Hyundai wants to sell an electric car for 80,000 euros. His plan to convince us: an imaginary gear change

The electric sports car has a very complicated challenge: convincing the most purists. Those who, until now, have been willing to sacrifice comfort on a daily basis or have chosen to spend good money on a second car to enjoy the weekends usually look askance at electric cars.

I always defend that the electric car is an excellent option in the urban environment. If we go further, depending on the autonomy and our habits, current electric cars with more than 60 kWh of battery are useful. I sincerely believe that they do the trick for most drivers.

But if you like driving, beyond traveling by car, it is very likely that you like manual gear changes and flowing through curves with your ears tuned to know, at all times, what the car is asking for. One more gear, a heel-toe, a regressive braking…

With an electric car you drive differently. Whoever looks for these sensations will not find them. Yes, you will have at your disposal an accelerator pedal that is “all or nothing”, immediately delivering all the power that the car can manage. Or the possibility of playing with regressive braking and driving the vehicle, most of the time, with a single pedal.

They are different approaches, one does not have to be better than the other. But at Hyundai they have proposed that their Ioniq 5N, the sportiest version of the range and its fastest car in history, also conquered the first. At least, to those who enjoy paddles and a dual-clutch transmission.

It doesn’t exist, but I’m sorry

Just when it seemed that manufacturers were determined to abandon the manual gearbox, a small outbreak of ideas and concepts has emerged to ensure it survives. Or, at least, pretend that she’s still alive.

For some time now, it is not only a matter of electric cars. Supercars are so powerful that it is necessary to opt for automatic or semi-automatic transmissions. Among the best-known sports cars, the brands They have been leaving this option behind or simply They have offered it as an extra which provides exclusivity and requires, of course, money.

Electric ones do not need a transmission and, with very few exceptions, they lack it. This allows the electric car to be able to transmit maximum power from the first moment and has left us with some curious images such as the Rimac Nevera traveling at 275 km/h in reverse.

But there is an obvious problem, this may not convince sports car lovers. Hyundai, which already had been experimenting with the change by-wireoffers in its Ioniq 5 N a driving mode that simulates a semi-automatic car with dual-clutch shifting by cams.

But compared to other already patented options, what Hyundai wants is for you to sit behind the wheel as if you were speeding up to the red line of the cut-off and then press a lever and feel the “thump” of the change. And in the absence of proving it, it seems that they have achieved it.

Along with the noise of a combustion engine, which will have the difficult challenge of sounding in time with the shift, simulating the car gaining revolutions, the first videos are surprising. In this video recorded by AutoTopNL It is observed as the hoarse sound nail “the change” What does the driver who receives the blow do that simulates that a new gear has entered the cut.

The first tests, inside and outside Spain, are convincing. In I amMotor They highlight in their contact that “with the simulated sound you feel like you are in a sports car, the gears change with a push as if it really were a double clutch and the steering is quick and precise.”

Regarding the soundtrack, Hyundai has three modes: gasoline, electric and supersonic. In Autobild They emphasize that “although all of them are ‘fake’ (artificially generated and reproduced through the speakers), we assure you that they convince and engage” and the gear change makes it clear that “the strong blow that occurs when changing gears at maximum acceleration is also very credible, such as when the clutches are engaged “.

Even in Autobild It is explained that “in ‘Ignition’ mode the car simulates the sound of a sports combustion engine. In this way, the revolution counter reaches 7,500 rpm with injection cut-off included (yes, the car stops pushing, as would happen in a gasoline car). And when you release the accelerator above 3,500 revolutions the ‘exhaust’ backfires.”

Hyundai has also received good reviews from outside Spain. In Top Gear They rate the simulated gear changes as “pretty fun.” “My more cynical disposition wanted to laugh at the Ioniq 5 N and its disguised gearbox. I wanted to say it was stupid and sad, and a waste of time. But in all honesty, I enjoyed it. I was impressed. It’s there if you want it. If you don’t, choose one of the quiet driving modes.”

Of course, Ollie Kew, who wrote these lines, also makes it clear that, in part, everything will work depending on the intention that you yourself put into it. “It’s like reluctantly going to see a movie. If you expect to hate Barbie, you’ll hate Barbie. If you go in with an open mind, you might surprise yourself. (…) Some will hate it. Some will say everything is wrong in this car, which are fake news with four wheels. And you have the right to have that opinion. Don’t buy an Ioniq 5 N. Or do it and turn off the audio.”

But, above all, Kew warns: “this will not be the last electric car to play this game.”

Image | hyundai

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