The 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N takes everything you’d expect from a battery-electric vehicle and throws it for a loop. Hyundai’s performance-oriented BEV gives you battery-electric bonafides like 601 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque but throws the brand's N image into the mix. That translates to fake shift points, hilarious engine noise, and a package that is still useful despite the hilarity. This combination of performance and cartoonish enthusiasm makes the Ioniq 5 N one of the most exciting battery-powered vehicles on the road today.

Eschewing battery power, but also stuck with high-strung downsizing, the Toyota GR Corolla takes the tried-and-true enthusiast car path and features gobs of power for not a lot of mass. This GR Corolla packs a turbocharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine under the hood that throws 300 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque through a six-speed manual transmission and into a standard all-wheel-drive system. Like the Ioniq 5 N, the Corolla shape and the potent powertrain have turned the GR Corolla into an instant enthusiast darling.  

On this episode of Talking Car with the Boss, Natalie Neff and Wesley Wren discuss their respective times in these machines. The two talk about the Ioniq 5 N’s effect on battery-electric cars, the hilarious simulated features, and what makes it so interesting for non-EV shoppers. They also talk about what makes the GR Corolla so special in today’s marketplace. Closing the show, the pair both pick which machine they’d add to their collections.