Hyundai Ioniq 6, test, charging, autonomy and price of the electric

Build a car for dismantle a clichéwhat the electric is not made for travelthat the battery takes too long to recharge, that a diesel is still more comfortable. Hyundai is not at all among the car manufacturers that focus exclusively on battery power, but rather has cars in its list with every type of hybrid, including petrol and diesel. No clear choice of field forced the Korean company to make the car it had to. Hyundai Ioniq 6 if anything, he manages to explain how far electric can go, how much technology and attention to aerodynamic detail are needed to truly exploit a zero-emission car over long distances, with an autonomy that reaches altitude 614 km. Hyundai Ioniq 6 is not an experiment: we asked him to do what he knows, and what he can do in absolute silence.

1 Design

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Form follows function, and perhaps there is almost no car designed in such a radical way to be electric, with the requirement of having the minimum possible air resistance and therefore increasing the mileage with a single energy charge. Nose downwards, sloping roof and sides that slope gently towards the rear, this is the beautiful appearance of a car that in 485cm long instead he plays a much more refined game. The aerodynamic penetration coefficient of 0.21 is among the lowest ever. Hyundai Ioniq 6 brings together different solutions well. The active deflector on the front bumper it opens when the cooling system needs to work, to radiate the radiator, but closes when it is not necessary, directing the flows into the side air intakes from where the air curtains of the wheels seal the space between the tire and the wheel arch, reducing turbulence, i.e. drag.

The bottom of the Ioniq 6 is faired like a racing carwith the front using a flat cover and the rear even a diffuser that lowers the pressure and extracts air when in motion. The rear spoiler is almost the result of a talent, because it has the shape judged to be the most efficient, in the wind tunnel, among 70 different options. The digital side mirrors do not produce vortices, and are even an almost sensational gain in terms of silence on board. Among many technological refinements such as the Intelligent Front-lighting System, with LED Matrix Beam headlights that change depending on the road conditions, the general sensation remains that of a car designed even down to the smallest details, such as the millimetric coupling of the portions of the bodywork or the concealed seals of the windscreen, all to eliminate even the slightest interference with the ideal air flows.

2 Interior

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To spend more time on board you don’t just need space, but also the right sensations, what would be called ergonomics explained in a technical way, that is, looking at the most correct proportions in the distances between the man, the controls to be reached and the size of the objects in the passenger compartment. Plus, the Ioniq 6 is also a true study in how match digital and real. The dashboard is linear, built around the two 12″3 screens which act as the instrumentation and central display. Below the latter, the physical buttons for navigation and touch controls for the climate control. Elegant minimalism, with the driving mode selector located to the right of the steering wheel and therefore freeing up the central tunnel, where there is a charging plate for smartphones and a large storage tray in the space below. The doors are free, with very clean lines, with the upper part matching the two Oled screens that project the images coming from theside cameras. Hyundai used sustainable materials such as eco-dyed leather or recycled PET fabric for the seats, biocompatible leather for the dashboard and even organic paint derived from vegetable oils for the door trims.

General inspiration looks to one living spacea place to spend many hours on long journeys. The distance between the front and rear wheels is 295 cm, an enormity looking at the overall length of the car, and this means inventing a passenger compartment in which, simply, space in front of all seats it increases to the point that it allows you to cross your legs. Ioniq 6 has the advantage of electric in the perfectly flat floor, without the bulk caused by classic mechanical parts. The effect is precisely that of a lounge, and there is even Dual Color Ambient Lighting, a customizable lighting technology that allows you to separately set the color for the upper and lower part of the passenger compartment. It’s not scenography, but real chromotherapythat is, the use of different shades of light to increase concentration, vitality or reduce stress.

3800 volt powertrain

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Demonstrating that an electric car is capable of going really far, without endless stops, is not for everyone. It is a much more complex level of challenge than what is required of a battery-powered city car, or one created starting from a mechanical base derived from petrol cars. Hyundai Ioniq 6 started from a blank sheet of paper, but there were certainly quite a few concepts to fill it with. The entry version has one battery 53 kWh of capacity and 151 HP of power, with single engine and rear-wheel drive, for a range of 429 km. Above are the two variants with accumulators 77.4 kWhwhich are interesting for opposite reasons. Hyundai Ioniq 6 77.4 kWh Awd has 325 HP of total power and 605 Nm of torque, thanks to the combination of a front engine with 100 HP at the front and 225 HP at the rear. They create intelligent all-wheel drive, managed entirely by electronics and with 0-100km/h acceleration in 5.1 seconds. The range here rises to 519 km. However, the same battery is also the basis for the Hyundai Ioniq 6 77.4 kWh Rwd, that is, with a single engine with 229 HP of power and 350 Nm of torque, with rear-wheel drive only. In terms of stored energy capacity and efficiency, it is the best compromise on long distances, so much so that it guarantees an average mileage of 545 km which rises to 614 km using tires with 18” rims instead of 20”.

Whether the electric car achieves the result, even more important question is maintain it in everyday lifein avoiding biblical charging times and bringing refueling habits as close as possible. Continuing the comparison, the size of the battery tank does not have an impact here, but the speed with which you stop, fill it and start again. Hyundai was the first manufacturer to introduce the800 volt architectureand this becomes the best tool of the electric cars of Ioniq familyincluding the Ioniq 6. Most existing electric vehicles provide charging at powers between 50 and 150 kW, traveling at 400 volts of voltage. Doubling it to 800 volts gives you one double charging powertherefore theoretically the time necessary to capture the same quantity of energy is halved. Hyundai Ioniq 6 offers an 800 volt architecture as standard which allows it to achieve high power up to 350 kW. It means going from 10% to 80% in just 18 minutes or adding 351 km of range in just 15 minutes. However, the car can also use lower speed charging stations, because it can quickly charge a 400 volts without the need for additional components or adapters, using the vehicle’s inverter to convert the voltage to 800 volts.

4The proof

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Call it Long Range, if we really want to make a comparison with it Tesla Model 3 rear-wheel drive with 77 kWh battery, but still 13 cm shorter, objectively less rounded in its reactions on the road and overall of a lower level in terms of finish and silence. The Ioniq 6 which we can define as Long Range is naturally the variant 77.4 kWh Rwdrear-wheel drive with single engine 229 HPobviously the most interesting to try for its 545 km of autonomy which rises to 614 km using tires with 18” rims instead of 20”. It’s her the car for long distancesconsidering all angles. The rear suspension is classy, ​​with a 5-point multilink that really isolates from the irregularities of the asphalt. The Integrated Drive Axle combines bearings, wheels and transmission shaft in a single solution, resulting in a permanent magnet synchronous electric motor that takes up little space and moves the car’s center of gravity lower, as well as the batteries mounted in a very high-strength steel support structure, for greater rigidity.

Ioniq 6 is a car where the technique is substance and it is serious, with a very good weight distribution and overhangs in front of the front and rear wheels reduced to a minimum. The consequence lies in theagility on mixed terraindifficult to imagine when looking at a four-door car that is still 485 cm long and has a wheelbase of 295 cm, but which is consistent in its changes in trajectory, with comfortable steering that is not lightning fast, but with good returns and is always precise. The idea was in the comfort of an electric car designed to travel, overtake, deal with great stability motorway bends, without giving up the sporting flavor of the One Pedal braking regeneration function, which stops the car and in any case simulates the effect of a downshift just by easing the pressure on the right pedal. There is no absolute power in the spirit of the Ioniq 6 77.4 kWh Rwd, but its great pace, thebrisk pace in a quiet cabin in a sometimes sensational way, approaching 130 per hour with the same acoustic footprint as a diesel car traveling at 90 per hour, or even less. Then there is another fact that brings electric vehicles into the circuit of long journeys, namely efficiency, therefore reduced costs. Ioniq 6 77.4 kWh Rwd has average declared consumption of 14.3 kWh/100 km. In our test on the motorway and mixed track, in use beyond daily speeds, it never exceeded 17.5 kWh/100 km.

5Equipment and prices

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Hyundai Ioniq 6 is available with three configurations of powertrain and in three setups different. The price list starts from the version 53 kWh Rwd rear-wheel drive with 151 HP of power For 429 km, only in the Progress version at the price of 47,850 euros. Ioniq 6 77.4 kWh Rwdrear-wheel drive with single engine 229 HP it is the variant that offers the longest range, up to 614 kmand is available in the three versions Progress, Innovation and Evolution, with starting prices from 52,300 euros. Hyundai Ioniq 6 77.4 kWh Awd dual-motor and all-wheel drive, with 325 HP of power and 519 km of autonomy, it is only available in the Evolution version, at altitude 62,750 euros.