Hyundai Ioniq 6 | Test Drive | Auto Class Magazine

Hyundai Ioniq 6 | Test Drive

26 November 2024 Redazione News, Tested

Words Matteo Lavazza / Photos Daniél Rikkard

I know what you’re thinking, that’s why I’ll go straight to the point. Three simple words: you are wrong. Yes, the Ioniq 6 may be unusual in terms of design, with its curved and tapered lines, the result of a “streamline” style directly taken from the late 20s, but there’s a very specific reason for this, not to mention this particular shape makes it one of the most interesting and efficient electric sedans on the market. Of course, you may like it or not and it almost excludes half measures, but if you ever have the opportunity to drive it and maybe live with it long enough to get in tune with its true essence, you’ll come back here to prove me right.

The Ioniq 6 is a close relative of the Ioniq 5, but they actually seem to come from different planets. The 5 thanks its set of square and ruler, while the 6 has a style on its own and decidedly unusual in the list of the last – so to speak – 100 years of automobiles. It all starts with a curved front, small headlights that do not hide its true dimensions, which are also more generous than initially perceived. It goes through an elongated side profile that offers on board space for five people, arriving at the most controversial area, an extremely elaborate tail that descends in a front-mirrored manner and integrates two spoilers that certainly do not pass unnoticed, especially because of an equally visible light strip. This however grants the Ioniq 6 the merit of boasting an aerodynamic coefficient of 0.21, one of the lowest values in the game.

Yes, speaking of a fully electric car and therefore focusing much on its efficiency raison d’etre, we have just touched on something very important. The version being tested is the one that sits at the top of the catalog, equipped with two engines, each of which takes care of the respective axle, thus offering four-wheel drive, or greater driving safety regardless of road conditions. Yes, because this is a car that must make sense always and everywhere, regardless of purely personal opinions on its aesthetics. On board, as mentioned, up to 5 people can sit. The seating position is lower than usual and the leg and head room is surprising, both front and back. The load capacity is a partly different matter, where in the front we find just 12 liters, while in the back a 400-liter trunk, certainly not the best in the category, but still enough for a standard family.

This catfish-esque electric cruiser delivers a maximum power of 325 horsepower and 605 Nm of torque, with 77.4 kWh batteries that receive up to 350 kW of direct input. This means that in a 150 kW fast-charging scenario, it takes just 10 minutes to regenerate a good 200 kilometers of range. Not bad, considering that with a full tank of electrons it is possible to travel about 550 km (the manufacturer claims a few more), using 3 (+1) regenerative braking modes, which depending on the context of use can exceed the average values obtained during our test.

The Ioniq 6 is a gigantic living room to sit in, equipped with comfortable leather seats, two 12.3-inch displays and an infotainment system perfectly in step with the times. There is more, because there is space to store objects in any convenient niche created almost everywhere, while the grip of the two-spoke steering wheel underlines a drivability that has nothing to envy to the competition. It is precisely the feeling while driving that makes living with the Ioniq 6 something unexpected, because even if it maintains a soft and traveler nature, just press the button for the 3 driving modes located under the left spoke of the steering wheel to stiffen the steering just enough (in Sport mode, ed.) and tackle a winding road combining the aforementioned comfort with greater precision that inhibits the awareness of moving a car that is almost 4.9 meters long and weighs over 2 tons. Hyundai also pampers you with some unexpected gems, such as the automatic closing of the windows when approaching tunnels, then reopening ‘em in the previous position once you get out. I swear, I had never seen this before.

The top-of-the-range version of our test takes 5.1 seconds to go from 0 to 100 kph, all thanks to the traction guaranteed by the AWD system and a top speed of 185 kph, enough not to drain the batteries unnecessarily, but good for making possible to go a little further than usual, perhaps in a motorway context, where the particular design that is no longer the absolute centre of the discussion returns to the forefront making the Ioniq 6 more efficient than any other electric sedan of equal and generous dimensions.

As for prices, we start from €47,850 for the entry level with just 151 horsepower, going up to €52/55 thousand for the versions with 77.4 kWh batteries and 229 horsepower. The AWD with two engines like the one of this very test is certainly not cheap at €62,750, but on the other hand it demonstrates how it is perfectly possible to take different directions from the others, still offering an extremely valid product from the point of view of efficiency, technology and on-board comfort. The Ioniq 6 is not for everyone and even more markedly than the square Ioniq 5 needs to be assimilated little by little. What is certain is that after having driven it and put it to the test in the most disparate commutes of my working weeks at the beginning of summer, it is one of those cars in which I would gladly return to sit.