• The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 premieres for North America.
• Called an electrified streamliner by its maker, the 6 is a follow-up to – and a stylistic departure from – the 5.
• Hyundai estimates range could be 547 km, but that’s not set in stone yet.
Los Angeles, CA - Hyundai has presented the next all-electric model to come under its Ioniq banner, with the debut for North America of the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6.
Outside
This is a four-door ‘electrified streamliner’, as its maker chooses to call it, and its single-curve profile silhouette speaks to a desire to be sleek and, just as importantly, aerodynamic. And so Hyundai touts a drag coefficient of just 0.22, the best ever from a Hyundai vehicle.
Up front we find the new-design Hyundai ‘H’ logo with over 700 parametric pixels jazzing it up. Behind it is the sleek contours mentioned above, sitting on a long wheelbase (2950 mm) that helps deliver on the goal of creating a spacious, living-room type space for passengers (remember: flat floors, this being an EV) and a large cargo area behind them. All of it rests on new 19-inch or 20-inch machined black wheels.
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Inside
Aside from the sustainable materials being used throughout – de rigueur for the times – notable about the interior of the Ioniq 6 is its optimization of legroom thanks to that longer wheelbase. Roominess is the keyword, more so than in the Ioniq 5, no slouch itself in that department.
The modular touchscreen dashboard integrates a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital cluster under one piece of glass. The bridge-type centre console houses a storage space. Another de rigueur item in a new, premium-ish EV like this is ambient lighting, and sure enough it is here, with users able to choose from a spectrum of 64 colours and six dual-colour themes.
Powertrains
The Ioniq 6 comes in a few iterations. The 77.4-kWh battery pack can be had with two electric motor layouts - either a rear motor only or with both front and rear motors. The dual motor configuration means AWD, and in that case combined output is 320 hp and 446 lb-ft. of torque. In this configuration, the Ioniq 6 takes under five seconds to speed from 0-100 km/h. The single-rear-motor layout offers 225 hp and 258 lb-ft. of torque.
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Best range is delivered by the single-motor variant with 77.4-kWh battery; it’s estimated at 547 km. Otherwise, range tops out at 499 km (estimated) for the dual-motor (AWD) Ioniq 6 models.
The E-GMP platform the 2023 Ioniq 6 sits can support both 400-V and 800-V charging infrastructures. More specifically, the platform offers standard 800-V charging capability, but it can accommodate 400-V charging without the need for additional components or adapters.
The setup allows for charging from 10 to 80 percent in 18 minutes (optimally, on a DC fast charging station. Hyundai has installed a battery conditioning function to help speed charging even more. It activates automatically when a charging point is entered into the car’s connected routing navigation system. The battery heater turns on at the ideal time when the vehicle gets close to the charger.
Hyundai has also, for the first time, implemented over-the-air updating capability. Not for the first time, an Hyundai EV will come with the Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) functionality, which allows for charging or powering external devices using the car’s battery charge.
Hyundai rattles off a panoply of advanced drive assist and safety systems featured in the Ioniq 6, which we won’t detail here, but rest assured, what you’d expect from a brand-new EV like this is here.
We do note the presence of the Disconnector Actuator system, which allows the front and rear motors to be disconnected or connected during different levels of deceleration to optimize energy efficiency and vehicle stability. Ditto for the Electric Dynamic Torque Vectoring Control, designed to improve handing performance using partial braking and motor torque when cornering.
We’ll know more about all of that when we have occasion to drive the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6. That should be in the spring of 2023, which is when Hyundai says it will start to take orders from buyers. Pricing will be announced as we approach that launch.
