Review - 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 Resets Electric Vehicle Sedan Bar

Hyundai is very quickly becoming one of the leading electrified vehicle companies serving the North American Market. With more EV offerings than Tesla, and with a long list of hybrids and plug-in hybrids on sale and proving very popular, Hyundai is challenging the two top electrified vehicle leaders with better products, a better warranty, and a better cost of ownership model. The Ioniq 6 is the company’s latest homerun. Here’s what we discovered after a weeklong test.

2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 - What Is It?
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is a midsize or large sedan, depending on how you set your metrics. It is very roomy inside, both up front and in the rear. The Ioniq 6 might be considered a sedan version of the five-door hatchback Ioniq 5 we have previously tested, which scored quite high in our reviews.

2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 - What Powers It?
The Ioniq 6 is a battery-electric vehicle, meaning you plug it in to power it. Our tester was the long-range version with all-wheel drive. The motors provide a whopping 446 lb.-ft of torque and 320 HP.

2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 - Hows the Drive?
The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 Limited, Long Range, AWD is one of the most satisfying sedans we have ever driven. It's a joy to operate in normal daily driving. Relaxing, fun, and super quiet. The torque is tremendous. From a standstill, the Ioniq 6 can smoke nearly every gas-powered vehicle its price and size. However, its speed capability is pretty much on-par with similar vehicles like the Kia EV6, Genesis GV60, Jaguar I-PACE, and Ford Mustang Mach-E.

The steering is perfect for on-road usage, and the brakes have no odd regen feeling whatsoever. Perhaps the Ioniq 6’s best attribute is its smooth, comfortable ride. Even over bumpy roads, the car is very pleasant.

We always test all drive modes in our test vehicles (other than those designed for on-track use). Sport Mode makes the Ioniq 6 a rocket. You can snap your passengers' heads back, and they will shout, “Whoa!” Normal Mode is more than powerful enough for any situation, and ECO is surprisingly very good. So good that we used ECO as our default mode. Even in its de-tuned ECO setting, the Ioniq 6 is responsive and satisfying to drive. We are pretty sure we’ve never written that about any vehicle before today.

2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 - Interior and Features
We found the Ioniq 6 to have a very well-laid-out and appointed interior design. The seats are comfortable in all five positions. Ergonomics are excellent, tall drivers will find ample headroom, and those drivers with long legs will find that their right knee is not crowded by the center stack. Every luxury feature we like to see was present.

The vehicle we tested had a glass roof with a power sunshade.

The infotainment system in the Ioniq 6 uses a very wide set of screens for many functions and displays, and the HVAC has its own dedicated section, so you don’t have to hunt through menus. Our tester either had no head-up display, or we could not find controls to enable it.

While we like the infotainment system overall very much, but we still feel confused as to why the entry-level $20K Hyundai Elantra has wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but owners of the flagship Ioniq 6 must plug in a cord to use that important feature.

Like many, but not all EVs, there is no spare tire, and the tires are not run flat capable on the Ioniq 6. If you damage a tire, you are looking at a tow.

2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 - Living Electric
The EPA-Estimated range of the Ioniq 6 we tested is listed as 270 miles. However, when fully-charged, ours displayed an estimated range of well over 300 miles. During our testing in temperatures around 60 F, the estimated range miles seemed to closely match the range we were traveling.

The Ioniq 6 is one of the fastest-to-charge EVs available today when using a high-power (350kW or higher) DC fast charger. We don’t have any of those chargers in my area, so we charged at home on a 9.6 kW Level 2 Emporia unit, which added back roughly 100 miles of charge over about 4 hours on the charger. With such a generous range, we only charged the Ioniq 6 one time in a week, and our range was never below 200 available miles (having started the test at 100% SOC). On one day of our testing, we drove for three hours and still had over 220 miles of range left on the vehicle.

2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 - Energy Cost Per Mile To Operate
Our Ioniq 6 displayed an energy consumption value of 4.2 miles per kWh of energy. Our discounted energy rate from Eversource in our Metro Boston testing area is $0.34/kWh. Therefore, our cost per mile for energy comes to 8 cents per mile. That’s not bad, but not great, and works out to be roughly the same as a gasoline vehicle consuming $3.20/gallon fuel at a rate of about 40 MPG. The EPA’s Estimated MPGe for the Ioniq 6 is 103, calculated using national average prices for energy. Our testing included liberal use of ECO mode, very little highway use, and very few hard acceleration runs. We drove this vehicle on public roads responsibly. If you drive it harder, drive it in winter, or drive on the highway a lot, your energy cost will rise significantly.

2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 - Price, Warranty, Included Maintenence
The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 we tested was a “Limited Long Range AWD With 20” Wheels” version. The only option was carpeted floor mats which cost $210. The total price, inclusive of Hyundai’s Freight and Handling fee, was $57,425. To that price, budget for added dealer doc fees, dealer-added content, and dealer market price adjustments, if any. The Ioniq 6’s base price, according to Hyundai, is just under $47K.

Hyundai’s comprehensive new vehicle warranty for the Ioniq 6 is 5-years or 60K miles, and its electric drive and battery warranty is 10-years and 100K miles. The “powertrain warranty” is 10-years and 100K miles but only for the first owner. The Ioniq 6 also has three years of included maintenance. Based on our research, we can find no brand with a better value proposition.

2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 - Conclusion
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is the latest application of the outstanding Hyundai/Kia/Genesis EV platform developed and shared by the three brands. Those looking for an attractive sedan version of this platform will find the Ioniq 6 checks all of the boxes.

In our opinion, this new EV generation from Hyundai is now the best available in the marketplace, closely followed by the Ford Mustang Mach-E. However, Hyundai has a much better value package with its best-in-the-business warranty and included maintenance package. If we had a budget in the high $50K range and were looking for a very satisfying to drive sedan, we would start with the Ioniq 6.

John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can follow John on Twitter, and TikTok @ToknCars, and view his credentials at Linkedin

Image of 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 by John Goreham