Hyundai Ioniq 6

can you fit 2 large suitcases in the boot? looks very small. other than this I love the look of it even though didnt like at the start.

I have test driven the Ioniq 6 today, and oh boy, was I dissapointed. Even more so, when I am driving the original Ioniq (mk. 2, which I enjoy very much) and and am very fond of the Ioniq 5 (which I nearly got last year instead of the basic Ioniq, but the sensibility of not spending the extra €14k got the better of me).

I was very keen on finding out, how much better the experience of driving the latest Ioniq hatchback EV would be compared to their old, and surely outdated Ioniq hatchback EV form several years ago.

For a €55k car (the basic version, which I have driven), it certainly does not feel near enough premium to justify the price tag. The interior is all plastic, no leather finish, the boot is not much bigger than my current Ioniq, but has an extremely narrow opening (good luck fitting my kids' bikes through it), and it's impossible to sit comfortably in the rear passenger seats, due to the sloping roof being so low.

On top of that, the car is missing a ton of features that are present in my current Ioniq, such as adaptive cruise control, electric adjustable seats, leather finish, etc. For a €55 car, the lack of those features is extremely noticeable. Especially considering that they were present on their old car that used to cost 40% less.

Of course, being an EV driver, I am aware of the fact that the range is king. But here's the thing, the smaller battery version I was test-driving showed 480 km on a 93% SOC. As this is a new, showroom model, this is most likely well overstated, as going on local roads for 20 minutes (more than enough time for the battery to warm up to the optimal level) in Normal mode, the efficiency was only 18 kWh/100 km at speed up to 90 km/h. Now, my current, several-year-old Ioniq did that route with an efficiency of 12 kWh/100 km in Normal mode. So even though the battery in the Ioniq 6 is larger, the actual range would not be that much greater, based on the efficiency during the test drive. Certainly not big enough to justify the €55 price tag.

Of course, you can opt for the upgraded, well specced version with a bigger battery, but then the price goes up to the €60k range and beyond, depending on the trim.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great car, spacious, comfortable, with good visiblility, handling and comfort of use. But I don't think it's worth the price Hyundai are asking for. The dealer himself actually said to me that these new Ioniqs are too expensive and are not moving as well as they should.

For my money, the €48k Ioniq 5 with a 73kWh battery that I was considering last year provided much better value for money. For the time being, I am still holding on to my basic Ioniq, with the intension of swapping it out for an Ioniq 5 long range next year, as in my opinion, it is a much better car for the price.