Two and a half years after showing off the Prophecy concept, Hyundai unveiled the production electric sedan Ioniq 6 ahead of the date of its sale later this year. While the Ioniq 6’s unique styling is sure to be divisive, it does stand out from the pack and compliments the existing Ioniq 5. If the Ioniq 5 looks like a 1980s hatchback concept, the Ioniq 6 brings the quirky show car of the 1990s to life.
The sloping profile of the Ioniq 6 helps give the car a wind resistance coefficient of 0.21, which is comparable to the Lucid Air and beats the Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model 3. The curves of the roofline and side windows make the rear of the Ioniq 6 look low-slung from certain angles. Its body surfaces are very clean, with a clear rising line on the lower door sills and a contrasting gray finish on the side skirts and lower bumper sections.
A thin black band runs along the top of the front bumper, which hides all the necessary sensors and cameras as well as the lights that show the car’s charging status. The lower part of the bumper has a thin air intake using active louvers flanked by black trapezoidal inserts on the edge of the bumper that hide more air curtains. The short hood has some nice sculpting and the headlights contain the same pixel-style LEDs as the Ioniq 5. And the rear is where things get weird. There’s a nice little ducktail spoiler above the pixel taillight bar that spans the width of the back and has a point at each edge. The intricate lower bumper has vertical brakes and extra pixel lights, just like the Prophecy concept, and air intakes in the corners. The strangest and coolest feature is the second spoiler on the tailgate located at the bottom of the window, which has a transparent panel containing more pixel lights which in turn make up the CHMSL. there are more than 700 parametric pixels in total on the car, and the Ioniq 6 also features Hyundai’s new H badge for the first time.
While not as aggressive as it looks, the Ioniq 6’s cockpit is still very cool. The upper dash is essentially the same as the Ioniq 5 – a pair of 12-inch screens merged into one display mounted above the vents that run through the dash. instead of the open area under the climate control panel, the Ioniq 5 has a removable floating center console, and the Ioniq 6 has a higher bridge center channel that contains storage bins and window controls, with a large open space underneath. Materials used in the Ioniq 6 include recycled PET fabric for the seats, vegetable oil-derived paint for the doors, and recycled fishnet for the carpet.
Like the Ioniq 5, the steering wheel has four square dots in place of the Hyundai logo – the letter H in Morse code – but on the Ioniq 6 they light up in different colors, such as green to indicate that the car is charging. The door cards are great, with a strip containing a speaker grille separate from the ribbed door panels, and its complete lack of buttons as a way to get more comfort and space. Configurable interior ambient lighting is standard, with light softly scattered across interior surfaces. Unfortunately, Hyundai hasn’t released any photos of the rear seat or cargo area, but the brand promises passengers will have plenty of legroom and a flat floor.
The exact specifications of the Ioniq 6 are not yet known, but it uses the same E-GMP platform that is used by the Kia EV6, Genesis GV60 and almost every other electric vehicle coming from Hyundai. Both a single-motor setup and rear-wheel drive will be standard, with dual-motor all-wheel drive optional, and the Ioniq 6 will likely use a 77.4 kWh battery pack. As for the range, it is expected to be at least 300 miles according to the EPA cycle, and even more when considering the aerodynamic body of the Ioniq 6.
The Ioniq 6 will reportedly go on sale in the U.S. in 2023 and could have a starting price of around $45,000. More details will be known when the Ioniq 6 makes its public debut at the Busan Motor Show in July, where it will be introduced next year in the larger Ioniq 7 SUV.
