South Korea, the land of Samsung and LG, the land of Seoul and the land you fall in love with once you’ve been there. The people, their manners, the food, but now more than ever, the land of Hyundai. The largest steel group in the world and an increasingly leading manufacturer of (electric) cars.
It is the car brand, both Hyundai and Kia, that has been widely embraced in Europe, and certainly in our country. Hyundai leads the list in many, from car of the year to best-selling and more. They lead the lists and in recent years have also had the guts to design cars that surprise and are innovative in many respects. It is clear that the brand has guts and is quirky.
The Kona already managed to turn the market upside down, but with the arrival of the Ioniq 5, a coat was really taken off. Daring in all respects, innovative but also sometimes hated. Not everyone was immediately in love with the sleekly styled Ioniq 5. It’s the best compliment you can get because it means that the design does something to you.
The story about the range that never became a story
We drove this Ioniq 5 to the southernmost point of Europe, Cabo de Sao Vicente in the Algarve, a journey of more than 2,500 km. A challenge with an EV to a country where electric charging is not exactly priority #1. And as an Ioniq 5 driver you are an exotic there with a Dutch license plate. It was the range story that wasn’t about the Ioniq’s range.
Never was the subject during the two months as a digital nomad living and working in the Algarve. After an average charging session under the clear blue sky, my dashboard indicates a range of well over 500 km. Proof that range is a subject that is mainly between our ears, until the sun is high in the sky every day.
And then suddenly there is an Ioniq 6 in the driveway. Streamlined to 3 decimal places. Everywhere you will find small details that confirm the secret of the low drag of 0.21. With Ioniq 6, Hyundai has gone looking for extra kilometers. That means an explicit design, no standard door handles, digital mirrors and smart grids. Designed for extra driving range. And actually you think, just ‘just’ up and down to that spot in southern Portugal.
Hyundai Ionic 6
The Ioniq 6 has been in the spotlight for a while now, but you can’t see it driving yet or it must be one of the test cars that we are now also on the road with. You can take everything you can say about the Ioniq 5 to the Ioniq 6. Again a daring design (but for a reason and based on Hyundai’s Prophecy concept) and again you either fall in love with the design or you completely love it nothing.
The Ioniq 6 is no compromise. It is also not the successor to the 5, but a new model with a distinct design, a completely new design concept in addition to the Ioniq 5 and certainly a car with its own target group.
The feast of recognition
As soon as we step into the Ioniq 6, it is indeed the feast of recognition. This Ioniq 6 is technically on the same (E-GMP) platform as the Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6 that we are so familiar with. The Ioniq 6 is available in a 53 kWh version or with a large battery of 77.4 kWh and one version with two motors, which is also the fastest version with 325 hp (605 Nm).
The big difference within the family is that the Ioniq 6 is the car with the lowest drag coefficient of 0.21 and therefore also the car with the best range. Then you have to choose 18 “rims and not for the much nicer-looking 20” that fit so well with this sporty and streamlined design.
It not only looks sportier but also feels that way
All current models on the E-GMP platform have their own looks, character and driving characteristics. Because we have driven serious distances with the Ioniq 5 (and EV6), we clearly feel a difference compared to the Ioniq 6. It not only looks sportier but also feels that way. It all seems a bit tighter than the extremely comfortable Ioniq 5. That something tighter and sportier also fits this car, which is still a ‘head turner’ at the moment.
Of course, the digital mirrors stand out and you have to get used to them in the car. In the dark, that’s for sure. But to immediately shout ‘give me normal mirrors’ after driving three times in the evening is too simple. This is new technology and it takes some getting used to. It still feels a bit like an iPhone user who gets an Android device.
Charging technology as a new benchmark and the Ioniq 6 is well equipped
It is clear that we find the range of a car, and certainly that of the Ioniq 6, less important. The range is top notch and exactly what you would like. A range of well over 400 km that increases when weather conditions and driving style go hand in hand. Much more important is how fast you can load. On the way, you usually do that when the battery is between 15 and 30 percent, if it suits you and if there is a fast charger on the route. It doesn’t matter how far you’ve driven.
The Ioniq 6 is equipped with 800 volt battery technology for super fast charging and that saves quite a bit. The existing E-GMP architecture is suitable for charging with both 400 and 800 volt installations. It means that with a 350 kW charger you can charge from 10 to 80 per cent in 18 minutes and boost your range by an extra 100 km in less than five minutes.
In practice, this means that you can charge an extra range of up to 351 km in fifteen minutes. As far as we are concerned, it is driving again and not hanging on to the charger unnecessarily. It means that the presence of fast charging technology is actually much more important than whether the Ioniq 6 can reach 431 or 467 km.
At home on the plug, do it smart
In addition to fast chargers, it also matters a lot whether you can charge at home. With a 3-phase charger, this happens with the Ioniq 6 at a speed of 11 kWh, so you don’t really have to hang on the charger for long at home. It is recommended to opt for a smart charging station so that you can use the lowest possible rates at home to charge the Ioniq 6.
Ioniq 6 and WLTP (quickly forgotten)
The ‘vehicle’ WLTP was devised to compare EVs with each other. Nowadays it is also a benchmark to sometimes flare cars. They’re just not all-determining numbers. In any case, it is a hot topic in the Netherlands. In the media it sometimes seems that it is only about range, range and more range. The cars come much less far, but that is nonsense. This is how it comes as far as circumstances allow.
Driving an Ioniq 6 at temperatures between 0 and 12 degrees gives a different score than driving above 20 degrees. Do you live in an urban or rural area? Do you drive a lot on the highway, headwind, 18 or 20 inch rims under the car and then with what average. And there are even more factors to consider. After all, no day is the same, just like the driver.
It is clear that Hyundai has succeeded in designing a car with an extremely low drag coefficient, 800-volt battery technology and a battery pack of 77 kWh with the Ioniq 6. Three important reasons that make electric driving a pleasure and that you will never wonder about that range and WLTP. It’s about driving pleasure and with that in mind, the Ioniq 6 is an excellent choice that can best be described as an energy-efficient tastemaker with a distinct design.
