You know a mainstream manufacturer has hit the right enthusiast note when KW goes to the trouble of providing a retrofit coilover option. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is hardly the first EV to make a big thing about its potential fun factor, but it might be the first to actually stick the landing. Which is some trick for a 2.3-tonne car that is tall enough to be justly considered a crossover SUV. KW is aware of the duality that description requires, suggesting that its multi-valve dampers benefit ‘driving dynamics and, above all else, driving comfort’. As well as ‘maximum lowering’, of course.
Whether or not you feel like the flagship Ioniq needs help in this regard is obviously a personal preference - but we’d take full advantage of the 10 to 35mm range that is made available with the new V3 suspension. Consisting of progressive springs and two-stage valves, the coilovers offer 16 clicks of adjustable rebound and 12 clicks for compression. “Our buyers of the KW V3 coilover suspensions are not very afraid of changing the setup by themselves,” noted a company spokesman somewhat redundantly as this is all very much part of the appeal of swapping out the standard chassis components.
Which isn’t to suggest that Hyundai did a bad job, although when Matt B drove the 650hp variant back in May, he did opine that UK buyers were probably going to spend the vast majority of their time with the chassis in its Normal setting (Sport+, he reckoned, is ‘unbearable’). That does suggest that KW’s promise of adding ‘calmness and stability to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N high body structure during sporty driving’ has the potential to seem right on the money. As well as making your South Korean EV look totally boss.
Moreover, you don’t need to have forked out £65k to access the benefits: while the kit differs in terms of ‘construction, vehicle-specific design and adjustable lowering’, KW will also sell you coilovers for the standard Ioniq 5, too, in both rear- and all-wheel drive format, no less. Presumably thanks to the higher standard ride height, this offers buyers a 25 to 50mm range of adjustment on the front axle, and 20 to 45mm on the rear. That version starts at 2,499 euros (around £2,100); for the N, you’re looking at 3,267 euros (or £2,750). A significant outlay then - but the handling pay-off could be priceless.
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