Glides under the wind

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A few years ago only Tesla drew 600 kilometers on one battery charge. But meanwhile, luxury brand Mercedes has succeeded as well, and now it’s even a bulky brand that Hyundai and Stromer offer to everyone. The new Ioniq 6 can travel 614 kilometers on a single charge of its battery with a net capacity of 74 kilowatt-hours (kWh). It has an average consumption of 14.3 or 15.1 kWh/100km, depending on the driving version. Even smaller electric cars often can’t keep up.

Neither electronics nor battery tricks help the five-seater save money, but good old physics: the lower the air resistance, the less energy it takes to accelerate a car. Therefore, the silhouette of the Ioniq 6 resembles an aquatic whale or penguin: the flat front, the bump above the heads of the passengers, and the long tail – a “duck tail”, says Hyundai. It’s somewhat similar to the Mercedes EQXX run, reaching record electric ranges. In production cars, it ranks second only to the Mercedes EQS for the Ioniq 6, but with a drag coefficient of 0.21.

More space than expected

It also creates a custom look. The sedan has little in common with its angular SUV sister model, the Ioniq 5, with which it shares the technology. From the front it looks almost like a 1980s coupé, and from the rear – actually – it looks like a Porsche. At least at first glance, because proportions lack width. There is a rear spoiler with a third brake light – the Ioniq shines backwards like a Christmas tree. It is not a car for every taste, but a car with its own character.

There’s a surprising amount of space inside, thanks to the nearly three-metre wheelbase; especially for the second row and heads there too. You could almost cross your legs in the back seats. The backrests can be folded in a 60:40 ratio, thus increasing the trunk from the usual 401 liters. You’re sitting higher than you’d expect in a limo up front – which isn’t surprising, because the battery in the lower body needs space. The two XL monitors for instruments and infotainment are familiar from other Hyundai Stromers, but the interior looks pleasantly more conservative thanks to the large center console at the front and actual buttons for all climate functions. The door panels are so thin that the window regulators are also placed in the middle.

More economical than long SUVs

There are two versions to start in Switzerland: 229 hp (168 kW) and rear-wheel drive (from 67,900 CHF) with a maximum range of 614 kilometers, and 325 hp (239 kW) and 583 kilometers all-wheel drive (from 71,900 CHF) . Optional 20-inch tires cost significantly more range than standard 18-inch tires, as they are heavier and also prettier. Both versions have a battery with a net capacity of 74 kWh, which can be charged from ten percent to 80 percent in 18 minutes, thanks to the 800-volt operating voltage of the Ioniq models with a charging capacity of up to 220 kilowatts (kW). .

On the test lap around Madrid, the base version bounces and steers a little softer and still sprints away at traffic lights. Surprisingly, with 13.6 kWh/100 km, we easily fell short of factory specifications, despite a large number of highways. It’s firmer in all-wheel drive, you can feel the drive behind the wheel at times, but it also makes for faster progress – 16.6 kWh/100 km. With the same technology, it easily cuts the bottom of the SUV Ioniq 5, which stands upright in the wind.

There’s only one thing you have to get used to: the basic version comes with traditional exterior mirrors blown by the wind. This is even more noticeable as the Ioniq 6 is very quiet other than that. Optionally there can be exterior mirrors with smaller cameras that need to go a few more kilometers out of range – great! However, the position of the monitors where the cameras project images has not been fully considered. It sits perfectly on the passenger side, looking at the screen from the front. However, you are looking at a very sharp angle on the driver’s side.

Please look very carefully

It’s especially annoying when you want to overtake: if you check past cars in the mirror for oncoming vehicles before leaving the road, you’ll hardly ever see them in the front corner of the monitor. Genesis, Hyundai’s noble daughter, has solved this much better with the GV60. Solution: Either get used to it and use the interior mirror more – or go with the classic mirrors.

The result: Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 is a comfortable electric travel car with lots of space and a head of character design. For this, and for its still almost unbeatable charging performance, the price starting at CHF 67,900 is appropriate. When it comes to exterior mirrors only, analog is better than digital for once. The market launch for us is mid-March.

Source: Blick