Here is an instructive fact. This sleek new Hyundai Ioniq 6 saloon sits on the same platform as the already launched Ioniq 5 crossover SUV. They use the same electric motors, the same battery packs. Beneath the skin they really are the same car. And yet, the Ioniq 5 in the same rear-drive ‘Ultimate’ specification has an official range of 295 miles, the Ioniq 6 some 338 miles. Why? It’s simple: the Ioniq 5 has a highly commendable drag co-efficient (CD) of just 0.29, the Ioniq 6, a freakish 0.21.
But that slippery shape does something else too: it gives the car real character. There are some elements of its lines that remind me of those extraordinary 1930s Silver Arrows autobahn record breakers from Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union, others that are so reminiscent of the Porsche 911 I’d not be surprised to learn they’d heard from lawyers in Stuttgart.
Both in its design and in its styling (for they are not the same thing), the Ioniq 6 seems so much more imaginative than the majority of Europe’s equivalent output. It also has an 800v charging infrastructure like the Porsche Taycan and not many others so that, in theory at least, it can charge from 10-80% in 18 minutes.
No, it’s not great to drive, but what similar car is? Instead Hyundai has been bold, made the most of the advantages inherent within EV architecture and created a genuinely desirable electric car. And in so doing they have achieved something very indeed. AF
Price £50,540
Engine Rear electric motor, 76kWh battery
Power 255bhp
Torque 258lb ft
Weight 1835kg
Power to weight 139bhp per tonne
Transmission Single speed, rear-wheel drive
0-60mph 7.4sec
Top speed 115mph
Range 338 miles (WLTP)
CO2 0g/km
Verdict An EV that isn’t such a drag.
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