The Ioniq 5 N and the Dodge Charger EV Both Claim to Be Fun. One of Them Actually Is.

Kyle and Nick from The Drive took the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and the Dodge Charger Daytona EV to Chuck Walla Raceway, then split up for canyon and street testing, with a pointed question in mind: can an electric car be genuinely fun, and do you need professional driving skills to access that fun? Both cars carry over 640 horsepower and all-wheel drive. Both have drift modes and four doors. Both use artificial sound systems. The Ioniq 5 N weighs roughly 1,000 pounds less than the Charger. Nick, who races professionally, found that weight gap to be the defining difference between the two experiences. The Charger came in at approximately 5,800 pounds, which puts it in the same mass bracket as a full-size pickup truck, a fact that shapes every dynamic decision the car can and cannot make.

Automakers are deliberately engineering character back into electric performance cars because acceleration figures alone are no longer a distinguishing feature. The Ioniq 5 N takes an inside-out approach: paddle-operated simulated gear shifts, a fake rev limiter, and engine-style sounds played exclusively through cabin speakers for the driver rather than broadcast outward. The goal is to give the driver familiar reference points when entering corners, the kind of audio feedback that communicates speed and timing in ways a silent EV cannot. The Dodge Charger Daytona goes the other direction, routing sound through physical chambered exhaust hardware called the Fratsonic system, with motors mounted to the chassis to simulate engine vibration. The result was described as comparable in volume to the old Hellcat models, though interior trim panels rattled under the vibration in a way that felt unplanned rather than deliberate.

On track, Nick found the Ioniq 5 N genuinely communicative even with the artificial sound disabled. The torque vectoring adjusts rear-to-front bias on the fly, and in a rear-biased setting the car rotated predictably and allowed controlled exits on throttle. Setting up the various driving modes took the team roughly 20 minutes of working through nested menus, a real frustration. The Charger showed a lagging throttle response on track that was described as potentially dangerous in heavy braking zones, where the car continued accelerating slightly after the driver had lifted off. In drift mode, the Charger uses only the rear motor, which leaves it putting 335 horsepower against its full 5,800-pound weight. The conclusion was that the Charger's all-wheel drive system forces a front-end driving style to get around a circuit quickly, which is not why someone buys a muscle car. Porsche has since announced it will add virtual gear shifts to its own electric vehicles after evaluating the Ioniq 5 N.

Bottom line: The Ioniq 5 N works as a proper track tool and an honest performance car. The Charger Daytona is more compelling as a demonstration than as a driver's car, and that gap matters when asking someone to give up a combustion muscle car. Hyundai built the fun in from the chassis up. Dodge focused mostly on the soundtrack.