Hyundai IONIQ 6 EV scores "Best in Class" Euro NCAP rating
The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) has announced the best-rated cars of 2022. After testing 66 new passenger cars, Hyundai’s IONIQ 6 Electrified Streamliner was awarded ‘Best in Class’ in the ‘Large Family Car’ category.“
Ioniq 6 crash testing against a mobile deformable barrier. Images: Euro NCAP
Hyundai IONIQ 6 awarded ‘Best in Class’ of 2022 by Euro NCAP in the ‘Large Family Car’ category
Hyundai’s Electrified Streamliner recently achieved maximum five-star rating in Euro NCAP safety test
Newest model in Hyundai’s all-electric IONIQ line-up brand excelled in ‘Adult Occupant’, ‘Child Occupant’ and ‘Safety Assist’ categories
The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) has announced the best-rated cars of 2022. After testing 66 new passenger cars, Hyundai’s IONIQ 6 Electrified Streamliner was awarded ‘Best in Class’ in the ‘Large Family Car’ category.
“This latest Euro NCAP ‘Best in Class’ 2022 title for IONIQ 6 follows on from last year’s maximum five-star safety rating, and proves that it is one of the safest EVs on the European market,” says Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, Vice President Marketing, Product and PR at Hyundai Motor Europe. “Hyundai is committed to providing all road users with the highest level of safety, while at the same time offering innovative mobility solutions to our customers. This latest accolade by Euro NCAP underscores our industry-leading position in the field of future mobility.”
The Euro NCAP assessment program is a counterpart to ANCAP (Australian new Car Assessment Program), and the two organisations share internationally recognised crash testing standards. To define the Euro NCAP ‘Best in Class’, a calculation is made of the weighted sum of the scores in each of the four areas of assessment: ‘Adult Occupant Protection’, ‘Child Occupant Protection’, ‘Vulnerable Road User Protection’ and ‘Safety Assist’. This sum is used by the organisation as the basis for comparison of the vehicles. Cars qualify for ‘Best in Class’ based only on their rating with standard safety equipment. Additional ratings based on optional equipment are excluded.
IONIQ 6’s victory in the ‘Large Family Car’ category follows on from its successful Euro NCAP safety test last year. In November 2022, it was announced that the latest model of Hyundai’s all-electric IONIQ line-up brand was awarded with the maximum five-star rating.
According to Euro NCAP, IONIQ 6 achieved “exceptionally high results” in the ‘Adult Occupant Protection’ with a score of 97 per cent, claiming first place in the category. Meanwhile, the vehicle assessment organisation praised Hyundai’s Electrified Streamliner in the field of ‘Child Occupant Protection’, where it scored 87 per cent: “IONIQ 6 provided good protection for all critical body regions of both the 6- and 10-year dummies in the frontal offset and side barrier tests and scored maximum points in this part of the assessment”. The model also achieved a high score of 90 per cent in the ‘Safety Assist’ section.
The IONIQ 6 is equipped with the next level of Hyundai Smart Sense Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, including Highway Driving Assist 2 (HDA 2), which helps to maintain a set distance and speed from the vehicle ahead when driving on a highway and helps to centre the vehicle in the lane while driving, it can even overtake the vehicle in front. HDA 2 allows IONIQ 6 to reach Level 2 autonomous driving.
HDA2 is currently available on top-spec IONIQ 5 models in overseas markets, but has not made it to the Australian market. We have reached out to Hyundai Australia to determine if future models will receive this technology.
The IONIQ 6 is expected to launch in Australia in the second half of this year, starting from around AUD$70-75,000. You can view the full NCAP results here.
Streamliner-inspired Hyundai Ioniq 6 breaks cover - EV sedan to launch in 2023
Is it a Porsche 911 or a Mercedes-Benz CLS? Hyundai’s swoopy new electric sedan harks back to the age of the streamliner train with its aerodynamic form factor.
Hyundai has revealed the design brief and presented the first images of its Ioniq 6 electric sedan overnight. This new battery electric vehicle carries a striking and unique design philosophy in the same vein as its sister Ioniq 5, but the two vehicles couldn’t be more different (on the outside).
Is it a Porsche 911 or a Mercedes-Benz CLS? Hyundai’s swoopy new electric sedan harks back to the age of the streamliner train with its cab-backward profile, prominent design lines running the length of the vehicle, and retro-futuristic aesthetic.
The front design is a little Porsche-esque; large headlight apertures with prominent ridges running through the hood. It’s quite different though to the concept Hyundai Prophecy below, on which the Ioniq 6 is based. There’s a lot more “design” everywhere; while the Prophecy was all pared-back minimalism, the Ioniq 6 has lots of different cuts and angles in the front lower diffuser.
Hyundai’s Prophecy concept, on which the Ioniq 6 design is based.
We prefer not to assert our opinion on the exterior styling of this car until seeing it in the metal. Hyundai’s design team are good at playing tricks on our eyes — as we saw with the Ioniq 5 — and the Ioniq 6 looks the way it does for a reason: it boasts a drag coefficient of 0.21Cd which compares well to the Mercedes-Benz’s EQS (0.20Cd) and the Lucid Air (0.21Cd).
Hyundai Ioniq 6 Image Gallery
While the Ioniq 5 debuted a “living room” cabin-feel, the Ioniq 6 sports a “human-centric” design. According to the automaker, the interior space was developed simultaneously with the exterior form. Efforts were made to maximize and optimise the interior space, stretching it at the front and rear. It’s obviously more compact and cocoon-like than the Ioniq 5, but this should suit a vehicle that is certain to be more of a drivers’ car.
The eye-catching interior ambient lighting wouldn’t be out of place in Seoul’s Myeong-dong district, but it’s the interior architecture that we’re most interested in. Retaining familiar elements from sister E-GMP-based vehicles like the Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, the Ioniq 6 features twin twelve-inch screens, a touch display for HVAC controls, and “parametric pixel” detailing everywhere. The four pixels on the steering wheel are functional too, communicating in-car information to the driver such as vehicle state of charge.
Controls have been removed from the doors, to free up storage space. There’s also ample storage in the floating centre console, which is fixed in place, unlike in the Ioniq 5. The centre console is also flat to facilitate placement of a laptop computer. This may sound gimmicky, but we’ve wished many a car from BMW’s iX3 to the Polestar 2 had somewhere to rest a computer while charging up.
The Ioniq 6 interior borrows heavily from other E-GMP-based cars.
Hyundai claims sustainability front of mind
OEMs are increasingly looking to outdo one another when it comes to eco-credentials; the industry is now way beyond the cursory nod to the environment with “vegan leather”; Hyundai states the Ioniq 6 uses recycled pigment paint from end-of-life tires for plastic cladding, and bamboo charcoal pigment paint is applied to the body of the vehicle.
The interior of the Ioniq 6 is also trimmed in sustainable materials and colours. Depending on the trim level, these include recycled PET fabric (seats), bio TPO skin (dashboard), bio PET fabric (headliner), bio paint derived from vegetable oils (doors), and recycled fishing net carpet.
While Hyundai claims eco-process environmentally friendly leather, the material is still not sustainable, and is quite impractical in our view when it comes to maintaining its looks. Other OEMs have now moved on, and we wish Hyundai would follow the lead set by Tesla, BMW and Polestar with stylish non-leather options.
Drivetrain, battery and pricing
While Hyundai is saving the reveal of the Ioniq 6’s technical specifications for later in the year, we do know that it shares the same E-GMP platform and technology as the Ioniq 6. We’re expecting similar 58kWh and 77.4 kWh variants, a 450-500km WLTP range depending on battery capacity and wheel size, and the same 800V electrical architecture and charging speed. The Ioniq 5 can charge from 10 to 80% in around 18 minutes.
We also know Hyundai is planning an Ioniq 5 N performance variant, to rival Kia’s EV6 GT. We fully expect the Ioniq 6 to be a perfect product to receive the N treatment, somewhere down the line.
Pricing has yet to be announced for the Ioniq 6, but we expect it to again be similar to the Ioniq 5, starting at AUD$70,000. United States customers can expect to pay around $40,000—$45,000USD for the Ioniq 6, and UK customers £40,000-£45,000.
