SLEEK SIX DREAM (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Hyundai's slippery IONIQ 6 saloon gets a far-reaching mid-term facelift. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 73

The race is on to create the most streamlined passenger EV - and here's Hyundai's contender, the IONIQ 6, here revised with even more striking looks. If you like the styling, you might also like a lot else here; the now-improved luxurious cabin, the refinement and the very class-competitive EV range figures. If you're looking at cars like the Polestar 2 and the Tesla Model 3, it's also well worth considering this one.

Backgroundword count: 199

Hyundai's IONIQ 6 was the car that set a fresh segment standard for mid-sized EV model aerodynamics at its original launch back in 2023. Yet Hyundai's stylists seem to have had a nagging doubt that they didn't get the original look of this car quite right. Hence the early mid-term facelift we look at here. In this form, the car manages to look even sleeker but loses degree of its previous visual excess. There's also a mild cabin makeover and the addition of the wild IONIQ 6 N performance model at the top of the line-up that we speculated about with the original model. Mainstream versions though, are our focus here. As before, the shape's said to be inspired by 'streamliner' models of the 1930s and '40s. Simon Loasby, Hyundai's Head of Styling, cites the 1947 Stout Scarab, the Phantom Corsair and the Saab Ursaab as major influences. No, we don't remember them either. But if you're seeking a mid-sized luxurious EV, don't want an SUV and would like something a bit different, the IONIQ 6 is still well worth considering. If you choose it, it'll be because of one thing and one thing only: the way it looks.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 279

The sleek aerodynamics have always graced the IONIQ 6 for a reason; to maximise EV range. Which is also why digital door mirrors have now been standardised. The engineering and battery tech updates that would really do that are missing though from this updated model. Which shares the same powertrains as the original design, though not that earlier IONIQ 6's entry-level 53kWh battery pack, which has now been dropped. That means a line-up based around the larger 77.4kWh Long Range battery, available either with the single motor 225bhp Long Range RWD variant; or with the dual motor 321bhp Long Range AWD version. Maximum range is 338 miles for the single motor derivative; and 322 miles for the dual motor model. The dual motor set-up also of features on a fresh addition to the range, the IONIQ 6 N - albeit with an awful lot more power. As you'd expect, the 6 N borrows the drivetrain of the brand's wild IONIQ 5 N, which means an 84kWh battery energising twin motors with a total output of 641bhp, good enough to spirit the car to 62mph in just over three seconds. With the more mainstream variants we're focusing on here, streamlining obviously helps refinement too. But don't be fooled by that 911-style rear end into assuming this to be some kind of sports saloon - it isn't, though it's as quick as many sedans of that sort, the dual motor AWD version making 62mph from rest in just 5.0s. There are three drive settings ('Eco', 'Normal' and 'Sport') and brake regen steering wheel paddles. Plus sound effects as you drive, which are audibly futuristic and which you'll probably quickly turn off.

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