Driven: The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 Goes Long on Range, Short on Space

• The Ioniq 6 offers many of the same charms as the Ioniq 5.
• Trims with smaller wheels offer more range and a better ride.
• The sedan's swoopy shape compromises cargo and interior room.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it

The Ioniq 6 sticks closely with the formula cooked up by the Ioniq 5, though there are a few differences that give the sedan its own personality. Most obviously, the Ioniq 6's shape is quite distinctive and gives the sleek sedan an ultra slippery 0.22 coefficient of drag. Because of the low amount of wind resistance, the Ioniq 6 gains a range advantage over the Ioniq 5, even though the two weigh about the same and have roughly the same powertrain. It's kind of hard to believe looking at them side by side, but the Ioniq 6 is nearly 9 inches longer than its counterpart and that gives it a much larger footprint.

Inside, from the steering wheel up things feel rather analogous but down below you notice some differences. There isn't the movable center console that you get in the Ioniq 5 — instead, here it's fixed as a bridge. That does open up a nice storage space between the two front passengers, though you lose that open floor area. The window and unlocking buttons have shifted to the center console to keep the doors slim and low profile. Those four dots on the steering wheel aren't just for decoration; it spells out "H" in Morse code, though I'm not sure if it's "H" for "Hyundai" or "H" for "Help me, I can't fit my bags in the trunk."

That's because despite it being longer than the Ioniq 5, the Ioniq 6's trunk space is paltry, at 11.2 cubic feet. That means that even though the Ioniq 6 is closer in length to a midsize sedan than a compact, it's got less cargo room than Hyundai's own Elantra (14.2 cubic feet). But the trunk isn't the only place you feel the crunch a bit. The Ioniq 6's sharply sloping rear roofline also cuts into headroom. I'm 5-foot-11 and my head sat about half an inch from ceiling, meaning that any bump would send my skull crashing into the headliner. And the rear seat doesn't recline, so there's no escape.

Performance upgrade

We'll have to wait until we can get the Ioniq 6's back at the Edmunds offices to put its lofty range estimates (topping out at a manufacturer-estimated 361 miles) to the test, but our drive did provide a good chance to get a feel for the Ioniq 6's performance. I spent the day in two varieties of the Ioniq 6: a fully loaded Limited Long Range model with the dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain, and an SE Long Range with the single-motor rear-wheel-drive setup that nets the most range of any variant.

There are a few things that the Ioniq vehicles share in common. Driving the Ioniq 6 felt familiar to the Ioniq 5, as you'd imagine, but the lower center of gravity makes it feel more composed and taut in a good way. There's less body roll (especially under braking) and the steering feels fantastic with quick turn-in and nary a hint of understeer. I'd like a bit more heft to the weight of the wheel, but that's more of a personal preference than a demerit.

The Limited model offered much more robust acceleration as expected with its extra motor and a big advantage in horsepower (320 hp to 225 hp) over the SE Long Range. It doesn't feel as snappy off the line as the Model 3, but it's easier to drive smoothly and has more than enough giddy-up, pulling past highway speeds with ease. The SE Long Range is no slouch, though — 225 hp and instant torque give it plenty of pull for day-to-day driving. At times, it's even more fun to drive than the AWD model, as the handling feels even sharper without an extra motor at the front axle adding weight. I also liked the ride in the SE a bit more. It has smaller wheels with bigger tires, and the extra sidewall makes it feel more composed over bumps and small road imperfections. But overall ride quality is a highlight for both trims.

Edmunds says

The Ioniq 6's grade is incomplete until we can test out its range and performance figures on our own, but more time behind the wheel solidified our notion that it's an impressive, well-driving and stylish sedan.