While we’ve already seen a few computer generated images of the “Electrified Streamliner” that is the Hyundai Ioniq 6, we haven’t received much information from Hyundai about the car.
We recently attended a briefing on the vehicle, and have a bunch more information that you’re going to want to know about the second vehicle in the new Ioniq lineup built on the company’s E-GMP platform.
The Ioniq 6 will be powered by a 77.4-kWh battery and an estimated range of 610 kilometers. This is on the notoriously optimistic WLTP standard, but it should be noted that it is 100 km more than the Ioniq 5. Hyundai says that the aerodynamics of the Ioniq 6 help, plus additional learnings from the Ioniq 5 have been applied to improve range.
The Ioniq 6 is using the same 800-volt fast charging system that Hyundai claims will charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in just 18 minutes. We’ve independently demonstrated that that number is dead accurate.
The car will be available in either rear-wheel or all-wheel drive, with the top-of-the-line model packing 239 kW and 605 Nm of torque. In old money, that’s 320 hp and 446 lb-ft of torque. If that sounds EXACTLY like the Ioniq 5, then you’ve been paying attention.
While the Ioniq 5 is for young families, the Ioniq 6 is for young, single professionals.
“Ioniq 6 is designed and engineered to seamlessly enhance our daily lives as space to awaken your potential,” said Thomas Schemera, Executive Vice President, Global Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Customer Experience Division, Hyundai Motor Company.
There’s a workspace to sit a laptop to get the job done in the car. You can recline the driver’s seat to take a nap while recharging (yourself or the car), just like you can in the Ioniq 5. The interior is a bit more sleek — there’s a more traditional center console area connecting the armrest area to the dash — but it still looks fresh and modern.
Ambient lighting helps set the mood, and with the “Speed Sync Lighting” mode enabled, the faster you drive the brighter the interior lighting gets. It supposedly helps add to the “emotion of driving,” but we’ll have to see it for ourselves before we can pass judgment.
The interior feels a bit more modern, at least early on, than the Ioniq 5. The biggest complaint most people have about the Ioniq 5 is that the exterior looks different, and wild, and retro, and quirky, and cool. The inside looks a bit normal. The Ioniq 6 brings some of that style inside. When overall passenger space isn’t top priority, you can make some interesting design decisions.
Outside, though, is what’ll draw your attention. The rear spoiler reminds us of a 1980s-era Porsche 911, which isn’t a bad thing, and the LED dot matrix taillights let you know that it’s a modern Hyundai. But it’d also feel right at home in a techno-dystopian hellscape.
Out front it has a more curved front end from the Ioniq 5, and has appropriately curved headlights and not the square LED blocks from the previous car.
Don’t let the photos fool you, the Ioniq 6 is a long car. It has a 2,950-mm wheelbase, which is nearly identical to the Ioniq 5. With its length, size, and shape, you’re not going to mistake this car for much anything else.
We applaud Hyundai for going all in on design. The other E-GMP cars look good, with the Genesis GV60 also being a bit “weird,” but you wouldn’t necessarily do a double-take on the road if you saw one. The Ioniq 6, like the Ioniq 5, will draw attention to itself.
It takes a lot of commitment for a design language like this, and we’re excited to see more cars coming out badged as an Ioniq and what they look like.
Also, during the press briefing it was mentioned that not only is there a place for N in the Ioniq lineup, but that we’ll hear more about the first Hyundai Ioniq N product as early as the end of the week!
The Ioniq 6 is going on sale in other parts of the world later this year, with the first models in U.S. customer hands in Q1 of 2023. Pricing, EPA-rated range, and availability will come later, but Ioniq 5 is currently offered in 38 states and quickly growing, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find one.
Assuming we have microchips by then.
