Hyundai has been saying for some time that it wants to introduce more N performance models, in cases where it “makes sense” to do so. Now, via The Drive, we have word from Olabisi Boyle, Hyundai North America’s Senior VP of Product Planning and Mobility Strategy, that we should expect more N models to surface in the next three or four years.
To be sure, that’s a fairly generous timeline, but it does confirm that talk of developing more N models is serious at Hyundai HQ, and that that talk is probably at the stage of picking which models would be ripe for a performance upgrade.
A Tucson N?
Hoping for a Palisade N or Ioniq 9 N is probably unrealistic – as well as pointless, performance not being the raison d’être of those people movers. But there has been regular speculation regarding an N transformation for the carmaker’s best-selling model in North America. Sales of the Tucson compact SUV rose by 14 percent in the U.S. in 2025, year in which Hyundai offered a Tucson N-Line, which has aesthetic add-ons but no performance upgrades compared to the regular Tucson.
That N-Line model has been pulled from the U.S. and Canadian lineups for 2026, which could mean something or mean nothing at all with respect to a possible Tucson N being in the works. But either way, it’s hard not to see the Tucson as a logical candidate for N-ification, ahead of the bigger and boxier Santa Fe, for example.
It’s also not out of the question that the automaker could choose to once again produce a Kona N, this time derived from the latest iteration of the small SUV, introduced for 2024. Recall that Hyundai pulled the Kona N from its lineup for the 2023 model-year.
Hyundai’s EV plans
Knowing that Hyundai the brand is planning to follow the path taken by Hyundai Group stablemate Kia with the introduction of several smaller EVs, we can expect that at least one or two of those will get the N treatment. And perhaps not be restricted to Europe and Asia but also disembark at Canadian dealerships.
For now, Hyundai Canada offers the Elantra N gas-engine sedan and Ioniq 5 N crossover SUV in our market, with the Ioniq 6 N, first presented at Goodwood in the UK last summer, confirmed in limited quantities, though without a firm arrival date as yet.