2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 First Test: Does The Model 3 Finally Have A Worthy Rival?
The Ioniq 6 is the first serious competitor to Tesla's Model 3 since it was released in 2017. Based on the same chassis as its baby brother
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 This is the IONIQ 6.
00:10 Striking, affordable, efficient.
00:14 Hyundai's shot across Tesla's bow.
00:17 You may remember its baby brother,
00:19 the sort of an SUV, but really more of a hatchback,
00:22 IONIQ 5, our Motor Trend SUV of the year,
00:26 the first EV to win the award.
00:29 We like that car.
00:30 We like this one too.
00:32 Like the IONIQ 5 on which it's based,
00:34 this car can be purchased with the choice of two battery
00:37 packs, rear wheel drive, all wheel drive, one or two motors.
00:41 Unlike the IONIQ 5, however, this car
00:44 is slipperier than a soap salesman,
00:46 in an aerodynamic sense, I mean, with a drag
00:49 coefficient of just 0.22.
00:52 And that, crucially, means more range.
00:56 That's the name of the game with the IONIQ 6.
00:59 It's not the quickest, it's not the most luxurious,
01:02 and it's not the most stylish.
01:04 What it is, is the first EV to come along and legitimately
01:10 challenge Tesla.
01:11 Tesla has enjoyed a dynastic reign
01:25 over the market for the past decade.
01:27 Now, though, the pack is catching up.
01:30 The new front runner, the Koreans.
01:32 The Bolsheviks are at the door, Mr. Musk.
01:38 And the IONIQ 6 is the car Hyundai hopes
01:44 is going to turn doubters into believers.
01:46 This one uses their top shelf 77.4 kilowatt hour battery
01:51 and dual motors, developing 320 horsepower and 446 pound-feet
01:56 of torque.
01:56 Thanks to a rear-biased all-wheel drive system,
02:06 this dual motor version of the IONIQ 6
02:09 rockets from 0 to 60 in 4.4 seconds.
02:13 Wow.
02:13 And that's an interesting point, actually,
02:18 the performance of this car.
02:20 Whilst it's not quick by EV standards,
02:24 it's still pretty quick.
02:25 I mean, newsflash, all EVs are quick.
02:28 And yes, being a sedan with a drag coefficient of 0.22,
02:32 it certainly looks sporty.
02:34 Indeed, Hyundai themselves say that this
02:36 is a car which is more driver-focused than the IONIQ 5.
02:40 However, this isn't a sports sedan.
02:44 What it is, is a very boring car.
02:47 And I mean that in a good way.
02:50 The fact that it's an EV isn't prohibitive.
02:52 What Hyundai have done fantastically well
02:55 with the IONIQ 6 is made a product which, quite honestly,
02:59 you forget is an EV.
03:01 Until, that is, you're doing 80 miles an hour,
03:04 and you decide, I'm going to put my foot down
03:06 and see what happens.
03:08 And at 80, it just keeps going.
03:10 90, 95, that's 100.
03:12 And remember, this is not a sports sedan.
03:15 That's 100. And remember, this is not a quick car.
03:18 But they really have gone after the efficiency.
03:23 And that, I think, is the masterstroke of this car.
03:26 That's what they've got so right.
03:28 Yes, it has the party trick, it has the 4.4 seconds to 60,
03:32 but more than that, it has range.
03:36 Which means that even after all of this
03:38 reckless high-speed driving,
03:40 I still have more than enough juice to get back to LA.
03:45 No need to start panic searching for charges in the IONIQ 6.
03:49 I love the retro design of the IONIQ 5.
03:58 So when it came to the IONIQ 6, I sort of didn't get it.
04:02 In photographs, at least, it looks ungainly.
04:04 It's way too long, with loads going on
04:07 at the back and the front,
04:08 and not a lot going on in this middle section.
04:12 But when I picked this car up
04:14 and got close to it for the first time,
04:16 I completely fell for it.
04:19 This limited trim is the highest IONIQ 6 grade available,
04:23 and as such, it appoints the vehicle with extra goodies
04:26 that make it feel more special.
04:28 Upgrades include standard power folding side mirrors,
04:31 powered front passenger seats, ventilated front seats,
04:34 a heated steering wheel,
04:35 and eight-speaker Bose Premium Audio.
04:38 This car has the optional $1,000 Gravity Gold paint,
04:41 which is very nice.
04:42 And it also has the 20-inch wheels,
04:45 which again, are very nice,
04:46 but they scrub so much of the range from the car
04:49 that honestly, you'd have to be crazy to spec 'em.
04:52 How much, I hear you ask?
04:54 A lot.
04:55 This all-wheel drive model could have 316 miles of range
04:59 were it to be on the 18s,
05:01 but as it's on the 20s,
05:02 that figure drops below the Magic 300
05:06 all the way to 270.
05:11 The cheaper single-engine,
05:12 rear-wheel drive, long-range model
05:14 is almost certainly the IONIQ 6 to have.
05:18 With a EPA-verified range of 361 miles,
05:23 that is three miles more than the Tesla Model 3.
05:28 Back to this interior for a sec.
05:30 I really do love it in here.
05:32 The IONIQ 6 is borderline luxurious.
05:35 The cabin is super quiet, even at freeway speeds,
05:38 keeping tire and wind noise to an absolute minimum.
05:42 The seats are wildly comfortable
05:45 and the ride quality is firm,
05:47 but supple enough to dismiss most
05:49 any road imperfection you come across.
05:51 In our Motor Trend testing,
05:57 the IONIQ 6 did a quarter mile in 13.2 seconds
06:02 at a trap speed of 103 miles per hour.
06:05 And like I said earlier,
06:06 a zero to 60 time of 4.4 seconds.
06:09 Plenty, plenty fast enough for a family sedan.
06:13 And like I said, like I keep saying,
06:15 that's not what this car is about.
06:17 So the fact that it still posts pretty terrific numbers
06:20 should just be a bonus in addition to great range.
06:24 This car kind of does a bit of everything
06:28 and does it very well.
06:29 Yeah, the brakes, the brakes are not,
06:33 I mean, they were, but they're not confidence-inspiring.
06:36 You don't know when to lean on them.
06:38 The steering's pretty nice.
06:39 I quite like how heavy the steering is.
06:42 Sport mode, it does, oh, there go the wheels,
06:44 there go the tires, oh!
06:47 You really can still be allowed in this car
06:49 if you want to be.
06:50 Remarkable, what a car.
06:51 Feels very planted.
06:54 It's lovely to have a lower center of gravity.
06:57 Wow, listen to that noise.
06:59 What a cacophony of great sound.
07:03 This may be the first EV
07:05 where the sound design is engaging enough
07:09 to not make me miss the absence
07:13 of an internal combustion engine.
07:14 As you'd expect, it's got all manner
07:17 of very clever torque vectoring
07:19 and smart ways that it applies the brakes
07:22 so that when you're entering a corner spiritedly,
07:25 it can work to get you around the corner as safely
07:27 and crucially as efficiently as possible.
07:30 Woo-hoo!
07:34 Oh, God, there's a lot, quite significant G-forces
07:38 when you really push a car like this.
07:40 About to say hello to my breakfast.
07:42 Wow, this car grips.
07:45 You know, for a not sporty car,
07:48 it feels pretty damn sporty to me.
08:01 Compared to the Tesla, well, personal feelings aside,
08:05 the IONIQ 6 is just a better vehicle.
08:08 It drives better, it rides better, it looks better.
08:12 It's a clean sweep.
08:13 Crucially, for me, it still feels like a car.
08:18 It's tactile, it's familiar.
08:20 In this new era of electric motoring,
08:22 I don't think there's anything wrong
08:23 with yearning for a few things
08:25 which remind us where we're coming from.
08:28 The interior, the switch gear, the infotainment,
08:31 nothing is different for the sake of being different.
08:35 There are no silly gimmicky names of fart mode.
08:40 Even the exterior styling is out there,
08:43 but it's not too much.
08:45 Honestly, if you told me this was a Citroen concept car
08:49 from the mid '90s, I'd believe you.
08:52 This car is remarkably unremarkable,
08:55 but that is sort of the point.
08:57 Once you get past the initial buzzword-filled talking points
09:00 which come from any EV, the instant torque,
09:02 the regen braking, it really is just like
09:05 any other normal car,
09:07 albeit one made to a very high specification.
09:11 This is a modestly priced EV that I actually want to drive.
09:16 There's a first.
09:19 (car engine roaring)
09:23 (car engine roaring)
09:26 (thudding)