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London / Tek.no: Hyundai attracted attention with The concept of “Prophecy” in 2020, now the production version is finally ready.
The IONIQ 6 will be a sedan with a length of 4.86 meters and a wheelbase of 2.95 meters. In terms of length, it is more than 20 cm more in height than its sister model Ioniq 5, and about the same if compared to what may be the most relevant competitors: the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2.
– 37 months ago we stood with a white paper, said Hyundai’s Style Group president, Simon Loasby, at an event in London’s Shoreditch in May. The venue, Hyundai claims, was specifically chosen to reflect the inspiration the designers had when they designed the car.
It has also been marked as confidential. We weren’t allowed to take our own photos of the car, but had to sign up – several times – so we wouldn’t reveal anything from the event yet.
If you were hoping the usual rules of mass production wouldn’t apply to what should come from the concept of prophecy, you might be disappointed. The Ioniq 6 is just a few lines from the Prophecy, at the same time that the proportions naturally have to give way a bit to make room for the proper rear doors.
The first design was also delayed because Hyundai bosses weren’t happy with the interior space. Therefore, the wheelbase was also increased from 2.9 to 2.95 meters before the creation of the final production version. 3 metres, as with the Ioniq 5, was also up for debate, according to Wasby, but there was a feeling the car had become too big.
In any case, there is little fault with the interior space, and especially in the back seat there is very good legroom – even with the driver and passenger seats in what we call the “comfortable” position for all, there is room to extend the legs behind. Here, the Ioniq 6 is somewhat reminiscent of its sister brand EV6 bag.
The seat cushions on a typical electric car model are relatively low because the battery is hidden underground, and there’s limited headroom thanks to the sedan’s shape. We also tried to squeeze three big guys into the show, and it wasn’t surprising that we fit in.
According to Hyundai, the luggage compartment wasn’t ready for photography when we saw the car a little over a month before the final launch, but in a regular sedan, it’ll be reasonably low and deep.
The tailgate also hinges below the rear window, providing a slightly limited opening for cargo – according to Hyundai in part because it would cost too much room in the rear seat height if they wanted a “hatchback” solution (where the rear window is part of the cargo hold, like a golf), and due That’s partly because some customers think it gives the slightly cheap feeling of the entire car unlocking when the trunk is opened.
It must be said that the charging hatch on the Ioniq 6 is quite wide, and in this sense it is slightly more spacious than most sedans. The car also has very little fuel, but we don’t yet know how many liters it holds.
Most of the exterior design was otherwise designed with aerodynamics in mind, under the “Streamliner” keyword. Everything from the camera mirrors (too big and unwearable if you look at what Audi has in an e-tron, for example, but one place Hyundai should save) to the hidden door handles, active air intakes in the front and the large rear spoiler with “wings” Inspired by aircraft to direct air currents around the vehicle.
All of this confirmed that Hyundai slipped to a CD value of 0.21 – roughly on par with the Mercedes-Benz EQS, which has an initial dynamic record of 0.20. But what about the specs, you might think? Unfortunately, Hyundai has adopted the same launch habit as many other car manufacturers, where information is released in blocks, so the final specifications are not ready until two weeks later.
The 0.21 should anyway offer good efficiency, and it probably wouldn’t be surprising if Hyundai installed the same battery in the Ioniq 6 as on the Ioniq 5, at 77.4 kWh. Perhaps the most exciting thing is if Hyundai manages to exceed the 600 km limit with the more stable rear-wheel drive version of the car. We believe we are working all the way to the end to make this happen.
A slightly odd detail in the cabin is that there are no buttons for the window lifts or anything else in the driver’s door. All of this has been moved to the center console, both to save wires and weight, but which also undeniably has a certain design effect is that the doors are “clean”.
Hyundai has also spent some resources on the lighting effects inside, which they refer to as “a bit of cyberpunk” and inspired by the lights in their hometown of Seoul. These diode strips can sometimes feel a bit sticky on some cars, but here at least they are well thought out and implemented, so it’s almost up to the individual whether you like it or not. You can, of course, choose the colors yourself, so you can tweak and modify them as you wish.
Some other parts of the cabin may not be modern. Hyundai still seems to believe in the physical buttons to control the air conditioning and other things. It would probably be very welcome, but would probably break a bit with the simple expression.
Otherwise, the seating position is very low and sporty, and you get a spacious and airy feeling up front too. However, you don’t get a full glass roof (again as it would cost quite a bit of space in height), but it would be possible to open a standard sunroof that could open.
Other than that, Hyundai, like most other auto manufacturers, is very keen to highlight the amount of recycled and sustainable materials they use in their cars – like recycled plastic bottles in seat covers, recycled fishing nets in carpets and more eco-dyed leather. Friendly method using flaxseed oil.
How long will we see genuine leather in Hyundai cars?
– So called “vegan leather” or synthetic leather is not really good from a sustainability perspective. Practically speaking, it is plastic and not highly recyclable, and in this sense it is better to use genuine leather. But we’re also working with leather-like materials made from mushrooms and aloe vera, among other things, especially a variety of mushrooms that look very promising. Chief stylist Loasby tells Tek that clothing can be cute, too, but it won’t look as luxurious as leather.
When we get to the topic of an additional performance-oriented model of the Ioniq 6, he gets excited.
– We’ve modeled the ‘performance’ variant to show the bosses what they might look like. The designers want it, while it’s the sales team who’s holding back a bit. Hyundai was surprised by the volume of the Ioniq 5, and it might as well with the Ioniq 6. The size makes it easy to expand the model’s range, says Loasby.
As is known, the Kia EV6 comes in a separate version of the “GT” that accelerates from 0-100 in 3.5 seconds, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Hyundai also went the same tracks with the Ioniq 6.
Specs will be released sometime in mid-July, and the car will be on Norwegian roads early in the year. In terms of price, it probably wouldn’t surprise anyone if the Ioniq 6 ended up at roughly the same level as the Ioniq 6, about half a million in a well-equipped version (Hyundai only included the “Premium” top version in Norway when it came to the Ioniq 5) .
Hyundai PR and Product Manager Øyvind Knudsen will give at least a small indication of the price when we get into the topic that a value-added tax on electric vehicles will be introduced from January 1.
– I think that at least “never” there will be VAT on Ioniq 6 if the government goes for what was originally said, i.e. 600,000 kroner.
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