Ioniq 5 N gains 12% highway range with 20-inch wheels — owner finds a fix

A Hyundai Ioniq 5 N owner discovered that swapping the stock 21-inch wheels for 20-inch ones boosts the EV's highway efficiency by roughly 12%. The finding could help anyone frustrated with the sporty crossover's modest driving range.

The stock Ioniq 5 N is EPA-rated at just 221 miles, which is 69 miles (about 24%) less than the regular all-wheel-drive Ioniq 5 with the same 84-kWh battery, rated at 290 miles. The gap stems not only from more powerful motors but also from 21-inch forged wheels wrapped in wide, sticky Pirelli P Zero tires.

Matt, who runs the Downshift YouTube channel, set out to fix this. First, he swapped the rubber for Kumho Majesty 9 EV tires, designed for electric cars with a low-rolling-resistance profile. On a 30-mile mixed-driving loop, efficiency climbed from 3.3 miles/kWh to 3.6 miles/kWh. But these dedicated EV tires dulled some of the sharp handling Matt bought the Ioniq 5 N for in the first place.

So he went further, fitting custom 20-inch Demon Forged wheels with more performance-oriented Kumho Ecsta Sport all-season tires. On the same 30-mile loop, the Ioniq 5 N returned 3.7 miles/kWh, but the clear gain showed up on the highway. At a steady 75 mph, the stock 21-inch setup had previously delivered 2.5 miles/kWh, while the 20-inch wheels with the second set of Kumhos pushed that to 2.8 miles/kWh over a 120-mile test. That's a solid 12% improvement in highway efficiency.

Matt calculates that, with the 3.7-miles/kWh result for the 84-kWh battery, the car could theoretically achieve a 310-mile range — nearly 90 miles more than the EPA rating. However, that's an extrapolation, not a verified full-range result. Similar tests with Tesla models also show that smaller wheels can deliver meaningful efficiency and range gains for EVs.