2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 First Drive Review: 6 is not higher than 5 (it is simply totally different) | Autoblog

SEOUL – The Ioniq 5 was a sea change EV. It presents extra room inside than it must be able to, extra tech than its price ticket suggests and involves play with wonderful effectivity and maybe one of the best adjustable-on-the-fly regenerative brake ranges obtainable. Now there’s the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6, and regardless of the title (or quantity), it isn’t merely an growth of the options that make the 5 the 5. It’s one other expression of what’s doable with an electrical powertrain and Hyundai’s E-GMP platform (additionally shared with the Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60), proving that you may take these constructing blocks and make a quirky-yet-practical crossover, or a smooth, beautiful fastback sedan.

The expectations have been excessive given my affection for the Ioniq 5, and truthfully, the 6 didn’t fairly impress in the identical method. That isn’t to say the Ioniq 6 gained’t have its followers. In reality, Hyundai representatives right here in South Korea mentioned that the 6 is each meant to be the aspirational mannequin within the Ioniq lineup and that will probably be priced beneath the 5 within the United States. For the report, the Ioniq 5 begins at $41,245 with a $1,295 vacation spot cost, which brings up an attention-grabbing query: will a sub-$40,000 electrical streamliner appeal to new patrons to both the Hyundai model or electrical automobiles on the whole?

Hyundai is definitely attempting progressive methods to search out clients with the Ioniq 6. The firm’s new advertising course contains issues like digital configurators and driving video games, together with methods to digitally work together with the Ioniq 6 in some nook of the Metaverse. The line between the precise, real-world Ioniq 6 and the digital model is blurred and getting blurrier in the case of paid promotions.

We want to reply our automotive questions IRL, however all the Ioniq 6’s secrets and techniques couldn’t be instantly pried open on South Korea’s public roads. Constant pace lure cameras have been only one issue that saved our drive to affordable speeds. At no level throughout our day of driving did we see any stretches of highway with a pace restrict above 100 kph (62 mph), for instance, and we’re not eager on breaking driving legal guidelines in international international locations. The excellent news (particularly for EV drivers) is {that a} pace restrict just isn’t the identical as an acceleration restrict, so it’s not like we have been evaluating a static mannequin.

The Ioniq 6 is a enjoyable automotive. Acceleration, as with all EV value its salt, is superb and paying homage to the Ioniq 5 (although clearly will depend on the motor/battery combo you get, extra on that beneath). In Sport mode, the system saved noticeably torquing the steering wheel to maintain the entrance wheels balanced and pointed straight forward. In the extra relaxed Eco mode, the steering really feel lightened, however you at all times felt the heavy battery mounted underneath the seats. It is an EV, in any case.

Thanks to their shared platform and an identical energy output on some trims, the truth that the Ioniq 5 and 6 provide comparable driving traits shouldn’t have been a shock. But in some way it was. The Ioniq 6 seems to be quicker and it’s not just like the 6 is lazy in the case of acceleration (it might nonetheless hit 60 mph in about 5 seconds with the dual-motor powertrain). Still, you discover the shortage of grab-hold-of-something acceleration extra in a automotive that has a efficiency vibe just like the Ioniq 6 than you do in an SUV-ish factor just like the 5.

The Ioniq 6 definitely has the potential to seize the creativeness of recent drivers due to its throwback fastback model, like a zero-emission Mercedes-Benz CLA for the lots. The wheelbase is a bit shorter than the 5 (116.1 inches in comparison with 118.1), however that’s nonetheless awfully lengthy, and there may be loads of rear legroom. Naturally, given the physique model, there may be not as a lot rear headroom within the 6, nor as a lot cargo house.

Since the Ioniq 6 gained’t begin manufacturing till December and gained’t go on sale within the United States till someday subsequent 12 months, we have been handled to prototype Korean-spec fashions for our drive. Our check automotive was a Long Range AWD mannequin and had digital facet cameras as a substitute of the normal mirrors that we’ll get within the United States. Amazingly, it didn’t take too many miles to get used to the digital “mirrors,” and hopefully, this know-how can be accepted right here quickly. Active air flaps within the grille, a rear spoiler positioned excessive up the EV’s bottom and aero wheels are simply a number of the methods the designers made the Ioniq 6 as slippery as doable, ending up with a drag coefficient of simply 0.21. That’s not fairly Mercedes EQS or Tesla Model S territory, but it surely’s shut.

The Ioniq 6’s aerodynamic effectivity helped us common 3.85 miles per kWh over our 136-mile drive, alternating via Eco, Normal and Sport modes and adjusting regenerative brake ranges relying on the state of affairs. As acknowledged, these miles have been your common, regular, customary, common miles, the sort most individuals will drive daily. That means our common power utilization must be what you may count on in the actual world. But we should always not slip too shortly previous that effectivity quantity. Getting 3.85 miles per kWh signifies that the power price to go 100 miles is just below 26 kWh. Only three different manufacturing EVs on the market within the United States can declare that sort of effectivity, in response to the EPA: the Tesla Model 3, the Lucid Air and the unique Hyundai Ioniq Electric. With higher effectivity than the Ioniq 5, however with the identical batteries because the Ioniq 5, it stands to cause that the 6 will obtain an extended vary than the Ioniq 5. Just how a lot remains to be to be decided and introduced.

The alternative of powertrain and battery choices is shared with the Ioniq 5, with one exception. That can be the Standard trim, which has the identical 53-kWh battery because the comparable 5, however decrease system voltage leads to a 148-horsepower motor somewhat than 168. Everything with the 77.4-kWh Long Range battery pack is copy and paste. The single motor model sends 225 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels. A second motor added to the entrance axle creates the non-compulsory all-wheel-drive mannequin, and ups efficiency to 320 hp and 446 lb-ft.

There are different variations with the Ioniq 5 they usually signify enhancements. The 6’s multi-charge know-how permits the automotive to benefit from the newest DC quick chargers — as much as 350 kW — at both 400 or 800 volts to refill the battery from 10 to 80 p.c full in simply 18 minutes. A brand new battery conditioning system will make this sort of expertise extra dependable. If you’ve plugged a DC quick charger into the nav system, the automotive will use a number of the battery’s power to verify the pack is on the right temperature to make sure it might benefit from that a lot direct present, even when it’s extraordinarily sizzling or chilly exterior. Some Ioniq 5 fashions will get this battery preconditioning know-how for 2023. The 6 may even provide a vehicle-to-load (V2L) bi-directional charging energy outlet, just like the 5.

There’s a minimalist ethos to the entire cabin expertise. Forward visibility can’t be crushed, on condition that the front-end slopes down so sharply that you simply may as nicely be driving a automotive with no hood. Rear visibility is wonderful. The clear and spacious cabin may really feel simplified, however there’s lots taking place behind the screens, together with the flexibility to customise the two-tone cabin lighting to match just about any temper.

Safety options within the Ioniq 6 present sturdy nannying capabilities if that’s your factor. Our Korean-spec tester used a nav system that knew the place each pace bump within the nation was positioned, and it informed us all about them. Lane-keeping help also can really feel overwhelming at instances, however you may flip it off with a protracted press of a button on the steering wheel. Improvements to the protection and comfort options embody higher lane-centering steering help for the Highway Driving Assist 2 adaptive cruise management system and an up to date Remote Smart Parking Assist 2 system that may park the automotive in parking heaps with painted strains which can be perpendicular, parallel or diagonal.

Hyundai has potential right here, if it retains the worth affordable. The Ioniq 6 is enjoyable, however not an excessive amount of enjoyable. In the top, the Ioniq 6 is a superb Hyundai EV, but it surely’s not the game-changer that the Ioniq 5 was. Despite all of the fantastic touches Hyundai put into the Ioniq 6, I’d personally keep on with the 5. At least till a wished-for Ioniq 6 N blows my socks off sometime.

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