DRIVE > IONIQ 6

Hang on are you really writing a review about a Hyundai car? How did that happen?

Well, it may have sneaked up on you but Hyundai have gone from being a low cost entry level vehicle to high performing, fully featured brand offering quality motor vehicles.

Yep sure I get it and I am impressed, but this is not Drive or CarSales.com, we write about style, design, luxury and travel so what is the style or luxury aspect with these new Hyundai cars?

Great question but it shows you have been asleep. At the World Car Awards 2023 the Hyundai IONIQ 6 won the EV Of The Year, Car Design Of The Year and the Car Of The Year awards. But what is even more impressive is that Hyundai won the same three awards last year (2022) for the IONIQ 5 – they were voted Best Car Design and Best Car of The Year that is the top three awards, two years in a row, combine that everyone wants to know about the best EV of the year and that sounds like design, style and cool right there!

Further. this is no slouch of an award with 100 of the worlds most distinguished motoring journalists from 32 countries voting to select the prize winner by secret ballot.

Right so its something the Almanak readers might be interested in, you better get on with telling us, what is so special about this car the IONIQ 6?

It starts with the shape, the IONIQ 6 was designed to be an aerodynamic sweeping silhouette with the lowest drag possible (they actually achieved a drag coefficient of just 0.21). Think flush door handles (like Tesla has), a sweeping curved shape all designed to reduce the resistance as the car accelerates, super aero dynamic means super efficient, so every aspect of the car’s body is making this the smoothest possible. Right down to the double stacked spoiler on the back which is reminiscent of the whale tail a Porsche 911.

So tell us about the technology

There is a lot of tech in this car and plenty of places to read more or drive review videos to watch, we are not that kind of publication; but here are the important bits.

• HTRAC Dual All Wheel Drive Motor 239kW/605Nm – two engines driving four wheels
• 74kWh lithium ion battery – that will get you upto 635km range
• Charging Port is Type 2 – That means it will take 8 hours to charge at home but a CCS Fast Charge will get you 80% or 335km in 16 mins
• Digital Mirrors (video mirror) – yep that is a cool idea
• USB A and USB C ports all around the car
• Dynamic lights on the steering wheel – provide colour feedback a bit like your google speaker
• Two 12.3 inch touch screens for the digital display
• Bluelink Over The Air (OTA) pairing with your phone car systems
• Collision avoidance system that will brake and swerve to avoid a crash
• Dual mode climate control
• Electric seats
• Wireless Charging
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (only via cable)

So what about storage

There is lots and lots of efficient storage. The position of the electric engines means you have some smart spaces to create effective storage and the IONIQ 6 has a ‘bridge-type centre console’, which houses the window switches, cupholders and a wireless charging pad and underneath it has a great big shelf for even more storage.

Ok so is it comfortable?

The cars interior is very spacious  for the driver and front seat passenger and as long as you are not taller than 6 foot the back seats also have lots of room, however the rake of the roof line does restrict some of the room in the back.

There is mood lighting and you can choose from a spectrum of 64 colours and six colour themes to help create just the right driving mood, seats are eco-processed leather with heated seats as standard and the TECHNIQ and EPIQ versions also getting ventilated seats, as well as heated a steering wheel and heated seats in the rear.

Part of its green credentials the carpets are made from recycled fishing nets and a flaxseed oil extract has been used in the leather dying process which apparently also reduced environmental impacts.

Lastly how does it drive?

The smart cabin makes it comfortable to drive the car, steering is responsive and adaptive making it easy to park, cruise the suburbs and overtake on the highways the dual motor AWD EPIQ can apparently jump from 80 to 120kph in just 3.3 seconds. The 0 to 100 kph is claimed to be 5.1 seconds which puts it in the same class as hot hatches. The cabin is very quiet and there is not a lot of road noise even when cruising at 110 kph on the freeway.

So lastly would you want to own one?

You know I am super impressed, this is a very smart EV, with great styling and lots and lots of smart features, I wish the Apple CarPlay was bluetooth wireless but that is a fairly small concern in what is clearly an excellent vehicle.

The Hyundai Ioniq 6 comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty and an eight-year/160,00km high-voltage battery warranty, so I feel tempted.

PRICE | $94,500 (Drive Away EPIQ all week drive) or $81,390 for the Drive Away RWD Dynamic