uh, have the higher penetration.

The center of the country is adopting at a more slow rate, but make no mistake, this is not going away simply because somebody wrote an article.

JOHN: Another trend we've noticed is that consumers' preferred type of EV is shifting.

For all of 2023, about 80 percent of EVs sold were pure battery electric.

But plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid sales are growing, and currently make up a quarter of total EV sales.

When faced with the EV market's three-headed conundrum: limited number of affordable battery electric choices, fear of range anxiety, and a public charging infrastructure that's still a work in progress, many buyers see plug-in hybrids as a safe near-term bridge to eventually going all-electric.

And that shift is now forecast to widen for the foreseeable future, as manufacturers release more new PHEVs into the market.

JOHN O'DONNELL: Consumer affordability is always on our minds, representing the people who sell the cars, but it's also on the mind of the state, local, and federal governments.

They know that they need to help us balance, uh, the amount of technology, which costs money through research and development, and what the average consumer can afford.

JOHN: The good news for consumers is that EV prices are already coming down, and, with dozens of new electric vehicles of all types expected to enter the market over the next 18 months, there is little doubt that such increased competition will cause EV prices to moderate even further.

Thus, most market experts are still conservatively predicting EVs to pass the 12 percent market share point for all of 2024, and 15 percent, or over two million new EVs on the road, in 2025.

Add to that continuing improvements in driving range and charging infrastructure, and the future of EVs in America is still quite bright.

American consumers are smart enough to question the naysayers.

They know that the time is finally right for the electric automobile to come into its own.

It's not only the best thing for the environment, it just makes good driving sense.

Changing your vehicle's ride height or stance can sometimes require a little extra clearance, and one trick is fender rolling.

So, we brought in Dan Maffett to explain this art on MotorWeek's "Your Drive!"

♪ ♪ DAN MAFFETT: If you're modifying your vehicle with bigger wheels and tires, chances are you're going to have some clearance issues.

Now, the old school way was to shove a baseball bat in the fender well and roll it back and forth until you got clearance.

Well, the good thing is that the aftermarket world has evolved a lot since then.

Now, there's companies making tools like this.

This is a universal fender roller.

And what this allows you to do is you bolt this flange against the hub of the wheel, and then you can use this wheel here and gradually massage that fender lip back.

So, this is a really cool build that we did in the past.

It's all hot rod, so when you do hot rod stuff, you get hot rod problems.

This has a Corvette-style coil-over suspension, so it's sitting way lower than it was originally.

Custom offset wheels; with that you get a little bit of rubbing in turning.

So, what we're going to do today is roll this inner fender, so we can minimize that.

And, once we get that done, we should be able to take any turn at any speed and not have any noise whatsoever.

So, we're going to get this at a workable height, because I don't like to bend over...and...uh, we're going to get to it.

Alright, so you can see our trouble area is going to be this space right here.

Most of this is pretty flat already, but we're going to try to get a little bit of space here.

And looking at the tire, you can see where it's been rubbing.

These are witness marks that show where the tire has been coming in contact with this fender here.

Um...

It's not bad, but over time, this will chew through your tires.

Um... And they're expensive.

We don't want to have to keep buying those, so we're going to fix it.

Alright, so the problem area right here, we got a little bit of space behind here, and we're going to try to just massage that back and give us the clearance we need.

This is meant to work on a complete radius, so what we're doing is just putting it in the corner, getting a lot of pressure on it and slowly rolling this back, and you'll see the wheel will start walking... and that's going to just slowly massage that area back.

And we're going to start adding some heat here, so that we make sure that we keep this nice and soft.

Cold paint is brittle.

It'll crack, it'll splinter if you hit it.

Um...

This heat gun is going to heat up all those molecules and just soften them, let them lay down, so they're a little more pliable and we can bend them instead of stretch them or crack them.

Yeah, I think that's really good.

Yep.

And we did that all thanks to an inexpensive little tool like this.

So, if you have any questions or comments, hit us up, right here at MotorWeek.

JOHN: Lets hit the road wheels a-turning for another QuickSpin!

♪ ♪ GREG CARLOSS: The Porsche 911 may be a time capsule of sports car design, but it's also a true performance pioneer.

Case in point: The 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, the first-ever hybrid 911.

Getting right into it, the GTS's T-Hybrid system starts with a traditional flat-6 engine-- 3.6 liters fitted with one large turbocharger.

Between the turbo's turbine and compressor is one of two electric motors, the other embedded in the 8-speed PDK.

The small 1.9 kilowatt hour battery doesn't provide enough juice for electric-only driving.

Instead, this performance-minded system ups GTS output to 532 horsepower and 449 pound-feet of torque, 59 horsepower and 29 pound-feet more than the last GTS.

On the road, we loved the immediate response at low speeds, but some hot laps around Spain's Ascari Circuit let us fully appreciate the collab between gas and electric.

Not only do you have that boost and slower corners like this, the low end boost, and it's really low end, but when you get back on the throttle and now you're climbing up the tach, the power just keeps coming on and it doesn't relent.

And again, that's...that's also the teamwork that's happening with the powertrain.

The advanced technology that's going into this and making sure you have enough boost pressure when the turbo is feeding directly to the, the electric motor, when it is feeding back into the 1.9 kilowatt hour battery.

It's all happening seamlessly.

And like the hybrid powertrain, the transition into the 992.2 generation is mostly seamless.

The biggest shakeup is inside, where the lone analog tachometer has gone digital like the rest of the gauge cluster had already done before.

And just below there's another 911-first, push-button start ignition.

The 2025 Porsche 911 arrives in dealers this fall, starting just over $120,000.

The GTS T-Hybrid coupe will arrive soon after, starting over $165,000.

It's a big step forward for Porsche, and we can't wait to see what comes next.

JESSICA RAY: 2024 sees a midcycle refresh for the midsize Kia Sorento, and it's keeping up with rugged industry trends by introducing this new X-Pro trim level.

Like, other Kia "X" models, this grade "off-road-ifies" the Sorento functionally and stylistically.

The X-Pro, like the more affordable X-Line, comes standard with a center-locking differential, bridge-type roof rack and unique bumpers.

The X-Pro swaps the X-Line's 20 inch wheels for 17 inchers, wrapped by BF Goodrich all-terrain tires supplying more sidewall over the standard rubber; and towing is increased by 1,000 pounds, now 4,500 total.

Based on the SX Prestige grade, the X-Pro's cabin is more upscale with leather seats, a heated steering wheel, Bose 12-speaker sound system and more.

Tech-wise, the Sorento is on par with modern Kias: available dual 12.3 inch curved screens we've appreciated in others and still do here.

"X-filed" Sorento's are all-wheel-drive, powered by a turbocharged 2.5 liter inline-4 generating 281 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque, delivered through an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic.

That turbo-4 is peppy and the dual-clutch is slick.

The ride is also smooth, even with all-terrain rubber meeting the pavement.

While, an entry-level 2024 Kia Sorento starts just over $33,000, the X-Line begins over $43,000, with the X-Pro hovering around $49,000.

They're available now and ready for your adventures.

And we'll have more Quick Spins...soon!

JOHN: Whether, it's 16-cylinder engines in the 1930s or massive tailfins in the 1950s, Cadillac has long been an automotive trendsetter.

They certainly started something with the huge Escalade sport Ute back in 1999, and today are known more for their SUVs than the few sedans still in their lineup.

But, keeping pace with the rapidly changing luxury crossover utility trend is a challenge.

So, let's find out if an updated XT4 is up to the task.

♪ ♪ Cadillac's XT family of crossovers are designed for people who either don't need the utility that the full-size Escalade delivers or don't want the sheer size that comes with it.

Yet, like the Escalade, the XTs are big on style and features.

This Cadillac XT4 is the smallest member of the family and has gotten some updating for the 2024 model year.

Its most impressive update greets you immediately when you hop behind the wheel; the big 33 inch LED screen that stretches across the dash, similar to the one we first saw in the LYRIQ EV.

As with most new GM's, the software behind it is Google-based, that is still compatible with your Apple or Android phone.

Buyers can also now get a 14-speaker AKG audio system.

As for the rest of the interior, it improves on what we felt was already a very inviting and spacious environment in our test of the original XT4 in 2019.

There is a new dash layout, but except for the big screen, it doesn't look vastly different.

While, materials have been upgraded throughout, including our test car's leather seats, we're not quite sure it quite lives up to the, "So nice, they named it twice" Premium Luxury trim signifier, which is a step up from just Luxury trim.

The other trim option is Sport which comes with expected sporty metallic accents.

Cargo capacity remains good for the segment with 22.5 cubic-feet of space in back, expanding to 48.9 with the rear seatbacks folded.

Exterior tweaks for '24 include new front and rear fascias, a redesigned grille, updated LED lighting, and new alloy wheel designs in either 18 or 20 inches.

Together the changes succeed in making the XT4 appear more substantial and more elegant than before.

All XT4s roll with a 2.0 liter turbo I4 that returns unchanged from last year, outputting 235 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque.

From there, a 9-speed automatic handles power output, with standard front-wheel-drive or optional all-wheel-drive for all trims.

Our all-wheel-drive tester showed more than adequate power for the street, but overall drivetrain operation is not quite as smooth or quiet as its best European competitors.

Likewise, there wasn't much excitement at our test track either, really struggling to get off the line.

But, once we got rolling, we could feel more power coming into play; enough to get us to 60 in a longish 7.4 seconds.

Power delivery continued in this moderate fashion through the quarter-mile, accompanied by unhurried transmission shifts, as we tripped the clock in 15.8 seconds at 86 miles per hour.

The XT4 shares its platform with the Buick Envision but tuning for the MacPherson strut front and five-link rear suspension is clearly unique, as the XT4 felt even more nimble through our handling course.

The 20 inch wheels, which made the ride a little choppy on the street, paid big dividends here, combining with all-wheel-drive to deliver fantastic grip.

Steering was light and never vague, with minimal body roll.

An Active Sport Suspension with Continuous Damping is also available, but only with Sport trim.

Pricing starts at $39,090 and tops out at $43,190 for Sport trim; plus, this Premium Luxury starts just below at $42,690.

All-wheel-drive is a pricey $2,500 for all trims.

There's no way that Henry Leland could have predicted where Cadillac would be today when he founded the company back in 1902.

But much like in those early years of the auto industry, no one's really sure how things will shake out in the long term, with SUVs taking over the luxury market, and Cadillac pushing to become an all-electric brand.

But for now, Cadillac has made sure that the nicely updated 2024 XT4 remains a highly competitive premium crossover utility, and that's something that would make Henry proud!

Well, that's our show, I hope you enjoyed it.

Now, for more MotorWeek , including daily news updates, podcasts, and even complete episodes, cruise on over to PBS.ORG/MOTORWEEK.

And I hope you'll join us next time for our test of the honest and affordable daily driver, the Nissan Sentra.

Then, we'll ramp up the stakes with a sport-Ute athlete, the BMW X6.

Until then, I'm John Davis.

We'll see you right here on MotorWeek !

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Learn more at AutoValue.Com and BumperToBumper.Com.

TireRack.Com is proud to support MotorWeek !

First, there was the wheel.

Then, the tire.

"We'll call it TireRack."

Forty years later, we're not slowing down.

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