A better buy than a Tesla Model 3? Here's how much you'll pay for the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 electric car

The market for electric cars continues to boom in Australia, and you might be surprised at the price of the next Hyundai Ioniq electric model to launch.

The all-new, stunningly-swoopy Hyundai Ioniq 6 electric car - or, if you buy into Hyundai’s marketing jibber-jabber, the “Electrified Streamliner” - will be less expensive than first predicted when it launches in Australia in the first half of 2023.

Hyundai Australia has confirmed its plan to position the Ioniq 6 quite closely to its aggressively-styled crossover sibling, the Ioniq 5 EV SUV.

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Firm details are still to be revealed, but the brand’s local arm has confirmed the new Ioniq 6 model will be offered in two “highly specified” trim grades, with pricing “expected to be similar to Ioniq 5”, being between $70,000 and $80,000 before on-road costs.

That’s pretty much bang-on when measured against the 2023 Ioniq 5 strategy, which incorporates the newly named Dynamiq base model RWD, at $69,900, while the top-spec Techniq trim line with AWD is $77,500.

For Ioniq 6, the brand is expected to offer the same 77.4kWh battery pack, but with the choice of a single motor rear-wheel-drive model at the base grade (presumably also called Dynamiq), alongside the top-spec AWD dual-motor (Techniq) with the same battery.

More on the powertrain details - including charging, driving range and efficiency - can be found in this story.

As with the Ioniq 5, the new Ioniq 6 will be subject to Hyundai Australia’s local suspension tuning program, with different hardware (suspension dampers, springs) and software (electric steering tune) to be “set up suited to our unique local conditions”. 

It isn’t yet clear what buyers will get for their money, but customers can expect a full range of active safety equipment, bespoke low-impact ecological interior materials for this new sedan, which measures 4855mm long (on a huge 2950mm wheelbase), 1880mm wide and 1495mm tall.

Speaking of the interior, there will be four USB-C ports and a USB-A connector, twin 12.0-inch displays (one for the driver, the other a touchscreen for media and information), with sat nav and real-time driving data to help you map out your route and recharge points if necessary. 

As expected, there’ll be Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth with the option to pair two phones (one for calls, one for music/podcasts), and there’s an eight-speaker Bose stereo with subwoofer.

And, beyond that, Ioniq 6 will be the brand’s first EV with over-the-air updates, with the capability to update components of the car, autonomous driving systems (if available), battery software and more. 

The exterior will brandish the company’s LED pixel lighting front and rear, while there will also be the choice of digital mirrors for the first time on a Korean product in Australia. The camera-based side view monitors are said to help the car achieve its impressive 0.21 Cd drag coefficient, along with the 18-inch wheels (Aussie cars may only come with 20-inch rims, though).

Also like the 5, the 6 will be sold directly to customers through an online purchase system, which Hyundai Australia reckons should remove any drama in dealing with the traditional purchase process, in that it will provide buyers “with the fairest (allocation) and most transparent ordering and sales process – as well as minimising wait times from deposits placed to vehicle delivered”.

Customers will have a choice of 12 exterior colours internationally, though it’s not clear what the choices will be in Australia just yet. Offering more colour choices can inhibit supply, so we mightn’t get the full dozen options, but the list includes: Gravity Gold Matte, Abyss Black Pearl, Serenity White Pearl, Curated Silver Metallic, Nocturne Grey Metallic, Nocturne Grey Matte, Transmission Blue Pearl, Biophilic Blue Pearl, Ultimate Red Metallic, Digital Green Pearl, Digital Green Matte and Byte Blue. 

Inside, there are going to be four colour choices internationally - dark and light grey, black with brown, pure black, and dark olive green with light grey. There’ll also be a 64-colour ambient lighting system offered, while the little squares on the Ioniq 6’s steering wheel illuminate when the car is charging to give you an “at a glimpse” view of the state of charge.

Stay tuned for our first drive of a camouflaged Ioniq 6 prototype in August.