You would be forgiven for thinking that in the current day and age, more and more cars are looking the same as each other. That the roads are filled with miles of bland shapes with uninteresting auras. So, when the Hyundai Ioniq 6 was revealed last year, I gave it a bit more attention than 95% of new cars that year. Because in short, this new streamliner looked good.
It finally revealed something interesting for the average buyer. Something quirky that makes you go ‘oooh’ for the first time in what feels like 20 years. Saying that, the Ioniq 5 pulled off the same trick, and in 2022, nearly 20,000 of the things were sold throughout Europe – marking it as a simply biblical success. This shows that no matter how uninterested people are in cars these days, there is still a sizable market for something out-of-the-box.
So, the simple question is this: is the Ioniq 6 as good as it looks – and at £50,000, is it good enough to convince someone out of their Tesla and into one of these?
Well for a start, it’ll stop onlookers in their tracks. It already has done among a herd of supercars at Caffeine and Machine, and who can blame them? The curvy sculpture and well-rounded profile received Porsche observations, but I rather think it’s a modern day Saab 96 – with a bit of 900 Turbo at the rear with the little duck spoiler. It’s a wonderfully curvaceous, svelte-looking thing.
The one thing that isn’t so pleasant is the blandness of the current spec options. My car was allegedly finished in Biophilic Blue, but under every light and in front of every set of eyeballs, it’s black. The configurator appears to have a green that’s also black, and 5 shades of grey. Only the red and light blue really stand out. The interior is even more guilty: it would be wonderful to specify a nice tan or cream cabin, but you only get black or the same grey that you would find on the dashboard of a 1997 Ford Mondeo. For a car that looks this good, it should have at least one or two interesting colour options. The same story goes for the Ioniq 5, sadly.
However, whereas the Ioniq 5 tricked us all into thinking it was the size of a Golf, but was actually closer to an X3, the Ioniq 6 is pretty much the same size as a C-Class Mercedes. In fact, the 6 shares its platform with the 5 and has exactly the same wheelbase length. In terms of practicality, the 5 has the inch over the 6 as the swoopy saloon has 401 litres of boot space compared to 527 in its crossover sibling. But even so, the Ioniq 6’s boot is decently spacious enough if you want to tackle trips to IKEA – provided you don’t buy a king-sized bed. Speaking of which, the rear legroom is huge enough to comfortably chauffeur King Henry VIII, and Cardinal Wolsey could comfortably fit his desk into the footwell.
The 6 also has exactly the same powertrain options as the 5. My test car was the lower spec 228hp RWD version. It’s the only driving example in the country at the time of writing, but when it eventually goes on sale, you’ll be able to spend an extra £3,500 and get an extra 100hp and AWD. On paper, that sounds like a complete no brainer, but the man from Hyundai who gave me the car did say that down the line, other trims would be available which will spread out the price differences. 18-inch wheels are also said to become an option, but at the moment, we have to make do with 20-inches wearing a set of Pirelli P-Zeros.
Once you’re on the move, it doesn’t feel particularly alien to drive. Anyone moving out of an ICE car and into one of these will not be intimidated by its electrifying nature. For one, it’s pretty quick; and that 228hp doesn’t jump out at you immediately after pressing the throttle. Instead, it’s progressive and relaxed which is a really nice alternative to the back-stabbing acceleration of a Tesla. But even so, 0-60 is dealt with in 7.4 seconds, so it won’t leave you wanting more oomph. Top speed is around 115mph, but that’s hardly relevant in an EV since they can never match an ICE car on outright performance.
Another pleasant surprise is that the Ioniq 6 has a beautifully wafty nature to it. Though nowhere near SUV-level, you sit in a slightly elevated driving position above average hatchbacks and saloons – if you’ve ever driven an old Mercedes from the 60s, 70s, or even 80s – you’ll experience the same feeling of ‘I’m slightly better than you, darling’ to the car next to you. Couple that to the Ioniq 6’s sublime ride quality over the many potholes and bumps of the Cotswolds, and it’s almost like driving a modern-day version of a W123.
The interior is a lovely place to be too. Hyundai used to be a subject of ridicule 10-15 years ago, but everything you touch, and feel is reassuringly upmarket and very well thought out. The materials feel premium, and the cabin feels wonderfully airy thanks to the swooping windows and large sunroof. Unlike a lot of modern cars, you don’t have a hard time seeing out of it. Yes, it has cameras that assist you when parking, but it’s reassuring that you can comfortably look at your surroundings when you turn your head.
As for range? Hyundai claim that this RWD long-range version will achieve around 338 miles, and throughout my drive, I was steadily achieving 3.8 miles per kW/h and the car was very frugal at letting go each mile of range from its 77.4kW battery back, so I do believe it can come close to the 300-mile barrier. It can’t quite cover the same distance (claimed) as a Tesla Model 3 on a single charge, but it’s very competitive against the Polestar 2 and BMW i4. But the car from Munich is a whole £10,000 more expensive than the Ioniq 6, and to be frankly honest, it’s difficult to see what the extra cash will get you.
Certainly, the Model 3 and now-updated Polestar 2 are more competitive in terms of positioning and capabilities. But both are pretty common sights on the roads now, and the Ioniq 6 offers a certain degree of quirkiness that its rivals haven’t achieved.
At around £50,000, the difficulty lies in those who buy well-specced BMWs, Mercs, Audis, or Jaguars. For that money, you can easily get a nicely-equipped 5-Series or an A5 Sportback – and for the motorway commute, those will undoubtedly be more cost-effective options. But for the breakaway market that’s looking to get out of their ICE ‘bahn stormer’ and into an EV, the Ioniq 6 is a very compelling option. It’s very well-made, spacious, comfortable, frugal on range, and has a lovely sense of waft. And anybody wanting to get out of their Tesla can easily get accustomed to one of these – it’s a very close competitor to Musk’s fleet and is arguably a more refreshing place to be as an overall package.
You can tell that Hyundai’s designers and engineers developed the Ioniq 6 in an extremely thorough manner and thought everything through, leaving little to be desired. If you’re going to throw a car around corners and comment on its ‘sporting credentials’, then the Ioniq 6 is not for you. It may not excite a chassis enthusiast or thrill a drag racer, but the Ioniq 6 is sensibly minded, and very well thought-out. So, if you want a beautifully made, comfortable electric car to commute in which doesn’t cost half-the-moon, this is it.
Another comforting thought is that it proves manufacturers are still capable of designing interesting products; the Ioniq 6 is a future classic in my eyes, and the question is, who will give us the next ‘ooh’ moment in the electrified age?