Yahoo Autos 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 Preview Drive: 6 isn't better than 5 (it's just different)
SEOUL – The Ioniq 5 was a sea change EV. It offers more room inside than it should be capable of, more tech than its price tag suggests and comes to play with excellent efficiency and perhaps the best adjustable-on-the-fly regenerative brake levels available. Now there’s the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6, and despite the name (or number), it isn’t simply an expansion of the features that make the 5 the 5. It’s another expression of what’s possible with an electric powertrain and Hyundai’s E-GMP platform (also shared with the Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60), proving that you can take these building blocks and make a quirky-yet-practical crossover, or a sleek, gorgeous fastback sedan.
The expectations were high given my affection for the Ioniq 5, and honestly, the 6 didn’t quite impress in the same way. That isn’t to say the Ioniq 6 won’t have its fans. In fact, Hyundai representatives here in South Korea said that the 6 is both meant to be the aspirational model in the Ioniq lineup and that it will be priced below the 5 in the United States. For the record, the Ioniq 5 starts at $41,245 with a $1,295 destination charge, which brings up an interesting question: will a sub-$40,000 electric streamliner attract new buyers to either the Hyundai brand or electric vehicles in general?
Hyundai is certainly trying innovative ways to find customers with the Ioniq 6. The company’s new marketing direction includes things like virtual configurators and driving games, including ways to digitally interact with the Ioniq 6 in some corner of the Metaverse. The line between the actual, real-world Ioniq 6 and the digital version is blurred and getting blurrier when it comes to paid promotions.
We prefer to answer our car questions IRL, but all of the Ioniq 6’s secrets could not be immediately pried open on South Korea’s public roads. Constant speed trap cameras were just one factor that kept our drive to reasonable speeds. At no point during our day of driving did we see any stretches of road with a speed limit above 100 kph (62 mph), for example, and we're not keen on breaking driving laws in foreign countries. The good news (especially for EV drivers) is that a speed limit is not the same as an acceleration limit, so it’s not like we were evaluating a static model.
The Ioniq 6 is a fun car. Acceleration, as with any EV worth its salt, is excellent and reminiscent of the Ioniq 5 (though obviously depends on the motor/battery combo you get, more on that below). In Sport mode, the system kept noticeably torquing the steering wheel to keep the front wheels balanced and pointed straight ahead. In the more relaxed Eco mode, the steering feel lightened, but you always felt the heavy battery mounted under the seats. It is an EV, after all.
Thanks to their shared platform and identical power output on some trims, the fact that the Ioniq 5 and 6 offer similar driving characteristics should not have been a surprise. But somehow it was. The Ioniq 6 looks faster and it’s not like the 6 is lazy when it comes to acceleration (it can still hit 60 mph in about 5 seconds with the dual-motor powertrain). Still, you notice the lack of grab-hold-of-something acceleration more in a car that has a performance vibe like the Ioniq 6 than you do in an SUV-ish thing like the 5.
The Ioniq 6 certainly has the potential to capture the imagination of new drivers thanks to its throwback fastback style, like a zero-emission Mercedes-Benz CLA for the masses. The wheelbase is a bit shorter than the 5 (116.1 inches compared to 118.1), but that’s still awfully long, and there is plenty of rear legroom. Naturally, given the body style, there is not as much rear headroom in the 6, nor as much cargo space.
