From gimmick to feature: how the Ioniq 5 N changed Porsche's mind on virtual gears

© B. Naumkin

Not long ago, virtual gearshifts in electric cars looked like a strange gimmick. Why would a vehicle without a real gearbox imitate jerks, ratios and engine sounds, when an electric motor can deliver smooth, instant power? Yet the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N has shown that sometimes a «fake» feature can make an EV feel more alive. Now even Porsche is taking a closer look at the idea.

According to Autocar, the German company used to treat synthetic gears as a gimmick — a clever trick with no real purpose. After the Ioniq 5 N, that view has shifted. When people from the world of Porsche GT see merit in it, the conversation is clearly no longer just about marketing. The problem with performance EVs is not speed: electric cars have long been able to accelerate so hard that combustion sports cars look slow by comparison.

The issue is sensation. In a combustion car, the driver hears the revs, catches the moment of the shift, works with the throttle and gets mechanical feedback. In a powerful EV there is often just one long burst of acceleration — fast, efficient, but sometimes too sterile.

A virtual gearbox addresses exactly this emotional gap. It gives the driver reference points: «gears», sound, changes in pull and a moment that calls for action. It does not turn an electric car into a combustion one, but it puts rhythm back into the process. The car no longer just goes fast — it talks to the driver in a language they understand.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N became the first mass-market example where this logic clearly worked. There the simulated shifts do not look like a random toy hidden in a menu. They change the character of the car, help meter speed and make track driving less monotonous. That is exactly why the idea now interests brands that live not only on acceleration numbers, but also on the feel behind the wheel.

Purists will still argue, of course. For some, a virtual gearbox is an honest way to give an EV emotion. For others, it is an attempt to glue a combustion past onto an electric future. But automotive history is full of such compromises: power steering, drive-by-wire pedals, active exhausts and adaptive suspensions all once looked like meddling with «real» mechanics.

The key is that such features can be switched off. If a driver wants pure electric thrust, let the car run without any imitation. If they want more involvement, they can switch on the virtual gears. That is the right path: not forcing everyone to love one idea, but offering a choice.

Electric cars do not have to copy combustion ones. But if they can bring back the thrill without petrol and exhaust, the debate about «fake» gears will quickly become secondary. What matters to the driver is not the origin of the emotion, but whether it actually works behind the wheel.