Hyundai Ioniq 6: Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy 2024 finalist

Hyundai has been a high achiever with its 800-volt E-GMP platform for electric vehicles. And while those underpinnings are what enable the Ioniq 6 to be one of the best new vehicles of the year, design and styling are what get it noticed at first sight. 

The shape of the Hyundai Ioniq 6 carries automotive history and Art Deco influences in its curves, from sports-car inspiration at the front to a bit of Porsche 911 in back plus some nods to the rounded roofline and tapered tail of the Saab 92, Stout Scarab, or Infiniti J30, to dig into the fringe. Look a little closer and it’s loaded with parametric-pixel streams and futuristic tangents.

By the numbers, the Ioniq 6 outpaces the current U.S. version of the Tesla Model 3 in important pegs like the drag coefficient (0.21 in some markets), miles of range per kwh of battery (4.7 mi/kwh), and charge time (10-80% in 18 minutes).

Not as much from the Ioniq 5 SUV carries over to the Ioniq 6 sedan, and that’s a good thing, as they end up as distinct vehicles with quite different driving characteristics. The affordable SE Long Range—starting at $43,565 for 2024—that Green Car Reports and the Internet Brands Automotive team had at our Best Car To Buy testing was soft and progressive, with a great ride, precise steering, and a quiet cabin that allowed very little harshness inside from the road. It’s not a high-performance entry, but it felt sporty, fluid, and nimble on tight mountain roads. 

It’s also very efficient. The SE Long Range brings with it a 361-mile EPA range rating, from just 77.4 kwh of battery. Or in EPA fuel economy terms, it earns nearly 4.2 miles per kwh (140 MPGe combined)—better than anything in the Tesla lineup. 

The Ioniq 6 is one of the strongest cheerleaders for rolling out 800-volt EV tech to the mass market, as it and other E-GMP vehicles can return close to the EPA rating in real-world driving and even match it when driven gently at real-world speeds. Our team was able to see more than 300 miles of range from spirited driving on mountain roads, 75-mph cruising, and foot-to-the-floor launches. 

Keeping the battery small brings a lower overall environmental impact and smaller carbon footprint, and for that there’s also the base Hyundai Ioniq 6 SE Standard Range. It has a single-motor rear-wheel-drive layout and a 53-kwh battery pack that’s still good for 240 miles of range.

We don’t see the Ioniq 6 as perfect by any means. The 11.2-cubic-foot trunk is small, rear-seat space is tight for adults, and taller folks will need to do a duck-and-slide to get in. Some drivers also think the cabin feels a little too austere, but we’re fans of the tech-savvy, minimalist look. And on that note, the Ioniq 6’s interface is quick and well-laid-out, and it’s the first EV in Hyundai’s stable with over-the-air updates for the entire car, not just the infotainment. 

While the Ioniq 6 doesn’t appear bound for U.S. production—or EV tax credit eligibility—in the near future, Hyundai has shown plenty of signs of aiming to boost sales in subsequent model years. For instance, the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 got a significant price cut for its sophomore model year, and the base SE Standard Range now starts at $38,615—$4,100 lower than the 2023 model.

Will the Hyundai Ioniq 6 top our other three Best Car To Buy 2024 finalists? Check back Jan. 3.