Do all electric vehicles have to be crossovers or SUVs? Hyundai says no. That’s why they launched the Ioniq 6. The Ioniq 5 was this crossover model. This one here, now the Ioniq 6, is the EV sedan. You can see it in this fluent form and it’s supposed to have like 100 kilometers or 60 miles of surplus range in comparison to the Ioniq 5. And this is all supposed to fight the Tesla Model 3. Will this all work? We’ll find out with Thomas on Autogefühl in 4k, full screen, full length. Let’s go! A lot of our Spanish viewers will be very happy today because in the background we have the Atletico Madrid stadium. Well, probably not for the Barcelona fans, but well, we’ll enjoy the car here, the Ioniq 6 in the front with a cool headlamp design – LED or optional Matrix LED. And then the daytime running light has this dot structure, and it’s really cool to see it also in the dark. We have some basement garage shots for you. Also, when you activate the turning indicators or hazard lamps, that looks really spectacular already in the front. The length is 4.85 meters or 191 inches. That is actually 19 centimeters or 7 inches longer than the Ioniq 5, but it has a five-centimeter or two-inch shorter wheelbase.
We’ll see how this one plays an effect in driving. The engineers told me that they have here a stiffer suspension setup for the Ioniq 6, and also the batteries are, of course, always placed in the lower part of the vehicle – low center of gravity. So, we expect a sporty ride. 18 or optional 20-inch wheels. We have here the bigger ones, you can see in a very cool dual-tone design. And you can either get classic side mirrors or here these camera digital mirrors, which then project on the screen on the inside. We’ll see if it makes sense. The door handles here either flush or open like this – here, at the moment, they come towards you then. And you can see this really central silhouette, which looks very impressive indeed and all serves aerodynamics. Super interesting design in the rear with this, let’s say, two-spoiler design. And then even more interesting, the light signature right here. We also did some filming for you in the basement garage where you can really see the full glory of this light signature going all the way through. And even more interesting when you hit the braking light – look at this effect. And although there’s just one light strip, it basically shines through the whole area.
Wow, that’s a cool effect indeed. Then here in the lower part, the contrasting end. And the electric motor set up, either all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive only. In the all-wheel version with the big battery, 5.1 seconds in the acceleration figure, 7.4, so a little slower than when you go big battery rear-wheel drive. And 8.8 if you go small battery and rear-wheel drive only. Talking battery sizes, there are two choices – 77 kilowatt-hours or 53 kilowatt-hours. Officially, that’s the gross figure Hyundai says, but they’re using a buffer between one to two percent, so a very small buffer. So the net figure is also somewhat similar. Interesting – Tesla also works that way, whereas, for example, Toyota and Lexus have a big buffer for longer durability of the batteries. Charging flap on the passenger side – AC/DC charging 180 kilowatt peak with a small battery, 240 kilowatt peak with a big battery. Thanks to this 800-volt architecture, you can get great charging times – 18 minutes from 10 to 80% state of charge in ideal conditions – either when you speed up on the motorway before the battery is already warm or when you use this new battery pre-conditioning. The Ioniq 5 has also been retrofitted for that with a software update, but it only works when you have not too little energy left in the battery, when the battery itself is still quite cold, and you also have to have a certain range left when you have this charging station arrive, and you also need to put it in the car’s internal GPS.
Then the battery pre-conditioning also works. Short sound preview – active sound design in the interior. At the moment, it’s all off, but just listen to the difference when I set it to enhanced, like the strongest mode. Really? Off. Now back again. This is the key fob. And really? I mean, this looks like, I don’t know, maybe like a 90s Tamagotchi toy or maybe also something which vibrates and can be used in other places. I don’t know, you tell me in the comments. What is clear that here, the flush door handles, they’re open like this – pretty cool effect. And also here, the side mirrors, even if they are digital, they fold in and out. And have you seen that? Here, like this signature here in the side. Wow! Really cool, isn’t it? Then door closing sound – yeah, it’s quite solid. And inside of the doors, super super clean – even cleaner when the bottle is not on the inside. Look at that clean atmosphere there! And they even move the window levers to the inside of the vehicle to have this super clean design. Looks cool. Here, this is hard pack though, but it looks cool with the structure on the inside. So, the door pockets are really slim, but you have this opening here, so at least you can put some smaller bottles here.
You get a very nice entry badge. There’s this comfort entry function, so when you turn on the ignition, the seat moves forward a little bit, and you have again beeping sounds. I don’t know, there should be a button to turn all of these sounds off, right? So when I’m here in the normal seating position, here now with 189 or 6 feet 2, then the headroom is still there. So, it works also for tall adults. You sit here lower than in the Ioniq 5, but overall, actually, yeah, makes so far a quite comfortable position. Steering wheel manual control up, down, in and out very smooth from the process. You start with a base fabric seat, and that one is actually more comfortable because it adapts more to the body. Optional then in Europe, this is animal skin. In the US, the Haptex high-grade leatherette. Yeah, so really don’t understand why they went for that choice here in Europe still with an EV launch in 2023. And what’s interesting – you can get this relaxed seat function, and you could have it driver and co-driver side. It is actually this button here, down there, this one here. But I can also control it here with this gentleman’s function from here.
So, I can do it parallel with my seat. So, for example, think about a charging stop or something, and you need like 18 minutes from 10 to 80% state of charge. And then you want to do something differently while chatting, for example. Sleeping! This is also something they intended because they have this even area here that you can work, for example, during a charging stop with your laptop. So when you look at that here, here that it stands here in this area in the proper way. In the Korean spec, I heard there’s also a special additional tablet available – maybe we get that one later or something. But I think it’s overall a good idea to have this workstation idea. Interior overview – 2 times 12.25-inch screens in this one unit design, very clean layout, horizontal stress here once again this nice dot design. You also still have some manual things like the volume jog right here, and also the climate unit here which can be controlled right there. Super interesting cockpit POV – right side and also on the left side, you have the digital mirrors. And we can discuss if the classic ones or the digital ones are better, but the thing is the execution here is really well done with the screen up there. In the e-tron, there were like a down here at the side where the door handle is, but placing them right here is a good idea because you have it in your line of sight.
You can also adjust them right here, but actually, it’s not that much needed to adjust them. When you have the normal side mirrors, the interior looks like this – this is where the mirrors would be placed, but this design element is just a little bit lower. Instruments clear to read, you can cycle through different options right here, but even more impressive when you switch it through the driving modes – Normal, Sport, Eco – and when you press and hold the button, then you can also get to your special My Drive mode. And while you’re switching through the modes, you can see here these animations on the steering wheel with these light dots or LED dots, and they are also active, by the way, when you charge the vehicle and serve as an additional charge meter. Rest of the infotainment system – what I find a little bit too complicated – you have a hotkey in the lower part you see here, but then you have to activate the seat heating in the menu. Also, the steering wheel heating – I would wish a separate button for that, but that, you know, that’s a general car trend. General car trend. This main menu is quite good overview indeed. The car internal GPS is still somewhat interesting and necessary in a way because when you set here a GPS point to a charging station, then you can also have the battery preheating for the winter time that the DC charging also works in cold temperatures. Other than that, Apple CarPlay integration looks like this. Android Auto is also possible – both with cable only. And the Bose’s sound system here – yeah, actually, it has a notable bass always like the Bose systems do, but I really like the sound indeed. You also get a small head-up display.
The glove box is really interesting – opens like this. Middle console – here again, this even surface for the laptop, and then you have an inductive charging pad in the front, USB-A charger, cup holders adaptive and really large. Then you have it’s like a rough surface which looks kind of cool. You have the window levers on the inside, then let the doors stay clean, and you have this properly attached cover. Underneath, more space. And even more space here underneath this floating console. Welcome to the rear seating area. You can really just say it like this – this is a premium vehicle. This has a lot of luxury style indeed. Yes, the inside of the doors is hard pack, but the structure makes it also premium from the looks indeed. You have a lot of legroom, although the wheelbase here is shorter than in the Ioniq 5. They move the rear bench a little bit further backward, and it’s also relatively low indeed. So, yes, a lot of legroom, but you also sit – you see here, I’m really leaning towards the back and very low, so I wouldn’t say it’s the most comfortable position for tall people. You see here, you know how my legs are already in the air somewhat. And headroom – when I lean backward, then you feel that the roof line is going down. So, it is close, and only when I lean forward like this with my spine, then it also works – otherwise, my hair is touching the ceiling. Then you can fold down this here – not adaptive for cup holders though – but from, you know, like closing and opening everything really makes a very solid quality impression. And then there are here some two USB-C chargers.
You can also see that we have this totally even floor, so they’re really using this EV platform. And here, in the back part of the seats, slide this open, and you have a proper power socket. That’s why we also appreciate attention to details from the manufacturers like this dot design button for the electric hatch – that’s quite cool, by the way. And oh, also, do you see it right now? This color is called Gravity Gold matte, and you might as it’s just a matte silver. Well, here you can see these golden nuances now in that sunlight – very beautiful. Now, let’s press this special button, and you can see here – electric hatch indeed, yeah. But it is not a hatch style like in the Ioniq 5 – it’s more, even though there’s electric, a classic trunk style. By the way, the Hyundai and Kia cars, they always have to think that they have very loud beeping sounds, for example, when you close the trunk and so on. I think they could just tune them a little bit down – maybe it’s a safety thing, just I don’t know. Oh, by the way, safety thing – that’s well done. So, kids are safe, definitely. And here you can see this trunk – that’s the thing. And now, the Ioniq 5 has 530 liters – this one here is 400 liters of trunk. So, that sounds little because the height is limited. However, you have one advantage. Here, our famous measuring stick is a meter of 40 inches in length, and that’s approximately the Ioniq 5 trunk. And here, you have a little bit longer than – so like 1.09 meters and 43 inches – so a little bit longer in the trunk, but not too much longer. However then again when you fold the seats two third one third split then you get some 1.95 in meters or 76 inches that’s good. And storage for cables here in the lower compartment of the trunk – small one, at least. Or you use the tiny frunk – 45 liters – but for some things, it works. Welcome to Thomas’s Driving Lounge with the Ioniq 6 – acceleration 0 to 50 in this case, Sport mode – whoa, that one really quick indeed! So yeah, I also got a slide from the passenger seat. Yeah, so it is definitely quick enough to also impress your passengers.
The driving modes – when you pin it down, then you have the very same acceleration boost. I talked to the engineer about that – it’s just that depending if you’re an Eco mode, for example, then like this acceleration curve is more like this, and when you’re in the Sport mode, it’s more like this. So, it reacts quicker, but it pinned down, actually, they always give you maximum power output. I said early to 100 kilometers an hour, 62 miles an hour figure is 5.1 seconds, actually, here with the all-wheel drive model and the big battery. Now, I also zero out the consumption figure – will do a big loop now for you, and then we can also give you a realistic figure about the consumption, energy consumption. The thing is that today here, 18 degrees Celsius – it’s the ideal temperature basically for the batteries. It’s not too cold, it’s not too warm – very good conditions here today to score a great consumption figure. And indeed, due to this more aerodynamic form, it’s – you know, from just from form, pretty obvious that it will score a better figure than the Ioniq 5. But still, the batteries are the same, of course, so the question is – will it make a significant difference? That is a crucial point. So, about these digital mirrors – you know, I’m generally a little bit skeptical about that.
The Audi e-tron, today the Audi Q8 e-tron, I don’t like it at all, actually. But here, the solution is definitely better with these higher placed monitors, and is also a very crystal clear view. So, it is just a better execution – that’s what I like about it, actually, that’s pretty cool. And still, it’s somehow not that realistic in a way, I would say. So, when you have the real mirrors, I always feel that they rather convey you a sense of reality, whereas everything you see on screen is good when it’s an additional thing and it helps you, but I’m not exactly sure if it’s really that useful that it would be like a permanent solution, you know what I mean? However, it has a pro-con thing always. Pro is that you do not have a blind spot, so these cameras are also installed in big trucks, for example, and there I think it’s a good solution because they really have more advantages to it, yeah. But we can discuss that for sure. You also have these aiding lines when you’re changing lanes – that’s actually pretty cool.
Let’s see here – also acoustic warning and a visual warning when someone is in a blind spot, so that’s also a good additional feature, and you can integrate it all into the screen. So yeah, as I said – the best solution I’ve seen yet for these digital mirrors, also from the size and the clearness and so on. I might get used to it indeed. You know, first, I’m on the highway – 100 kilometers an hour, 60 miles an hour, and so far so good from the noise insulation and so on. These aerodynamic factors always help in this case, of course, to make also the ride more silent. I’m still, you know, checking, of course, with the shoulder view, actually also still supposed to do that. You can set different recuperation factors here for the Ioniq 6 – up to the i-Pedal, so when you here press all the way to the left side – recuperation shift paddle conditions not met. Okay, that happened – not sure why that is the case? So, usually, you can… now it works – not sure why it didn’t work before. So, now you heard maybe this beep – this is then the i-Pedal, and in that case, I lift my foot off the throttle and have a strong recuperation – really one-pedal driving feeling. If you shut down the vehicle and restart it again, this is basically deleted, and it jumps back to level 3. So, i-Pedal cannot be saved as the standard factor to go for – standard setting to go for again. But if you put it here – level 3, level 2, or level 1 – that is actually possible. When you restart the vehicle again, that is being saved.
This always has to do with these homologation things, so manufacturers have to set these testing cycles for the consumption of the vehicle, and then they also have to decide – have they set a certain level of recuperation for this testing cycle? That’s the reasoning behind it – not because the manufacturers want to annoy you or something. The difference to the Ioniq 5 in the driving feeling is very interesting, of course, because they have both low center of gravity and they have so many equal parts. They both feel kind of similar, yes, but here, you more get the feeling of like an executive sedan ride – a little bit longer, a little bit lower. And I would say in the city, maybe dropping off your kids or something and you have made a little bit more overview sitting higher – the Ioniq 5 would suit me better. But when I’m driving a little bit faster, I want more calmness – I want to enjoy these aerodynamic factors. We’re here at the motorway – the faster you go there, I would say that the Ioniq 6 has the advantage – it just feels more suitable than for higher speeds – it feels more suitable for, you know, this kind of sedan luxury experience. You know what I mean? So, this is probably also one of the major factors – what you rather appreciate – if you rather appreciate this crossover SUV style or more the EV sedan style, and you indeed do feel that also while driving. It’s really stable on the road when you go here left and right. The steering is rather sensitive, I would say, so it reacts – yes, there’s no dead zone area, but then here, you also see that when the legs of the passengers fly around. Yeah. I’m not steering too much, but you already saw that the car was reacting really drastically to it. It also changes a little bit throughout the driving modes – you always see this visualization also at the steering wheel.
So, in the Sport mode, you have a little bit more resistance, which is to me more likable. And this all-wheel drive system, as I told you already, has a rear-wheel bias always because the rear electric motor is stronger. And there are different possibilities than, for example, also in this special My Drive mode selection. You could most of the time leave it in this normal auto all-wheel mode, which is the standard thing, and then the front wheels get decoupled when you actually don’t need them – that saves energy. So, I think good solution. And of course, when you really floor it out instantaneously, then you also get the front motor support again. But, well, when I want to go drifting, it’s a good idea that I always have this my mode where I can, for example, set this preferred rear-wheel drive mode only. Yeah, why not? Efficiency-wise, by the way, the best will be the lightest vehicle with the lowest equipment, small battery, rear-wheel drive only. Big battery all-wheel drive would, of course, be a little bit less efficient. Then again, just the battery is bigger, and therefore, you will always have more range. And at the end of this driving part, we’ll tell you more about that – as for the consumption and for the real-world range and so on. Here on the motorway, it really feels at home – very silent, smooth on the road. Now, 120 kilometers an hour – let’s see. Yeah, it’s indeed really windy outside today. You see it here with curly hair Thomas, seen also in the exterior shots. So, do you like this car more or curly hair Thomas? Tell me in the comments. So, on the motorway, it really feels at home. Then, I can also set here this active steering – I can set the cruise control. Right here on the left side of the steering wheel is still real buttons – good.
Then, let’s see how active this steering is reacting. Yeah, also a very smooth process. All of these things have been updated here for the Ioniq 6. Here again, the visual warning that there’s someone overtaking – that’s very good. Yeah, and I really wanna like the richness of the colors and so on. It’s so hard sunlight also today outside, and still, the screen is really, really crisp – and we’ve seen it differently much worse with other solutions by competitors here indeed. So, you can really imagine cruising also a longer period of time here with this one on the motorway. Would I prefer it against the Ioniq 5? It’s a tough question – I mean, the wide opening hatch, of course, is better with the Ioniq 5. If you compare with it, this one here, this one more gives some relaxed feeling, I think, because of the lower seating position in a way. The higher seating position maybe helps you with comfort, especially when city driving and so on. Hmm, it’s really, really a tough question. They both come so close. I think it all comes down just to this personal preference – crossover or sedan – it wouldn’t be that crucial. Maybe the consumption will be a crucial difference, but I don’t expect that it will be so large in the difference. So, both come close – I think it is just a matter of personal preference. The big competitor is Tesla Model 3.
This one here indeed feels much more refined, I have to say – from the interior quality, from the materials and so on – what you touch and feel, driving wise and so on – so much more refined this vehicle. Just software-wise, and of course, the hardware behind the software is actually better with the Tesla because the software here, also when you check the car internal GPS and so on, super laggy – really old school. And yes, you might use the car internal GPS indeed because you want to use the battery preconditioning feature, for example. On the other hand, it’s sometimes so bad that you actually don’t want to use it and then say like, ‘Hey, let’s use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Apple Maps, Google Maps, and so on.’ And that’s it. But here, the crucial point is we have CarPlay and Android Auto possibility here, and we don’t have that with the Tesla, and that wouldn’t drive me actually towards this solution here because I hate that Tesla doesn’t open, doesn’t, uh, it doesn’t actually offer Apple CarPlay or Android Auto – that’s really, really annoying. And yeah, I also realized that here on our test route – now I took the wrong turn again – this car internal map here is really bollocks, so you need Google Maps or Apple CarPlay.
Probably I would just not use the battery preconditioning feature – you just use the car internal GPS and see about the charging stops yourself. And yeah, I mean, when you power it out on a motorway, then the battery is warm anyway. And now to some agile corners – let’s go to the Sport mode. There’s no adaptive suspension, so that one actually does not change. A little bit in here from the steering input – a little bit more resistance. And of course, a more direct throttle input indeed. And when you go here’s some left-right, car doesn’t shake up too much. They told me they have a little stiffer suspension setup than with the Ioniq 5, and also, the wheelbase is a little bit shorter here with the Ioniq 6. So that indeed makes it a little bit more agile indeed. It’s not that there would be a huge difference – of course, a little bit lower also from the whole body type. So indeed, would I say it’s more fun? Yeah, it is – a little bit. Doesn’t feel like the completely super different car, like you would say this one end is the other end. They are still also similar in the driving characteristics. But the Ioniq 6 definitely a little bit sportier, a little bit more fun, and yeah, I mean, why not? So, on one hand, it’s more in this executive direction – in the other hand, also in the sporty direction. But they didn’t put it so stiff that it would be uncomfortable. We even drive here with the 20-inch wheels – the bigger ones. If you want the most comfort, then you would stick with the 18-inch wheels. Um, they usually only have advantages, these 18-inch wheels. And of course, you have also smaller wheels as for the width, and that’s again also good then for the consumption.
As for like the best efficiency for the EVs, it would be like when the wheels are large, you know, in the diameter, but they’re actually small as for the width, so that would be the best combination actually. But here, yeah, having a lot of fun indeed. This guy wants to overtake, I think. Yeah, and it’s easily done – you always have some power reserves left – actually pretty cool like that. And also, the good brake blending – so the most of the time you use the recuperation or regenerative braking and more braking power than actually the rear brakes are being applied. And you always get the feeling that you maybe would just use the normal brakes – that’s actually totally fine. So, all the disciplines in driving we have tested very well mastered – you can get along with it in the city, calm stable motorway driving, and also fun and agile here on countryside roads and so on. Let’s here in this roundabout – it’s also another good test – here’s the Sports mode. Of course, it’s not like a supercar or something, but here also quickly out of the corner, then you still feel this rear-wheel bias.So Thats it for today.Bye Bye