Winning Electric Powertrain Migrates to Hyundai Ioniq 6

The powertrain in the Hyundai Ioniq 6 repeats as a Wards 10 Best Engines and Propulsion Systems winner for 2023.

Not bad for a battery-electric vehicle facing more and better competition than ever.

Last year, Wards honored the same propulsion system in the ’22 Ioniq 5 CUV.

The Ioniq 6 4-door (Hyundai eschews the term ‘sedan’) uses the same global E-GMP electric-vehicle platform and the same ultrafast 800V, 350-kW Level 3 charging architecture as the 5. That allows the battery to be recharged from 10% to 80% in as little as 18 minutes on a 250-kW charger. And up to 65 miles (105 km) of range can be added in just five minutes on a 350- Level 3 fast charger.

On 240V Level 2 charging, the 10.9-kW on-board charger can fully charge the battery in a little over seven hours.

To achieve that fast-charging speed the battery pack must be at optimal temperature, so the Ioniq 6 can preheat its pack in cold weather. This function activates automatically when a charging point is entered into the navigation system and turns on the battery heater when it gets close to the charger.

Thanks in part to the 6’s streamlined profile – featuring a minuscule drag coefficient of 0.22, facilitated by drag-reducing features such as underbody cladding and active grille shutters – the Ioniq 6 has an advantage in range: 270 miles (435 km) with a long-range battery pack, compared with 256 miles (412 km) in the Ioniq 5. Forego the 20-in. wheels on our tester in favor of 18-in. wheels and range grows to 316 miles (509 km).

In Sport mode, the front and rear motors in the all-wheel-drive Ioniq 6 tested by Wards judges combine for 320 hp and a jolting 446 lb.-ft. (605 Nm) of torque. But generating that kind of power doesn’t come at the cost of efficiency.

The EPA rates the Ioniq 6 at 3 miles/kWh, but one judge got an impressive 4 miles/kWh in Eco mode, while another saw a solid 3.7 miles/kWh in Sport mode. The Ioniq 6 is EPA-rated at a combined 103 mpg-e.

Control paddles allow for four different levels of brake regeneration.

Fast-charging capability, increased range, high efficiency and a relatively reasonable $57,000 price tag all add up to a winning combination.

As judge Bob Gritzinger puts it, “This is clearly the top of the heap when it comes to battery-electric powertrains and deserves a second year on the list.”

The 2023 winners will be honored during the Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems award ceremony Oct. 18 on day two of AutoTech: Electrification at the Fort Pontchartrain Hotel in Detroit, MI. Learn more about the event and book your ticket by visiting https://bit.ly/3REayqc. All credentialed media are welcome and qualify for free admittance to both the awards ceremony and AutoTech: Electrification Oct. 17-18.

Hyundai Ioniq 6