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Both the Honda Super One and Hyundai Ioniq 5 N feature a simulated gearbox, but vary wildly elsewhere in the pursuit of driving pleasure.
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Honda looked into the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N’s virtual shifter feature when developing its own, called 'Boost Mode', for the new Super-One electric car.
Speaking exclusively to Drive at the 2025 Tokyo motor show, Honda Super-One Large Product Lead Horita Hidetomo confirmed the Japanese brand was aware of the South Korean EV’s N e-shift function.
“We researched that,” Hidetomo-san said.
While both the Super-One and Ioniq 5 N are designed to maximise driving enjoyment in an electric car, Honda and Hyundai have taken two drastically different approaches despite sharing a common feature.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N features all-wheel-drive grip from a dual-electric set-up, punching out a sizeable 478kW/770Nm in the right setting and accelerating from 0-100km/h in a claimed 3.5 seconds.
But as a mid-size SUV, with an 84kWh battery, the flagship Ioniq 5 tips the scales at 2230kg.
The Super-One meanwhile, is based on the N-One e kei car – a class of vehicle in Japan limited in size, weight, and power outputs.
Honda is yet to reveal any technical information on the Super-One, but it is understood it features a single electric motor that drives the front wheels.
The N-One e, as a kei Car, is limited to 47kW from a front-drive electric motor, and features a 295km driving range rating.
However, because of the Super-One’s widened body and international market aspirations – heading to Australia, the UK, and other Asian markets outside Japan – it falls out of the kei-class categorisation and is expected to more than double the N-One e’s output.
Promising a “fun” and “playful” driving dynamic, the Super-One is expected to be potent enough for its size.
However, key to its driver appeal – according to Honda – is the Boost Mode that maximises outputs, as well as adding fake engine sounds and a simulated gear shifter.
Hidetomo-san said it was easy to program the logic of the Super-One’s fake shifter because of Honda’s experience with transmissions in the past.
“It is a fake shift, but it’s a control of the transmission,” Hidetomo-san said,
“Automatic transmission control has been done by Honda for many years, so we applied that control function as it is to the fake shift.
“Therefore, it is very realistic.”
Hidetomo-san also confirmed the Super-One emulates a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic – compared with the Ioniq 5 N’s six-speed simulation – and was derived from the S+ Shift feature seen in the reborn Prelude.
“S+ Shift was the predecessor we developed, and the control part of that is brought into this car,” Hidetomo-san said.
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Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
