HYUNDAI IONIQ 6

ELECTRIFIED STREAMLINER OUT TO STEAMROLL TESLA'S MODEL3

- ANDY ENRIGHT

THIS OR a Tesla Model 3? That's the question you want answered about the Hyundai Ioniq 6, isn't it? Like most such questions, it's usually the case that you've already made your mind up already and are looking for confirmation, but this one is a little more nuanced. We've waited a very long time for a drive in the Ioniq 6 on Aussie roads. The car was first teased as the Prophecy concept back in March 2020. That car was due to be the highlight of Hyundai's Geneva Show stand that year before a certain global inconvenience intervened.

The productionised version was trialled in June of 2022, dubbed the 'electrified streamliner'. Hyundai's design guru Sang Yup Lee described the interior as "a mindful cocoon", contrasting with the airiness of the Ioniq 5 SUV with which the 6 shared its E-GMP underpinnings.

Pricing kicks off at $74,000 (before ORCS) for the 168kW/350Nm Dynamiq trim level. All versions of the Ioniq 6 use the same 77.4kWh battery pack, but given that this is a single-motor version riding on smaller wheels and tyres, it's the lightest and most aerodynamic of all the Ioniq 6 variants (0.217cD) and therefore delivers the best range. Hyundai claims a figure of 614km for the Dynamiq. You'll identify this model by its 18-inch alloy wheels.

It also gets gear like adaptive matrix headlights, leather trimmed seats, vehicle-to-load charging points both inside and outside the car, heated and powered front seats, a head-up display, a powered boot lid, a Bose stereo, adjustable ambient lighting and the full gamut of Hyundai's SmartSense safety features. Yep, there's not one safety feature on the range-topping Ioniq 6 that you won't find on a no-options Dynamiq and for that Hyundai should be congratulated.