In the U.S. market, sedans are vanishing. Most makers now focus on SUVs—and some have killed off passenger cars entirely. The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 is an exception to that trend: It expands Hyundai’s lineup of compact, mid-size, and larger sedans with a new all-electric model.
But there’s already a dominant entry in the EV sedan world: the Tesla Model 3. Built since 2017, close to half a million are now on U.S. roads. Add Chinese and European buyers, and the Model 3 was the world’s highest-production EV until overtaken by its sibling, the Model Y crossover.
Before a March media drive of the new Ioniq 6, we thought it’d be fun to compare the new entry to its major competitors. Tesla doesn’t offer media test cars—in fact, it won’t talk to reporters at all—so Jason Torchinsky and I rented a 2023 Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor (built January 2023) on Turo for a day, then drove the two cars back to back in and around Phoenix, Arizona.
They’re roughly the same size, but the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Tesla Model 3 were more different than I expected. Tesla may be the top dog in EVs, but Hyundai has aggressive plans to launch a variety of EV and zero-emission vehicles worldwide. The two companies’ electric sedans offer a window into how each sees EVs becoming mainstream.
(Full Disclosure: Hyundai provided airfare, lodging, and meals to enable The Autopian to bring you this first-person drive report of the Ioniq 6. Tesla doesn’t communicate with the press or provide loaners, so we rented one from Turo on our own dime.)
Accessible, Predictable
I had high hopes for the sleek, striking Ioniq 6 and it didn’t disappoint. The Korean sedan is smoother, quieter, and has a lighter and more plush driving experience than a Model 3. It will likely reassure buyers who fear EVs are “weird” or too hard to learn. It drives like a Hyundai, but quieter and smoother, and its EPA-rated range of up to 361 miles is competitive—as is its 800-volt charging.
Then there’s Tesla. The Model 3 is built in huge numbers globally, on three continents. While it’s now in its seventh model year, it pretty much defined the modern midsize electric sedan. It’s purer, more uncompromising in its vision, and far sportier and more performance-oriented than the Hyundai. It’s also harsher, noisier, and takes more time to learn.
Think of the Tesla Model 3 as a BMW, versus the Hyundai Ioniq 6 as a … what, exactly? The analogue is less clear. A Volvo S60? But if shoppers drive the vehicles back to back, as we did here, I suspect they’ll come down in one camp or the other—depending on how familiarity and a known brand stack up against cutting-edge digital technology and harder-edged performance.
DESIGN
ADVANTAGE: TIE
While the production 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 isn’t as sleek and stunning as the Electrified Streamliner concept first shown in January 2022, it’s still jaw-dropping. When we picked up our Tesla at a local motorcycle shop, the proprietor walked out to ask us what the Ioniq 6 was.
We threw it back: “What do you think it is?” He had no idea. But, “I had to come out to see this, ‘cause it looks like something from the future.” Well done, Hyundai.
The Model 3 is now so ubiquitous in some areas it’s impossible to assess it as a piece of design, like the Volkswagen Beetle half a century ago. The Ioniq is a compelling new shape; the Model 3 is the default against which all others are judged. Pick your poison.
The Hyundai’s drooping tail (echoing the Infiniti J30, for those old enough to remember it) is a unique look found only on the larger Mercedes CLS. It’s well-executed, and fresher than the seven-year-old Tesla. The car’s smooth nose echoes the Tesla, which uses the advantage of the dedicated skateboard EV platform for a shorter nose and a lower cowl height than the Hyundai. That gives the Model 3 a long cabin and appealing snub nose: form over function.
Overall, the Hyundai is a busier design, especially at the rear: it has a shark-fin antenna, a spoiler below the rear window with the center brake light, another spoiler at the edge of the trunk lid, and then a busy rear bumper shield. That’s a lot.
Shoppers will notice differences in a usually unremarkable function: How do you open the doors? From the outside, our Hyundai Ioniq 6 Limited extended its door handles as we approached. The Tesla required users to push the handle to pivot it out of its housing. Inside, the Ioniq has conventional door handles you pull—while the Model 3 required pushing a rubber-covered button in the armrest that lowered the power window before popping open the door.
The Tesla lost on interior charm: its all-black interior contrasted unfavorably with the lighter, multi-tone interior of the Hyundai. That’s despite the light and openness of the Model 3’s all-glass roof, tinted as it was. Note to designers: If you have a vehicle constrained by aerodynamics, a black interior feels cramped. A light-colored interior doesn’t.
Inside the cars may be where the two contrast most vividly. Tesla has moved all but a very few of its vehicle controls onto a landscape-format 15-inch touchscreen in the center of an otherwise clean, pristine dash with an elegant strip of wood from side to side. It’s calm, elegant, and (once you learn the digital touchscreen controls) intuitive.
The Hyundai is more traditional, with physical knobs for temperature and volume control below a pair of horizontal 12-inch screens side by side. It’s an elegant layout, but flipping back into the Ioniq 6 after the Model 3, it seemed … cluttered, crowded and busy. Frankly, I hadn’t expected that—so points to Tesla on that front.
Hyundai’s matte-finish light grey plastic also felt cheap, not befitting a car with prices starting at $42,715 (for the SE Standard Range RWD model) but that can easily approach $60,000 (into Model 3 territory) for the AWD Limited model.
PERFORMANCE
ADVANTAGE: Tesla Model 3
This one’s easy. The Tesla was faster, sportier, and more rewarding to toss through the twisty roads in the hills around Phoenix. The battery capacities are relatively equal: 75 kilowatt-hours for the Model 3 Long Range, 77 kWh for the Ioniq 6 with the larger pack. Both vehicles had all-wheel drive, so they compare nicely. Our Tesla had an EPA-rated range of 353 miles, while the estimated EPA range of our AWD Ioniq 6 Limited was 270 miles.
(A lower-trim Ioniq 6 SE with the same powertrain is rated at 316 miles, and the RWD-only models with the Long Range pack are 361 miles for the SE, 305 miles for higher trims. There’s also a Standard Range pack, only available with rear-wheel drive, that comes in at 240 miles.)
The Hyundai’s front and rear motors are rated at 74 and 165 kilowatts (100 and 221 horsepower) respectively, while the dual-motor Model 3 comes in at 147 and 188 kW (197 and 252 hp.) There’s no question the Tesla wins on acceleration and speed: the maker quotes a 0-to-60 mph acceleration time of 4.2 seconds, though we couldn’t confirm that during our test. Hyundai did not quote acceleration figures.
On the road, the Hyundai was softer and less sporty in ride and roadholding, and this is how it will be until a performance version of the Ioniq 6 arrives (Ioniq 6 N, anyone?). The Tesla is more sure-footed on the road and more eager to be tossed around, but it’s noisier, harsher, and generally less refined.
Tesla also wins on one-pedal driving. Not every EV driver will like it, but more EV-experienced owners often prefer strong regenerative braking paired with auto-stop. That means you can drive the car entirely on the right-hand pedal, letting it brake itself down to a stop without hitting the next-door pedal. Tesla defaults to this as standard, whereas the Hyundai requires multiple pulls on the left-hand paddle to get to “i-Pedal” driving—and you have to do that every single time you power-cycle the car. Urgh.
Note there’s nothing wrong with the Hyundai. Indeed, its softer suspension, quieter ride, and more measured acceleration may be more in tune with the broader mass-sedan market—which until now the Model 3 has occupied almost alone. The Limited trim includes a 120-volt interior outlet, and all models provide“vehicle to load” capability via an accessory dongle plugged into the charge port. Tesla offers neither.
Still, the Model 3 is just more fun to drive. As car reviewers, we tend to enjoy sportier cars more. If you prize a smooth ride over tossability, your views may differ.
CHARGING + EFFICIENCY
ADVANTAGE: Tesla
Tesla is known for the efficiency of its EVs—extracting a few more miles from every kilowatt-hour of battery energy than its competitors. The Model 3 we tested is EPA-rated at 131 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent, or the distance an EV can travel on the same energy as contained in 1 gallon of gasoline). The Ioniq 6 we tested comes in at 117 MPGe, or about 11 percent less.
Over 3,086 miles of Turo duty, the Tesla trip computer showed an efficiency of 276 Watt-hours per mile, or 3.6 mi/kWh—though I have no idea what those miles encompassed. The Hyundai consumed 3.8 mi/kWh on our limited test cycle of roughly 120 miles. Do with that as you will, but note the usages are not comparable.
Then there’s battery charging. As always, four of five U.S. households that can afford to buy a new car have dedicated at-home charging, so they will cover the majority of their miles in their garage or some similar dedicated setup, usually overnight. Those owners may well install a 240-volt Level 2 charging station in their garages; if not, Hyundai provides a 120-volt portable charging cable as standard. The Tesla Mobile Connector is a $230 option. Both cars use heat pumps for cabin heating and cooling.
But then we get to the issue of DC fast charging for longer road trips—the kind of travel stop you don’t think twice about in a gasoline vehicle. Hyundai made a brave decision several years ago and built 800-volt charging into its E-GMP electric-car platform. That’s the one underneath all the Ioniqs, present and future, as well as the Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60.
Under optimal circumstances, it will recharge the Ioniq 6’s battery pack from 10 to 80 percent in just 18 minutes. Tesla says a Model 3 can add up to 175 miles in 15 minutes. The Ioniq maxes out at 235 kW for a portion of its charge curve; the Tesla does the same at roughly 250 kW. Those highest rates are achieved with the pack almost out of charge; and the times quoted require a station that can deliver current at those rates along with moderate ambient temperature.
Both cars will precondition their batteries if a charging station is set as a destination. Tesla’s done this since December 2020, while Hyundai only now added it in the Ioniq 6, with an update coming for the Ioniq 5. We didn’t test the Ioniq 6 charging, but the Model 3 burned range faster once headed for a Supercharger site, as it heated or cooled the battery to the desired temperature for fastest charging—meaning less time spent off the road.
But here’s the elephant in the room. The Hyundai Ioniq 6 relies on third-party DC fast charging networks, with Electrify America as its preferred partner. That network has far fewer sites than the Tesla Supercharger network, and it won’t provide data on its reliability—though anguished howls from thousands of EV drivers who’ve arrived at broken, dead, frozen, or otherwise malfunctioning EA and other charging sites attest to its variable reliability.
In contrast, the Supercharger network is ubiquitous, seamlessly woven into a Tesla’s navigation, and generally known to be dead reliable because Tesla takes the Apple approach, and controls every aspect of its own ecosystem. (Editor’s note: I’ve had plenty of headaches with EA and ChargePoint stations, but never with a Tesla Supercharger. Take that as you will. -PG) Tesla has by far the largest number of fast-charging cables in the country, and is expanding aggressively to keep pace with its growing sales. Did I mention one of two EVs on U.S. roads is a Tesla?
Tesla wins this one, hands down. No comparison. Seriously.
COMFORT
ADVANTAGE: TIE
We were impressed that both cars were capable of accommodating four 6-foot adults. Sedans with sloping rooflines can’t always do that, but our reviewers (5’11” and less) were able to sit behind themselves with ease.
A couple of caveats: For rear-seat foot room, the Ioniq’s rear bottom cushion was more angled and its backrest more raked—meaning the Model 3 rear seat was more comfortable, despite its upper rail being a bit closer to a rear passenger’s head than the Hyundai. The Tesla’s all-glass roof also offered more headroom. But Hyundai rear-seat riders got a better view out the window than Model 3 passengers (those falling vs rising beltlines again).
From the driver’s seat, controlling the two cars is quite different. Both have steering wheels, the expected pair of pedals, and a touchscreen in the center of the dash. That’s where the similarities stop. Hyundai has adapted its user interface from other models to its EV line of Ioniqs, so it’s familiar to anyone who’s driven the Ioniq 6 utility—and will be more comprehensible to shoppers who’ve never before sat in an EV.
The Tesla differs a lot. I’ve driven many of these, so muscle memory returned quickly for how to control virtually everything from the center screen. It’s not as bad as you might imagine. Each car takes time to learn, but a Tesla will always be less familiar to anyone who’s not previously driven one. They’re learnable, and commendably usable once that hurdle is crossed. But shoppers need to be adventurous enough to be willing to throw away their preconceptions and learn an entirely new interface for things like seat heaters and wiper controls to get comfortable with a Tesla.
Tesla’s Silicon Valley roots show through in its grasp of screen design and response time. The Tesla screen was faster to respond in every single function than the Hyundai’s. After refamiliarizing myself, I remembered that the commonly used settings are on the lower left of the touchscreen’s bottom rail.
One unexpected Hyundai feature is window switches on the center console, a feature found mostly in Jeeps whose doors are designed for removal while rock-climbing. The goal, Hyundai designers suggested, was to make the inner door panel clean and less intrusive. That may be, but door-mirror controls by a driver’s left knee and window switches on the console took some getting used to.
The Tesla Auto wiper setting remains as inadequate as in past tests, but the flick-wipe button at the end of the indicator stalk worked fine during our rainy test day. Changing wipers to something other than Auto requires multiple taps, sadly, so I spent a lot of time flick-wiping.
SAFETY
ADVANTAGE: UNCLEAR
Hyundai expects its Ioniq 6 to earn top ratings, but it hasn’t yet been crash-tested by either the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It comes with a laundry list of expected advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) as standard, including automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, active lane control, and more.
Optional features include adaptive cruise that learns driver behaviors, active blind-spot collision avoidance, and parking-collision assist. One note: Some of the more advanced features require a monthly connectivity fee, which comes with a 3-year free trial. Asked about the cost after the trial, a Hyundai exec said, “We have a variety of packages available” and moved to the next question.
Tesla has consistently ranked at the top of crash-safety ratings from both the IIHS and NHTSA. The Model 3 received the top rating of five stars from the NHTSA in every test category, and was dubbed an IIHS Top Safety Pick+, receiving top ratings in every crash and crash-prevention category. But since the Ioniq 6 hasn’t been rated, I can’t yet render a fair judgment, but I’d trust a major automaker like Hyundai not to disappoint here.
One of the basics of safety is outward visibility for the driver. On that front, Hyundai wins. The drooping beltline offers far better rear three-quarter vision—yes, I know both cars have now-mandatory reversing cameras, but you should never trust those as your only backing-up aid—against the Model 3’s rising beltline and higher rear cowl.
In the few hours available for our test, we chose not to compare the standard Tesla “Autopilot” system to Hyundai’s “Highway Driving Assist” and optional “HDA2”. Our Model 3 did not have the Enhanced Autopilot (a $6,000 option) that adds navigation on Autopilot, Summon and parking functions, and automatic lane change. The continuing controversy around Tesla’s uses of ADAS suggests that should be a separate and systematic test. So I’ll punt on that one for now.
FEATURES
ADVANTAGE: IT’S COMPLICATED
Hyundai takes a more traditional approach to options on the 2023 Ioniq 6. The lowest-priced model, at $42,715, the SE Standard Range, comes with a smaller 53-kWh battery, RWD, and a projected EPA range of 240 miles. All other models—the SE, mid-range SEL, and top-of-the-line Limited—come with the Long Range battery and a choice of rear-wheel drive (which gives longer range) or all-wheel drive, with ranges from 270 to 361 miles. Wheels are 18-inch or 20-inch alloys.
My rented Tesla Model 3 came on base 19-inch wheels (giving it 358 miles of range, against 334 for the more stylish 21” wheels). The Ioniq 6 Limited had top-of-the-line 20-inch wheels. But despite the Tesla’s taller sidewalls, it was still harsher on rough pavement than the Hyundai.
Tesla doesn’t do packages or trim levels. Its models are Standard, Long Range, or Performance, and pretty much everything else costs more—including any color other than white. The price of a 2023 Model 3 Standard Range with rear-wheel drive starts at $42,990, plus a destination fee of $1,390. Add $11,000 for Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive.
The Tesla website didn’t price the Model 3 Long Range at the time I checked it, saying only that car would be “available during 2023”—despite our renter having bought one just two months before. Note that Tesla changes features and price very frequently, so always this info to see if it’s still current when you happen to read it.
One final note: Tesla’s options list is topped with the now-notorious “Full Self-Driving” option, at a whopping $15,000. Now offered to select Tesla drivers as a “beta” release (meaning owners with good driving records get to be guinea pigs for Tesla), it allows Teslas to “drive themselves” in certain circumstances. Proceed at your own risk.
OVERALL
ADVANTAGE: Tesla Model 3
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is a very appealing car. I’d be more than happy to drive it daily, and I’m confident its looks and approachability will find it as many buyers as Hyundai chooses to send cars to the U.S.
But for real-world use beyond the range of home charging, Hyundai is handicapped by its reliance on third-party charging networks of variable reliability—as is every other non-Tesla automaker. I hope that changes. It has to change if the EV transition is to proceed at the pace required by states that expect to end sales of new vehicles with tailpipes by 2030 or 2035. But today, that’s where we are.
The challenge with electric cars today is that shoppers must consider not only the EV. They must also evaluate the fast-charging network that makes it usable on the same long road trips as gasoline cars.
That’s what gives the edge to Tesla—at least this year. Furthermore, the Model 3 is still the sportier and more focused option, the athlete of the two, if that’s what you want. Add in the Tesla charging network and the advantages are very clear.
If you’re looking for a compact-to-midsize electric sedan, either car will meet your needs admirably as a second or third car. If it’s going to be your only car: You should buy the Tesla Model 3.
John Voelcker edited Green Car Reports for nine years and has contributed to Wired, Car and Driver, Popular Science, Tech Review, IEEE Spectrum and more. He is based in New York.
How’s the kinda odd looking trunk on the Ioniq? Seems kinda mail slot shaped
The car is fine, but Elon Musk is not a name I would want to be associated with…
Pretty sure there are adaptors to let other brands use a Tesla charger. I heard someone talking about it since there is no fucking way I ever give Elon my money,
maybe this?
https://www.amazon.com/Lectron-Tesla-Charger-J1772-Adapter/dp/B07V7V2QT8?th=1
Fantastic piece! And hats off for getting a Tesla on your own dime. More like this, please. I had not realized how much I missed the side by side comparisons that were so common in the print magazine days.
“The Hyundai is more traditional, with physical knobs for temperature and volume control below a pair of horizontal 12-inch screens side by side. It’s an elegant layout, but flipping back into the Ioniq 6 after the Model 3, it seemed … cluttered, crowded and busy”
Are you sure you are an Autopian writer? You like the lack of buttons?
Ah but he’s a Green Car Reports, Car & Driver and Wired reporter whom Jason has brought on for this byline.
I have to admit that I was hoping Hyundai would crush the Tesla. But kudos to you for a well researched, even handed, informative story. Dammit.
Do note the section about how he’s a journalist and has journalist preferences, such as a “clean” interior and dynamic handling instead of comfortable ride. If you like soft quality, physical buttons and visibility like the rest of us, the Inoniq is the better choice, particularly as EV’s exist for people who fly to their vacation destinations. I certainly would consider the sensible Hyundai first, even though neither car appeals to me. The Tesla is faster and all that, but if I wanted a sports sedan, I’d buy a BMW. In fact, I did.
It’s excellent to see how well Ioniq 6 stacks up. I own a Model 3, but look forward to seeing Ioniq 6 in person (in part, to see if the droopy butt looks better in person). FWIW, Teslas come with white interior as an upgrade option (although you pay something for it — not sure if Hyundai’s white interior is gratis). Also, fwiw, Model 3’s wiper controls appear fairly prominently on screen without needing to navigate to them every time the flick wiper button is pressed. (That said, I’m sure many people will prefer Ioniq’s wiper controls if they never require any screen interaction.)
It’s crazy to me that the Model 3 still hasn’t been surpassed. A few have come close (and the I6 seems like the closest so far) but no one has truly passed Tesla yet.
It’s kinda cheating, though, that it wasn’t the car itself but the charging network that put it over the edge.
One of these involves giving money to Elon Musk and the other does not. While I’m not going to be considering either I know where my money would go if I did…and honestly I have no idea how anyone could come out of a Tesla interior and be like “this is fine!”. They feel like riding in an early 2000s office park.
This is unfortunately where I’m at, and it’s a shame because a Model 3 spec’d the right way is a screaming deal right now. But as good as it is, I just really don’t want to give that man my money…
“…and (once you learn the digital touchscreen controls) intuitive” — Isn’t this an oxymoron? “Intuitive” suggests you don’t need to learn the controls, they just make sense.
That nitpick aside, I appreciate this comparison. As a new owner of a 2021 Model 3 SR+ many of the observations match our experience.
The comments about the Model 3 touchscreen and how the Ioniq interior felt busy after driving the Model 3 exactly echo how my wife and I felt when we test drove a Model 3 and Hyundai Kona EV (both 2021) back-to-back. When we first got in the 3, it was very disorienting having to do everything through the screen. My wife was sure she would hate it, even before she drove it. But after driving it, and spending some time when we got back to the dealership looking through the controls, she said of the Kona later: “There’s too many buttons!”
It’s easy to knock the touch screen controls and no gauge cluster (and even after owning one for a month I still have some “how the f*ck do I do x?” moments) but you can very quickly get used to it and the minimalism becomes appealing. The low dash makes forward visibility amazing, and it’s so easy to clean compared to any other car I’ve had.
The comment about interior color also tracks with our experience. We ended up seeking out and buying a used 3 with the white interior because it feels so much more spacious inside.
If Tesla continues to roll out the charging adaptors, I wonder how many of these sorts of articles will swing. It always seems like it’s only the availability/reliability of chargers that gives them the edge. Not that they should be keeping their chargers locked. We need to get to universal standards if EVs are going to be ubiquitous. It’s just the one clear advantage they have now.
as nice as the front to middle of the Ioniq 6 is, I really am disappointed at how droopy and overworked the back end of it is.
Great to see John’s byline.
This is the comparison I’ve looking for since I first read about the Ioniq 6.
Really interesting comparison – glad you did this!
So ~65 miles of difference according to EPA (accounting for small variance in battery size), but nearly the same real world (non-apples to apples comparison noted)?
I’m no Tesla fan, but I am starting to wonder if the other OEMs are going to catch them in terms of charging network, tech, and cost/profitability…
One consideration here: the Ioniq 6 isn’t in the EPA data files yet, but every other E-GMP car is tested using the 2-cycle method, not the 5-cycle. This means that it’s only driven on the 1970s test cycles and then derated by 30% from the range results from those cycles, where Tesla is using an additional cold city test, a newer AC test, and a newer aggressive driving/higher speed test.
Tesla’s heat pump and good aerodynamics generally help them in the cold and aggressive driving tests, which makes the range number higher than you’d otherwise expect (but also means it’ll lose less range at high speed and in winter than a vehicle that doesn’t have a heat pump or good aero).
…but if a vehicle with both a heat pump and good aero takes the 2-cycle test, it’ll look worse despite not necessarily being worse.
According to the Ionic 6 application document on the EPA website the Hyundai does use the 5-cycle method. They also appear to have 77kWh usable energy from some rough calcs of the DC energy consumption measured in the same application so it would seem they’re using 100% of the available energy on the drive cycle which very few people (apart from Tesla) do.
Doesn’t renting a car through Turo for commerical purposes like this violate their policies or something? Or is that just the guys that rent them to deisgn aftermarket parts or reverse engineer stuff?
Not that I’m complaining, just wondering. Y’all can do whatever you want for all I care.
I would add that one additional comparison would be great to have, but not feasible in this test: service.
I bought the original Model S back in 2013 and sold it in 2020. It was bleeding edge and overall a lot of fun. But what soured my experience with it was the ever changing service standards they had. How everyone sees how Willy-nilly Elon changes direction with Twitter is pretty much how he would change policies with service. Sometimes it was getting service done ASAP including sending out rangers when I didn’t even spring for the service. Then it would be, “we don’t answer phones” or “a tire replacement will take three weeks.” Then, very personal service, then no service (so it seemed).
Service is easily the biggest concern I have when considering a Tesla.
That’s funny, I have the same concerns about being at the mercy of the Hyundai dealer Network.
The good news is that for the few people I know with Model 3s, it doesn’t seem like much servicing is required at all, especially when compared to an ICE vehicle, and warranty repairs, while rarely needed, are often done in your driveway.
Hyundai on the other hand, are notorious for service department shittiness. They really do ruin people’s lives from time to time.
Why would you need to go through Tesla for a tire replacement?
it comes with free kool-aid?
I ended up going to NTB, but wanted to check with them first.
I’m unlikely to ever buy either. The Ioniq is hideous on the outside and relies on the garbage public charging networks. The Tesla is a dystopian tech bro nightmare on the inside and the company is run by the poster child for the word “toxic”. There’s way too much about these two cars that makes me think “Nope”.
I appreciate the Tesla for the engineering accomplishment that it is… but for a variety of reasons…I refuse to support Elon Musk. Easy choice for me between these two.
Am I the only person that doesn’t find the Hyundai’s styling polarizing?
I keep seeing articles mention how impactful or different it is, and all I see is “car, +10% swoopiness.”
The review was very levelheaded, which is nice.
I don’t get why it’s “polarizing” either. I think social media and the click economy drive all car opinions (and opinions in general? A discussion for another time) to ridiculous extremes. Half the stuff I’m reading about the M2 has some sort of line about BUT IT WON’T WIN ANY BEAUTY CONTESTS or IS IT FAST ENOUGH TO OUTRUN ITS UGLINESS?
…but I just look at the thing and see a BMW coupe. Compared to some of the actual insanity that company is currently churning out I think it looks like a proper BMW sports car. And the Ioniq 6 just looks like a fastback sedan, even though it isn’t one. The design language is more or less what the Germans have been doing for the last 20 years with cars like the Mercedes CLS, Audi A7, Porsche Panamera, etc.
It’s a swoopy sedan with some cyberpunk lighting. And at the end of the day…isn’t this what we’re asking for? Every enthusiast claims to be tired of anonymous blobby crossovers with no character…and yet when stuff like this comes out half of us are like YEAH WE MEANT DIFFERENT BUT NOT LIKE THAT!
…we’re a fickle bunch. At the end of the day not everything can be a brown wagon or van and I’m just happy when new stuff that isn’t another lifeless crossover comes out. There’s a good chance that 10 years from now everything on the road is going to be an electric crossover blob anyway so enjoy this shit while you can.
Good points, and I would much rather have the Hyundai, but one more point for the Tesla is the current state of the EV tax credit. Hyundai/Kia are not yet eligible for the tax credits, whereas Tesla is eligible. Love you bye.
Welcome John
I appreciate that, instead of spending all your review time getting obliterated on free automaker-provided booze, you spent your own time and money to give a nuanced, detailed, and helpful comparative review. This kind of thing is what makes this site awesome.
I still came away a little disappointed that a seven-year-old design, and even older charging network, is still the engineering standard for EVs. The Model 3 is an incredibly impressive piece of automotive engineering; I just wish owning one didn’t involve giving Elon Musk any money.
Re: 7 yr. Old design…
Yes & No
Yes looking at just the exterior design you’re largely right, much like the vw beetle or Porsche 911 (among many other examples) the exterior design has hardly changed since it was introduced i. 2017.
No B/C of the agile development process Tesla follows there are literally something like +20 changes which are made daily. With bigger changes being less frequent, like resistive heating being the only cabin heat option back in 2017 (switched to heat pump as primary in 2020 or 2021), types of ‘vision’ sensors used from radar + cameras (visible spectrum) + something else, now just cameras (human visible spectrum) only now as two ‘during assembly examples. Then there are an excrement ton of OTA update examples w/’full self driving’, to how the actual brakes work to the MMI works, etc…
There is no auto manufacturer in the world that is anywhere close to being able to iterate (i.e. make changes) as quickly or as consistently as Tesla.
Of course they still make a ton of mistakes, some of which seem to not always be in line with their own ‘to accelerate the world towards a sustainable electric future’ goal; such as automatically locking any Tesla out of their superchargers network if said vehicle gets in to an accident in which the vehicle may result in a salvage title, even though the vehicle may be 100% safe after repair…. as one (of several) glaring examples
I read: they release things half-baked, screw up a lot, and have stupid features that need frequent fixes and constant OTA connection to use.
Well, your reading abilities is not really what we are discussing here.
Teslas are the benchmark for EVs due to their popularity, but not because they have the best specs. Used to be. Not so much anymore.
The Model 3 LR gets 358 miles and charges 10-80% in 27 minutes. The Ioniq 6 gets 361mi & 19min.
The Model S gets 405mi & 30min, while the Lucid Air Touring gets 425mi & ~25min.
Right now, 800V platforms are the engineering standard — as in, those are the ratings everyone’s trying to beat. Based on things like tactile buttons, blended braking, and motor/inverter types, it looks to me like legacy automakers are copying each other now and leaving Tesla to its niche.
This has been a pretty polarizing design from all the comments I have seen. I think its fine looking, the interior looks pretty solid but I think I would prefer the hatch on the Ioniq 5 even if I do love sedans I prefer wagons and the Ioniq 5 is the closest I could get and it not be a CUV.
The Ioniq 6 should have been a hatchback as well, I feel like giving it a trunk was a big missed opportunity.
Can’t agree with you on the looks department. Hyundai is 1000% better looking than the platypus that got hit with a shovel thing Tesla has going.