Review: Hyundai Ioniq 6 Max AWD – Sleek And Sensational 'Streamliner'!

Woah, The Styling!

Yes. Though a cliched starting point, the way the Ioniq 6 looks is unmissable, and it’s very divisive too as we’ve discovered – you either love it, or hate it. Honestly, we absolutely admire Hyundai’s bravery here, and the fact it won World Car Design Of The Year 2023 - plus a few other trophies - for the Ioniq 6 says a lot too.

What’s certain here is how refreshing it looks, especially in a space where crossover SUVs dominate more often than not. And despite being a few rings down in price and stature, it’s also  surprising to see how the Ioniq 6 fits well when parked next to things like an Audi e-tron GT for instance.

The 'streamlined' design isn't just for show as it boast a slippery 0.21 drag coefficient figure, thus boosting this EV saloon's range.

L-R: The double-stacked rear spoiler and flushed door handles further boost aero efficiency, as does the active flaps in the front bumper that also heightens battery cooling efficiency. Dual-tone 20-inch 'Performance' wheels, on the other hand, is exclusively primed in this Max AWD range-topper.

In the case of the Max AWD range-topper as featured, the kerbside appeal is further boosted by the tasty two-tone pearl black over grey paintwork, variant-specific 20-inch two-tone ‘Performance’ wheels, as well as the all-LED and squared pixel-heavy forward and rear lighting scheme.

Simply put, the Ioniq 6’s design seems to have it all – just enough sharpness, curves in all the right places, and a dash of ‘zing’ to it all. Yes, it attracts a lot of attention, but arguably for the right reasons. Wouldn’t you agree?

With its ultra-long wheelbase, it grants immense rear passenger legroom. This is boosted further with easier accessibility thanks to the flat floor.

Dedicated rear air-cond vents, plus vegan leather, front passenger seat 'boss switch', and rear seat V2L port, all boost rear passenger comfort further.

What’s Life Like On The Inside?

The most obvious gain from the 2,950 MM wheelbase is the limo-shaming legroom it grants rear passengers, and ease of accessibility borne out of the rear cabin’s flat floor. Rear seat comfort is further boosted by the presence of a ‘boss switch’ in the front passenger seat, rear air-cond vents, and a V2L port.

In this range-topper, there’s even plush vegan leather seat upholstery present to sweeten things. Though there is a slight lack of headroom stemming from that steeply raked roofline, perhaps most regular-sized Asian folks won’t find this to be a big issue.

Up front, the dash sports a sleek, minimalist design primed with a sizeable and interactive dual digital display module plus a heads-up display. Indeed, these make like in the 'hot seat' aesthetically pleasing to say the least.

Not only a joy to be driven in, those piloting the Ioniq 6 will find life in its hot seat to be a pleasing affair. The presence of seat ventilation, a fully digital and interactive 12.3-inch digital dash display, and a heads-up display module, all ensures this, as will the high count and degree of other tech present.

Then comes the very well thought out and minimalist dash design featuring premium touches like a tastefully executed 64-colour cabin ambient lighting system, as well as the way the 12.3-inch central infotainment touchscreen still comes with well-arranged (separated) touch controls below which.

Exclusively primed in this range-topper, the sunroof is also a nice touch of luxury here.

Crisp-sounding 8-speaker Bose hi-fi and comfy Relaxion front seats are key traits of this range-topping guise of the Ioniq 6.

Our favourite bits in the range-topper specifically are its adoption of a sweet-sounding 8-speaker Bose audio suite, added sunroof, and the ‘Relaxion’ seats primed up front that proved nifty when taking breathers in between long driving stints.

If we were to nitpick, the traditional door-mounted controls being moved to the centre ‘bridge’ stack and column-mounted shifter needs time for most to get used to. We’ll also note how ‘cheap’ the keyfob looks and feels too. Otherwise, the cabin of this sleek streamliner looks and feels just as good as you’d expect…

Dual-motor setup bring much-needed pep, and sees 0-100 KM/H despatched in a respectable rapid 5.1 seconds!

How Does It Drive?

Whilst the Max RWD variant my colleague Mukhlis tested some time back does feel a tad sluggish with a hint of understeer and slight tail-happiness, this Max AWD has starkly different driving characteristics. Firstly, its dual-motor setup (one over each axle) delivers enough pep and traction to keep most folks thrilled.

Combined, the motors serve up a respectable 321 HP and a rather meaty 605 NM of twist, the latter perhaps being the chief enabler of this sleek streamliner’s rapid 0-100 KM/H sprint time of 5.1 seconds. For a car that weighs in just a little over two tonnes, that really isn’t bad.

For the avid corner-carving driver, there’s still a tad bit on understeer to deal with, but the trick all-wheel-drive (AWD) delivers all the traction one needs to get in and out of bends easily and rapidly. As for ride and handling, the Ioniq 6 remains typical of any EV here by favouring comfort cruising above all else.

Despite its 4,855 MM length, we found it easy to manage the Ioniq 6, even in and out of the concrete jungle.

Typical of most EV saloons as such, the Ioniq 6 is more of a comfort cruiser than avid corner-carver. The dual-motor setup's all-wheel-drive (AWD) does bring improved cornering traction in and out of bends.

What’s surprising though is how easy it is to manage the Ioniq 6’s lengthy 4,855 MM body. This is perhaps a reflection of how good the the Hyundai Smartsense array of active driver assist (ADAS) primed works, which includes novel blindspot camera views in the dash.

Clearly, this dual-motor flavour adds much needed peppiness that the Max RWD variant slotted below, along with the other two lower-end guises recently introduced, simply lacks…

The Ioniq 6 can take up to 350 kW DC charging inputs, and this sees 10-80% re-charges done in 18 minutes. However, stations with such outputs are scarce at the moment...

Tell Us About Range And Charging…

Nestled within the Ioniq 6’s chassis is a respectably large 77.4 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack, which forms the basis of its 800-volt EV architecture – the same as the equally brilliant Ioniq 5 EV crossover. 11 kW AC charging is the least it’ll take, granting full recharges in about 7 hours, which is an acceptable rate.

What is spectacular here is the battery’s acceptance of ultra-high DC charging input of up to 350 kW, which grants 10-80% recharges in a scarcely believable 18 minutes. The only let down here is how rare ultra-high DC charging points dispensing such outputs are in the country right now.

More often than not, you’ll come across a 50 kW DC charger at least. This, in turn, see 10-80% charges taking just about an hour, and that’s also very much acceptable. Overall, we’re certain charging won’t be a major hurdle for most prospects, but we reckon range might…

Predictably, dual-motor pep does come at the price of range, and this range-topping Max AWD makes do with just 519 KM (WLTP). In contrast, the single-motor Max RWD variant can go further to 614 KM (WLTP) instead.

Typically, the added pep stemming from the second motor comes at the price of both weight and power consumption. The latter is perhaps a key catalyst as to why this dual-motor version make do with a lower claimed maximum WLTP range figure of just 519 KM.

For perspective, that’s over 100 KM less than the Max RWD variant’s claimed 614 KM WLTP figure. Such is the penalty one pays for added performance in an EV, but we reckon most will see it as a fair trade-off. After all, you can’t have it all now, can you?

Hyundai Smartsense ADAS suite adds a bevy of active assists, thus granting the Ioniq 6 with Level 2 semi-autonomy. 

At Least It’s Very Safe, Right?

Yes. Very much so, in fact. A large factor to this is the brilliant Hyundai Smartsense ADAS package primed which, besides matching the bulk of rivalling systems present out there, trumps some of which through certain aspects too.

Key example to this being the Ioniq 6’s blind-spot monitor and warning. Besides side-mirror mounted warning lights, accompanied with audible and visual alarms plus haptic vibration, there’s even a blind-spot camera view in the digital dash that activates every time you flick the signal stalk.

The Blind-spot Monitor and Warning (top) is supplemented with camera views, and this further eases the management of such a long-bodied car. We wished more vehicles had this...

This, we reckon, will save plenty of folks from lots of trouble and, as mentioned, eases managing the Ioniq 6’s lengthy body better. Otherwise, all other semi-autonomous systems present here work as advertised, and these do make the Ioniq 6 feel like it could almost drive itself at times.

As for after-sales, it's a mixed bag, but HSDM does have an extended warranty option for buyers to consider...

What About After-Sales?

Ah, yes. This is a bit of a mixed bag. Whilst the 8-year or 160,000 KM coverage over the EV battery is a norm, perhaps some will find the standard vehicle warranty of just 2 years or 50,000 KM to be a tad shorter than usual.

Hyundai Sime Darby Motor (HSDM) does offer the option to extend the latter up to 5 years or 100,000 KM with 3-year or 50,000 KM free service included. However, this further adds RM10,000 to the total purchase price.

Nevertheless, considering the Ioniq 6’s near-bargain pricing, we reckon this is small investment into added peace of mind is worth it for some…

Despite minor setbacks, it doesn't make a dent to the rather brilliant overall package this left-field Korean alternative boasts over its immediate and seeming lesser German rivals.

Bargain? Really?

Truthfully, even in this fully-loaded, range-topping form that costs RM319,888 sans insurance and extended warranty option mentioned, the Ioniq 6 still holds far better value-for-money over its nearest rivals which, coincidentally, are both German and single-motor only - namely this and this.

We won’t deny, said rivals do hold promises of more dynamic driving, higher degree of luxuries and, critically, recognisable prestige. Nevertheless, we’ll argue that this novel Korean alternative can match and somewhat surpass these contemporaries across those fronts effortlessly, and for far less Ringgits too.

Certainly, this Hyundai is a far less predictable choice, and those brave enough to venture this far into the left-field won’t be disappointed. Until a certain Chinese-made alternative finally lands, little else comes close to eclipsing the total package of this sleek and sensational ‘streamliner’…

SPECIFICATIONS

HYUNDAI IONIQ 6 MAX AWD