Hyundai Ioniq 6 Review & Prices

The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is an all-electric saloon with unique styling, decent range and ultra-fast charging. It's mechanically similar to the Ioniq 5 SUV, but it’s much more streamlined than that car, meaning it’s more efficient. It’s like taking a normal bike helmet with all the ridges and trading it for a smooth racing one.

The Ioniq 6's pebble-like design results in less drag and therefore better efficiency than the Ioniq 5. It has a smart face, cool pop-out door handles and a sleek roofline. The twin spoiler look at the rear won’t be to everyone’s tastes though. 

Inside, it’s pretty similar to the Ioniq 5. That means two large displays, a mostly simple layout and decent storage spaces. You also get some funky see-through door pockets so you can’t lose anything in them. Many of the materials used are of good quality as well. 

One major issue though is the roofline. Although headroom is reasonable for most adults, Hyundai has achieved that by lowering the seat bench – meaning less under-thigh support, which could be uncomfortable for some on longer journeys. Sitting three across the back can also be a squeeze due to less overall space.

Boot space is significantly down on alternatives too, with the Ioniq 6 having 401 litres in the back. The BMW i4, Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 all have larger spaces to make use of. 

Unlike the Ioniq 5, there’s just one battery choice here with the Ioniq 6. You get a 77kWh battery pack that’s paired to either a single- or dual-motor setup. The single-motor offers rear-wheel drive and has 228hp at its disposal, while the dual-motor is all-wheel drive with 325hp. The aforementioned efficiency means you can make more of the battery pack – with up to 338 miles of range available on the RWD versions and 322 miles on AWD versions.

The Ioniq 6 is very simple to drive. In town, you can take advantage of the multiple brake regeneration options, ranging from full one-pedal driving to coasting with no braking resistance. The suspension isn’t the softest around, but it is more than comfortable enough. Visibility is also pretty good all round.

Whichever motor option you go for, the pick-up of acceleration is good, helping get you up to speed joining motorways or out of junctions. Comfort remains decent at higher speeds, but you do get some road and wind noise.

While it may not be as practical as alternatives (or its sibling, the Ioniq 5), the Ioniq 6 is a sleek EV that has a stylish interior and it’s capable of taking you long distances in comfort. 

If you like the look of this sleek electric car, see how much you could save through carwow's Hyundai Ioniq 6 deals, or browse used Ioniq 6 models. You can also take a look through other used Hyundais.

To change your car altogether, you can sell your car online through Carwow, too. Upload photos to our site, fill in the car’s details and dealers will bid on your car. You then choose the best offer and will have the car taken away – it’s simple.  

As with most other electric cars, the Ioniq 6 is not cheap. Out of its alternatives, only the BMW i4 is more expensive, with the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 both undercutting it. It’s also more expensive than the Ioniq 5, which is the more practical of the two electric Hyundais.

On the whole, the Ioniq 6 is easy to drive with light steering, but it’s not quite as cushioned as the Ioniq 5

In town

With light steering and near-instant power from the electric motor, the Ioniq 6 is perfectly capable around town. You get plenty of punch out of junctions, and while the turning circle of 11.8m isn’t quite as good as the Tesla Model 3 (11.5m) and Polestar 2 (11.6m), it's still more than manoeuvrable enough.

There’s decent visibility all-round with big wing mirrors (if you don’t spec the wing cameras instead) and a well-sized rear window, with only minor blind spots either side of it. You can get all-round cameras to help with that. 

Costing £995, the wing cameras mean that you get a screen mounted at either end of the dashboard to provide views down the side of the car instead of traditional wing mirrors. It's not worth the extra expense unless you like modern tech, because the range benefits are minimal and they are not as intuitive to use as a basic mirror.

Where the Ioniq 6 falls down compared to the Ioniq 5 is the ride comfort. The 5 manages to be more supple over bumps in the road, while the 6 has a firmer edge. It’s not uncomfortable by any means, just not as settled as it could be. 

On the motorway

The Hyundai Ioniq 6 suffers with the usual electric car motorway driving issue, which is that because the powertrain is so quiet, you get a bit of tyre noise on rougher surfaces and a bit of wind noise around the wing mirrors. 

But beyond that, the Ioniq 6 is very capable on longer drives. It’s comfortable so all but the worst bumps in the road are ironed out smoothly, and it has decent punch – even with the rear-wheel drive version – to get up to speed quickly. 

With longer drives in an EV comes the cost of reduced efficiency though, so beware that you’ll almost certainly fall short of the claimed 338 miles over a long distance.

On a twisty road

On the surface this is a low, sleek, sporty-looking saloon, so you might be expecting it to be good fun to pilot down a winding country road. However, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 is more focused on being a comfortable and refined motorway cruiser.

As a result, the BMW i4 is the more capable car for a fun weekend blast. Its steering responds more quickly to your inputs and it feels like the tyres grip the road better, which makes you more confident to carry speed through corners.

All that being said, if you pull back your expectations and don't treat it like a sports car, the Ioniq 6 is perfectly capable of putting a smile on your face. It just prefers a more laid back driving style.

You can get comfortable pretty easily up front with lots of adjustment, but rear space and storage aren’t as good as alternatives

The Ioniq 6 manages to take a sportier-looking spin on the layout first introduced with the Ioniq 5. So rather than a cavernous space between the front seats, you get a solid centre console with a big storage area underneath. You also get big cupholders, a place to store your phone, with a wireless charging pad and a big space under the armrest. 

Instead of a glovebox, you get a drawer that gives you the same size you’d expect from a normal flip down one. But unlike the similar system in a Nissan Ariya, it’s not motorised. 

The door bins aren’t that great though. Yes, it’s very cool that they’re see-through so you can’t lose anything in them, but they’re too narrow to fit a decent-sized bottle in there. But with the additional space in the middle, that’s not too much of a problem.

Space in the back seats

With no transmission to deal with, rear foot space and kneeroom is excellent. But with the sweeping roofline, taller people will struggle for headroom. Hyundai has lowered the seat base to try to reduce the problem, but that does mean less under-thigh support, meaning it's harder to relax on long journeys. 

All of this does mean that the Hyundai Ioniq 6 is well-suited to those who need to fit a child seat in the back. The doors open wide and all of that legroom means even the bulkiest of seats can fit inside without the person in front compromising their seating position. The ISOFIX points are between the seat cushions so a bit fiddly to access, but the top tether mounts are within easy reach for extra security.

In terms of storage, the back is okay. You get reasonable door bins, nets on the seat backs and a folding armrest with two cupholders.

Boot space

Compared to alternatives, the Ioniq 6 boot falls short. The 401-litre luggage area is just short of the Polestar 2’s 405-litre space and the Tesla Model 3’s 425 litres. The BMW i4 is even bigger with 470 litres. The saloon-style opening isn’t the most useful either, but you can fold the rear seats in a 60/40 configuration by pulling tabs in the boot.

Unlike the Polestar 2 and BMW i4 though, the Ioniq 6 gets a space under the bonnet. It can be useful for storing your charging cables, but the space isn’t quite as deep as in a Tesla Model 3.

The interior is comfortable and high-tech, but the design won't be to everyone's tastes

Much like the exterior, the interior design is modern but may not be to everyone’s tastes. There’s a choice of grey or black, with the lighter option making the cabin feel much more spacious. It feels quite lounge-like on the whole, with the seats being quite comfortable apart from the slightly odd headrests.

You get a bit of blank space around the two infotainment screens, but the rest of the design is clean and that makes using it simple. The drive select stalk is in an odd place low down behind the steering wheel, but the rest of the setup is where you would expect. 

The climate controls are split out from the main screen, making them much easier to use while you’re driving – unlike the BMW i4’s setup. The rest of the infotainment graphics are clear, the menus are easy to navigate and the driver’s display gives you all the information you’ll need. 

Hyundai fits wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard, and you can use the wireless charging pad or plug into the USB port. 

The only optional equipment you can add is the digital wing cameras that replace the door mirrors.

You don't get a choice of battery sizes in the Hyundai Ioniq 6, but you can choose between either a single rear-mounted motor or dual motors that provide all-wheel drive. 

With the rear-drive version you get 338 miles of claimed range, which is 23 miles up on the comparative Ioniq 5. For the all-wheel drive model, you get a range of 322 miles, but the advantage of additional traction in slippery conditions. 

That's an impressive range that means your trips to public fast chargers shouldn't be too common. Reassuringly, if you do need to visit one for a top up, the Ioniq 6 offers up to 232kW at a DC fast charger, which can take you from 10-80% in less than 20 minutes.

As of now, owning an EV means you don’t have to pay road tax. But come April 2025, you will have to pay the yearly road tax like every other car. Similarly, this means you also have minimal benefit-in-kind to pay if you're using the Ioniq 6 as a company car.

The Ioniq 6 has a maximum five-star safety rating from the experts at Euro NCAP. Although it scored 66% on vulnerable road users, the Hyundai scored 87% and above on the other three categories, including 97% for adult occupants. 

With plenty of safety kit fitted as standard, the Ioniq 6 gets front, thorax and pelvis airbags, eCall in Europe, blind spot collision avoidance, forward collision avoidance, highway drive assist, lane keep and follow assists, parking collision avoidance and rear cross traffic avoidance.

Although it has all of this kit, it can be pretty intrusive and frustrating to use. The speed limit warning beeps at you as soon as your stray above the limit, which is theoretically useful if it wasn't for the fact the system often reads road signs on side roads by mistake, so beeps away unnecessarily. The lane-keep assistant isn't too bad on motorways but it can tug at the wheel on tighter countryside roads, which can be unnerving and another temptation to turn it off. It often seems like the car is constantly alerting you to stuff, which can be distracting, especially when you're not sure what the alert is for...

The Ioniq 6 hasn't been on sale too long, so it's difficult to build a clear picture of its reliability. However, the mechanically similar Ioniq 5 doesn't appear to be facing any major issues, which bodes well for the Ioniq 6. As does the fact Hyundai generally ranks well for reliability and owner satisfaction.

With every new Ioniq 6 you get a five-year, unlimited mileage warranty, one for the battery of eight years 100,000 miles and five years of annual vehicle health checks.