Hyundai’s plan to gain more market share relies heavily on vehicles such as the all-electric Ioniq 6 that will be released next year. One hurdle potential EV buyers face is range fear, and Hyundai has a unique approach to addressing that concern. The Ioniq 6 is the most aerodynamic production vehicle the brand has ever made and has the extra range to show it.
The Ioniq 6 is the successor to the brand’s other fully electric car, the Ioniq 5 hatchback. The former throws off the super retro somewhat boxy styling of the latter. In addition, the slim Ioniq 6 achieves a drag coefficient of just .21, a dramatic improvement over the 5, which scores a .29. To put that into perspective, the Tesla Model S has a claimed drag coefficient of .208 and the Mercedes EQS barely takes the title with a .20 flat.
What that means on paper is a lot more miles per charge for Hyundai customers. The Ioniq 5 and 6 each use the same 53 kWh and 77.4 kWh battery packs, depending on the equipment. For the 5, that 77.4 kWh pack can deliver up to 303 miles (according to the EPA). In the 6, that same battery/motor combination should be able to go about 330 miles if Hyundai’s estimates are correct. For more information on the recently released WLTP scores, see our article below.
That would mean an increase of just under 10 percent in overall range, simply through a dramatic improvement in aerodynamics. According to Simon Loasby, Hyundai’s global design chief, the team’s original goal was even more extreme. He had a T-shirt printed with a simple and bold target on the front; “0.1x” reports Automotive News.
“Everyone said, ‘You’re crazy. You’ll never hit that target,’” said Loasby. “I know, but I wanted to see how far we can get. And that was our kind of mentality for the project… Most of the improvement came of a decrease in air resistance.”
Aside from its distinctly smooth silhouette, the Ioniq 6 benefits from flip-out door handles, aerodynamically optimized wheels, full floor coverage and winglets at the rear of the vehicle that control airflow. In total, Hyundai says it spent more than 5,000 hours simulating various aerodynamic adjustments on supercomputers during the development of the Ioniq 6.
We look forward to seeing the final EPA estimates and testing the Ioniq 6 ourselves when it becomes available.
