Hyundai Ioniq 6 Wants to Take on Tesla Model 3
The automaker’s streamlined electric sedan is a nod to the aerodynamic design of the distant past.
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- Hyundai reveals the design of the 2024 Ioniq 6 electric sedan, due in 2023 as a 2024 model, and based on the E-GMP platform shared with a number of Kia and Hyundai EVs.
- The design of the electric sedan features a number of nods to streamlined cars of years past.
- The sedan promises aerodynamic styling and a spacious interior, complete with cyberpunk-style lighting, along with a relatively modest starting price.
If you remember the Hyundai Prophecy concept from 2020, the design of the Ioniq 6 may not be all that much of a surprise. But if you haven’t see that concept, the new sedan unveiled this week will certainly look different from other EVs on the road, and it could remind you of cars as different as Porsche 911s from the 1980s, the Tatra 603 from the 1960s, or the Infiniti J30, among others. There are plenty of influences to be discovered if you stare at it long enough.
But the car itself is aimed at a modern competitor, one that has had the segment pretty much to itself for years in the US, and isn’t all that used to competition.
Underpinned by the E-GMP platform like its Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 siblings, the Ioniq 6 is aimed squarely at the smaller of Tesla’s two sedans, with Hyundai looking as far back as the streamlined automobiles of the 1930s for inspiration. That inspiration is evident in the profile and window and shoulder line, leading to a tapered tail out back.
But it’s not a hatchback, unlike a number of other electric sedans and crossovers at the moment.
“The distinctive streamlined design is the result of close cooperation between engineers and designers, with obsessive attention to detail and customer-centric values at the core,” said SangYup Lee, executive vice president and head of Hyundai Design Center. “We have created the Ioniq 6 as a mindful cocoon that offers personalized place for all.”
If the exterior pays tribute to different eras, the interior is a neon-lit trip to cyberpunk films of the 1980s, or a tour of Miami’s South Beach. Mood lighting plays a big role in creating the atmosphere for the interior, with the automaker offering users a spectrum of 64 colors in addition to six dual color themes, while a familiar 12-inch widescreen infotainment panel attached to the dash like an open book. You’ve probably noticed a couple other screens by now in the A-pillars, and those are indeed the camera-based replacements for the side mirrors. But that’s one part that could be a little too futuristic for US regulators, so perhaps we see conventional mirrors when the sedan gets here in 2023.
Those digital side mirrors are one element helping the sedan achieve a drag coefficient of just 0.21, with the active air flaps at the front and the low nose also to thank. An elliptical wing-inspired spoiler with a winglet helps as well.
The theme of efficiency extends to the interior materials, with Hyundai using recycled PET fabric and eco-process leather for the seats, bio paint derived from vegetable oils on the doors, and carpet made from recycled fishing nets. Still, the cabin does not appear minimalist, even though Hyundai designers removed such details as buttons on the doors themselves, relocating many buttons to just below the infotainment touchscreen.
“The user-centric interior architecture is exemplified by an ergonomically designed control unit that is centrally located to reduce distraction and spur safe, intuitive driving,” the automaker notes. “The modular touchscreen dashboard integrates a 12-inch full-touch infotainment display and 12-inch digital cluster. A bridge-type center console provides convenient and generous in-car storage.”
Curiously, Hyundai hasn’t shown just what the rear passenger compartment will look like, or the contours of the seats. But if the first glimpses of the cabin are any indication, rear passengers should be in for an equally retro experience.
This week’s reveal is all about exterior design, so prospective buyers will have to wait a bit longer for the drivetrain specs. But if the other E-GMP cars are any indication, the sedan should get a choice of a 58.0-kWh or 77.4-kWh battery pack, with a range of up to 310 miles if it sticks close to the specs of the Kia EV6. A starting price around the $45,000 mark prior to any incentives also seems likely, as it will have to compete with other affordable electric sedans in this segment, which should expand by the time the Ioniq 6 arrives as a 2024 model-year EV.