Hyundai’s chasing Tesla with sleek Ioniq 6 sports sedan

WITH the Ioniq 6 sports sedan, Hyundai now has a true rival for the Tesla Model 3, which was the ninth bestselling car in the world last year.

The Ioniq 6 follows the Ioniq 5 crossover as the second vehicle to be based on the company’s new E-GMP architecture for battery electric cars, and its sleek exterior design hasn’t strayed too far from the prophecy concept that previewed it.

While Hyundai has released a full set of pictures that fully reveal the car, along with detailed design explanations, the technical data will remain under wraps until later this month.

That said, we can surely draw a few clues from its E-GMP siblings. The Kia EV6, for instance, is available with various single-motor and dual-motor powertrains that produce between 125kW and 430kW, depending on the model, and given the new Hyundai’s positioning as a sports sedan it’s more than likely that we’ll see a similar spread of variants.

The Ioniq 6 could also follow its Kia sibling in offering 58kWh and 77kWh

battery options, the latter enabling a claimed WLTP range of up to 510km between charges.

Hyundai says the new sedan boasts an ultra-low drag coefficient of 0.21, thanks to its low nose, active front air flaps, wheel gap reducers, digital

side mirrors (optional) and elliptical wing-inspired spoiler.

The cocoon-shaped cabin has a completely flat floor, and promises a spacious and expansive feeling for occupants.

It’s also brimming with eco-friendly

materials, such as available recycled PET fabric seats, bio PET fabric headlining, recycled fishing net carpeting and bio paint derived from vegetable oils.

As with the other E-GMP vehicles, the cockpit features a dual-screen layout

with two 12-inch displays and a bridge-type centre console for storage.

The cabin also boasts Dual Colour Ambient Lighting, enabling occupants to choose from 64 colours in total and six dual colour themes that were developed by the company’s colour experts.