The Man in the Electric Machine: A Review of the 2023 Ioniq 6

The minute I laid eyes on the silver silhouette of the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 sitting in my driveway, I knew exactly where I wanted to drive it to. The sloping roofline and the dark black band that stretched the length of the rear created a distinct look and invoked a memory that I couldn’t shake. At the first opportunity, I hopped into Hyundai’s newest all-electric sedan and cruised into downtown Dallas, parking squarely next to an angular building that any 80s action movie fan would recognize. Dallasites know it as their city hall, but film buffs will recognize it as the base of Omni Consumer Products – otherwise known as OCP.

What memory did the Hyundai Ioniq 6 jostle for me? Like the futuristic technology that has lived in my imagination since I was a kid, the Ioniq 6, particularly this silver version, resembled the visor of a crime fighter that was part man, part machine, but all cop: RoboCop. Like the out-of-this-world technology in that cult classic, Hyundai has treated the automotive world to some truly unique visions of what the future of electric vehicles can look like with the Ioniq line of vehicles. This newest version, the Ioniq 6, is an electric powerhouse with all the bells and whistles you’d imagine automotive innovation would bring. Still, its outlandish design might not be for everyone, and the Ioniq 6 is a remarkable electric car in a remarkably unelectric-friendly world (at least in Texas, anyway.)

For this Dad Driver, the polarizing design, with its power to elicit fond memories of childhood movies, was only the tip of the iceberg.    

What This Dad Digs about the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6

Go Robo – Rarely does walking towards your vehicle feel like walking onto the set of a science fiction movie, but approaching the Ioniq 6 from any angle, and that’s exactly what it feels like. The Ioniq 6 looks like no other car on the road, and while not all the design features nail their landing, as a whole, the vehicle succeeds at being dynamic, as well as aerodynamic. Starting from a moderately aggressive front end, the long hood joins an exaggerated curvature that runs through the body of the car to a dramatically slopping rear roofline.

With no grill needed, there is a simple black, glossy trim that runs across the nose – above air intake flaps – that help give the front end a “Star Wars” helmet look. On the back, just below the Ioniq branding, is a bold strip of LED brake/turn signal lights that runs the entire length and wraps around the corner. It’s a gloriously bold design that is simultaneously new and nostalgic. Admittedly, the silver paint job our review vehicle came isn’t striking but it is indeed bold and really sells the Robocop look. Look at the Ioniq 6 from behind and tell me it doesn’t look like Robocop’s visor.

I’d Buy This Interior For A Dollar – I like the idea that when you step inside of an electric vehicle, it should feel like an electric vehicle and not simply a vehicle designed for a combustible engine but with a battery instead. Hop into the Ioniq 6 and there is no doubt you’re sitting in an EV. Futuristic designs run throughout the car’s entire aesthetic but in the interior this aesthetics are not as polarizing as the exterior. The showstopper is the combined digital gauge cluster and infotainment screen, which both live in the same screen window stretching across the front dash. This conjoined design actually drives home the idea that this is the central hub where all digital interactivity with this machine takes place. It’s a bold choice and I’d certainly “buy that for a dollar!”

Elsewhere in the cabin, these futuristic elements are less “in-your-face.” Hyundai’s signature can be seen throughout the interior and most materials feel nice to the touch, although not everything feels as elevated to match the overall design. The the interior is roomy and the seats are comfortable, with plenty of leg and hip room for front seat occupants. My daughter’s car seats fit comfortably in the back and the long windows provided ample viewing space. There is plenty of usb power ports in front and in back and the vehicle uses a unique system to power connected devices without sacrificing drive performance.

As quick as Robocop’s Targeting – The Ioniq we tested was the Limited All Wheel drive version, and though it does indeed have paddle shifters (which switch between braking modes), I wouldn’t exactly say this vehicle had a sporty drive. The All-Wheel Drive undoubtedly helps in creating an exhilarating and powerful acceleration experience. A lot of electric cars are known to produce a rush of power thanks to the lack of traditional gear climbs, and the Ioniq 6 can feel as quick as Robocop’s targeting. 

The Ioniq 6 Limited comes with a 74kW front motor and a 165kW rear motor, which produces 320 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. It’s surprisingly beefy at around 4000 lbs, but it proves to be nimble and light on the road. Handling was silky smooth, and those extra battery pounds helped to make the vehicle feel connected to the ground. Stylized driving, and no doubt the rear motor, can eat away at the miles in a “full tank.”

Digital Delight – One of the more amusing debates about Robocop on the internet is the question of whether the digital readouts that we, as the audience, see when we’re looking through Robo’s eyes are actually digital displays that are a part of his visor or somehow hard wired into his cybernetics. It’s a silly debate but it always makes me think of the digital read outs that we all experience in our daily lives, especially the ones in vehicles. Your mileage with useful digital readouts on EV screens may vary but I often find them unnecessarily gawdy, slightly intrusive, and poorly designed. The electric car itself is the real star. The infotainment User interface software doesn’t need to be.

The UX in the Ioniq 6 is exactly what it needs to be: a simple, intuitive and charming interface with the vehicle. The visual design is modern and futuristic at the same time, reminding me of modern smart phone UI design. (And why not? A tech savvy consumer is exactly this vehicle’s ideal driver) It encourages exploration of the menus but also knows when to get out of the way and just display the info you need in a straightforward manner. Apple Car Play and Android Auto work on the Ioniq 6 (a plus over the Tesla models) but I didn’t mind sticking with what came out of the box. It’s a breath of fresh air in an already fresh EV market.

Fast “Juice Chugging” – EV charge times are getting better and better, and when I heard that the Ioniq 6 had a charge time of just 18 minutes on a level 1 fast charger operating at 350kW, I was eager to see that “juice chugging” in action. Fast chargers, at least in the metropolitan area where I live, are becoming more common and I’ve found one that has become a favorite. When I plugged in the Ioniq 6 during my week review it, that particular charging station never fully got up to 350kW but it would begin at around 300kW and usually decrease slightly from there. Never bothered me though because in around 20-25 minutes, the Ioniq was over 92% charged. I’m still ridiculously amazed at charging times in modern EVs so take this with a grain of salt, but that’s actually amazing.

The icing on the cake: apparently in 2025, this version of the Ioniq 6 will be compatible with the more common Tesla chargers. 

What Gets This Dad’s Down Vote

Cargo is a No Go – Cool design notwithstanding, that slopping roofline unfortunately means there is limited opportunity to work in a spacious cargo area. Only 11.2 cubic feet of space is available in the trunk – well below the average space offered by similarly sized sedans, electric or not. As an active Dad Driver, its concerning that little more than groceries, a gym bag and maybe a small diaper bag will fit comfortably in the Ioniq 6’s truck. And don’t even count on the cozy .5 cubic feet of space you’ll find up front in the engine “frunk” to hold much more than a small toolbox. This limited “frunk” space is actually more surprising than the trunk space, particularly because the front end is freaking long.

You Get What You Pay For – Cost of electric vehicles can feel like they are constantly shfiting in today’s automobile market so what’s considered expensive today could be thousands of dollars cheaper tomorrow.  The Ioniq 6 starts on the lower end of the EV price spectrum in it’s base form at $41,600 but approaches middle of the road in its higher trims, like the $56,100 All Wheel Drive Limited trim we tested. This trim level is certainly worth the price of admission, if you can get past the limited cargo space. But this EV has some tough competition. The popular Tesla Model 3 starts at $38,990 and Ford recently slashed prices to the Mustang Mach-E down to $39,895. While those are starting prices, they’re still slightly less expensive than the Ioniq 6 and they have higher brand recognition.

Range May Vary – It’s the number question onlookers asked me about the Ioniq 6: whats the range? An easy answer…if all we’re talking about is the Limited All Wheel Drive version of the Ioniq 6 that I tested. 270 miles to be exact. Not too shabby but to make things matters confusing, lower trims with rear wheel drive have longer ranges – specifically the SE RWD trim which has a range of 361 miles on a full charge. On one hand, it makes sense – less body weight for the rear-wheel-drive configurations mean less energy consumption. On the other, the All-Wheel-Drive trims are so tempting that it can make the sacrifice in range painful.

The Man in the Machine

On a contextual level, Robocop isn’t about a man who becomes a cyborg, it’s about a cyborg finding the man within; the man in the machine. What Hyundai gets right about the 2023 Ioniq 6 is that despite all the technological advancements that electric vehicles bring to the market, the machine is still operated by a man, or mankind to be fair. That means that design and function should cater to the driver first and foremost. The Ioniq 6 excels at this, in big and small ways.

One of my favorite “small ways” that Hyundai allows Ioniq 6 to succeed in a growing pool of eclectic vehicles is something the driver is greeted with every single time they drive the vehicle: 4 points of light centered on the steering wheel. This is a place most auto manufactures utilize for branding but that space is utilized different here. When the Ioniq 6 is fully charged, all four pinpoints of light illuminate green and as the vehicle uses energy, the green lights go out, one by one. It’s essentially a super simple battery indicator but it’s also a perfect example of design and functionality working together to truly create a innovative experience.

From the outside, design and functionality is exactly what the electric vehicle market appears to be all about. But drive enough of them and its quickly apparent that the truly unique marriage of design and functionality is much more rare. There are signs of that magic formula in the Ioniq 6, despite its flaws and its polarizing exterior design. And like Robocop, it take a human to appreciate and bring out the best in the machine.