Hyundai continues its electric plunge

Automotive history can move at alarming speed with the right team driving. Hyundai Motors, the South Korean company established in 1967, launched its Excel model in the United States in 1986, selling 168,882 cars for an MSRP of $5,495. Back then, Hyundai’s selling point was a decent driving car for nearly half the $10,439 average compact car price. The tragic Yugo was just $3,990 back then and did its best to make every competitor’s cars look good before it quickly went away.

But Hyundai not only stuck around; it grew rapidly, dramatically improving its quality and vehicle offerings. In 1997, the company acquired a substantial interest in KIA and, in 2007, launched its Genesis luxury brand. So fast forward with me up to Savannah last week for the press introduction of its new IONIQ 6 EV model along with a massive electric vehicle manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Georgia’s historic port city. When it’s soon online, Hyundai Motor Group’s (HMG) $5.545 billion mega-plant will produce 300,000 vehicles per year with a capacity to build half a million. And if that didn’t get fellow reporters’ collective attention, we were reminded that HMG is now the world’s third largest automaker by volume. That’s an amazing company growth speed by any measure.

The new IONIQ 6 is the latest of nine battery electric offerings from HMG’s three vehicle brands and has Tesla’s Model 3 along with the Polestar 2 squarely in beams of its intelligent lighting system. That’s an ambitious competitive set to challenge, but Hyundai isn’t bringing a knife to a gunfight. This EV sedan looks like it means business along with coupe-like styling that produces a 0.22 drag coefficient. From the dramatic face up front to the two spoilers in back, it’s impossible not to notice the IONIQ 6. And inside, the drama continues with a broad, high-resolution display, nicely stitched and environmentally friendly materials and a colorful light scheme for an evening’s mood setting.

Driving the IONIQ 6 is the experience we’ve come to expect in today’s electric vehicles. Acceleration is quick and quiet, and the low center of gravity from the battery’s placement beneath the cabin helps keep handling reasonably crisp. Of course, range and battery charging are also what EV buyers need to consider when making the move to electric propulsion. For IONIQ 6 buyers, Hyundai offers four model choices, with prices ranging from $41,600 for the base SE to $56,100 for the all-wheel-drive Limited. If you want the best mileage between electric fill-ups, the long-range SE with the 77kW battery, 225 hp motor and 18-inch tires delivers 361 miles. If luxury and more power tugs at your heartstrings, the Limited with two motors producing 320 hp and driving all four wheels shod in 20-inch rubber drops the range to 270 miles while upping the MSRP $10,600.

So many decisions about just what IONIQ 6 model to consider invite most shoppers to spend some internet time, then a visit to the dealer. The good news is that any model choice includes ultrafast 800V charging, where available, lots of standard equipment and Hyundai’s robust warranty coverage.

Brian Douglas has driven everything with wheels during his career in the automotive technical, marketing and journalism professions. He currently writes automotive and travel features for lifestyle magazines and is a guest correspondent in radio and television venues. Douglas has served as an honorary judge at Concours d’Elegance events and is co-founder and past president of Western Automotive Journalists, a professional automotive media organization. He can be reached at brian@autoeditor.com.