Category: Speed

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The 2025 Subaru Outback and 2025 Subaru Crosstrek both channel the same kind of rugged crossover appeal, offering the layout and interior accommodations of a roomy hatchback or wagon, combined with all-weather all-wheel-drive capability and lots of ground clearance. In both cases, these models offer a lot of value for the money and have a robust…

Stellantis aftermarket division Mopar has expanded its lineup of crate engines with the new Hurricane inline-6. The Hurricane is a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6 that’s slowly making its way into Stellantis vehicles as a replacement for the automaker’s V-8 lineup, including eventually in the redesigned Dodge Charger where it will be offered…

Ford’s version of the Explorer built for police agencies all around the country has been enhanced for the 2025 model year. Known as the Ford Police Interceptor Utility, the Explorer police cruiser misses out on tweaks made to the civilian Explorer for 2025, like revised styling and a new infotainment screen, but there are key updates that will…

Ford’s 2025 Police Interceptor now has a standard hybrid powertrain Ford no longer sells Explorer hybrid to consumers A non-hybrid V-6 and twin-turbo V-6 remain optional for police-spec Explorers Ford has made a hybrid powertrain standard in its Explorer-derived police car for the 2025 model year. The hybrid powertrain was previously optional in…

What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Porsche Taycan? What does it compare to? The Taycan was Porsche’s first electric car, but the sedan doesn’t stray far from the design, performance, or driving experience you’ll find elsewhere in the Porsche lineup. Rivals include the Tesla Model S, Lucid Air, and Mercedes-Benz EQE. Is the 2025…

The sound and feel of a V-8 roaring away is one of the biggest appeals of driving a performance car fitted with that type of engine. Given speed limits, it may even be the biggest appeal for some buyers. That all goes away with electric vehicles, but some automakers are looking at ways to keep some of the V-8 magic alive, even if it means…

Hyundai and Kia vehicles with keyed ignitions instead of pushbutton starts have been besieged by thieves in a viral trend, but a software upgrade offered to owners has cut rates of these thefts by more than half, the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) reported on Wednesday. Staring during the pandemic, a spike in thefts due in part to social media…

Bench racing will only get you so far. Car enthusiasts love to line up numbers on a spreadsheet to crown a performance king, but the real world isn’t that simple. Take this Carwow race between a new Tesla Model 3 Performance and a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. A competition between 460 hp and 601 hp, respectively. Open and shut. Hyundai by a mile.

But the real world isn’t that simple.   

Both fight in different weight classes. The Hyundai‘s hauling 4,861 lbs, while the Tesla is closer to 4,200 lbs. Both have different tire compounds, different launch control tuning and different electrical architectures. Both are also U.K.-market cars, which means the Model 3 is fighting with one hand tied behind its back.

While Chinese-built, U.K.-market Model 3 Performances get 460 hp, the American version gets 510 hp. The 0-60 time for the U.K. model is 3.1 seconds, two ticks behind the U.S. car’s 2.9-second figure. 

Despite this, the Hyundai can’t shake the Model 3 from its heels. The Tesla launches quicker in all three attempts and outruns the Hyundai in one. For the other two, Hyundai’s power advantage kicks in later in the run, nudging it past the Tesla as it approaches the end of the quarter-mile race. That’s true in the rolling race, too, where the Hyundai’s power advantage pays dividends.

But that slower start shows that it’s not invincible. Either due to the added weight, worse launch control programming, a lack of N Grin Boost activation—which bumps power up to 641 hp briefly—or all three, the all-wheel-drive Hyundai doesn’t launch with as much ferocity as the dual-motor Tesla. It does appear to be the more fun option, though. In the drifting test, the Hyundai looks far more composed and predictable, while the Tesla snaps around on the driver.

Hyundai’s focus on fun doesn’t come without a cost. I love Hyundai’s N Grin Shift feature, for instance, which emulates an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and is a game-changer for giving EVs an innate sensation of speed. But in order to emulate the “power band”—that is, the way engines produce more power at certain areas of their rev range—an EV inherently must pull back some power. Electric motors produce their maximum torque from a standstill, so their more perfect power band has no real defining curve. Just max torque until a high-speed drop off point. 

To learn how pulling back a bit of its power affects the Ioniq 5 N’s acceleration, Carwow does a rolling race with the technology both on and off. It’s worth watching the video just to see how big the effect is.

Do you think it’s worth it? Will you take a slightly slower experience if it gives the car more character? Let me know in the comments. 

Contact the author: mack.hogan@insideevs.com