The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is designed by a Brit to be an efficient but emotional cocoon
THE all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 6 was designed by Brit Simon Loasby.
His dad was the chief engineer for the DeLorean, and before that conceived the Aston Martin Bulldog, a 200mph one-off supercar shaped like a slice of cheese.
The Bulldog was designed by William Towns.
As a boy in the early Seventies, the young Loasby was taken to see Towns’ studio where the famous wedgey Lagonda saloon was being designed. Some inspiration.
The Ioniq 6 is a big saloon.
Unlike German firms who build cars with a family look, Hyundai will soon have three models in the Ioniq range and all are different.
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The angular Ioniq 5 hatchback, already a success, will be joined by the arc-shaped Ioniq 6 and a boxy, family-friendly SUV called the Ioniq 7.
Loasby calls Ioniq 6 “efficient but emotional”.
It’s almost three metres between the centres of the front and rear wheels.
This long wheelbase gives lots of space inside and makes the outside look sleek.
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The curved body surfaces are smooth with little ornament.
There are few creases.
The door mirrors are little cameras that feed displays inside, at the ends of the dashboard.
The door handles lie flush.
Along the base of the body is a contrasting dark colour.
It makes the car look lower, disguising the depth of the slab-shaped battery beneath your feet.
Pixellated lights are supposed to remind us of video games.
As for efficiency, it is super-aerodynamic – thanks mostly to the streamlined profile but also active flaps in the nose, the ducktail spoiler and those tiny door cameras.
That will give it a far longer range than Ioniq 5, 379 miles versus 315 miles.
Yet both wear the same underpants.
Inside, the word is “cocoon”.
When you stop, maybe waiting for a recharge, the seats go back like a recliner, with a foot-rest rising to meet you.
The dash screen, door armrests and centre console all seem to float away from the structure behind.
A wash of ambient lighting changes colour with speed.
Among the trim options are seat cloth made from recycled plastic bottles.
Having grown up here, Loasby has travelled the world and looked deeply into different cultures. Not just cars, either.
You might think the Ioniq 6 is brave, but then he doesn’t want to do the same design as rivals.
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He said: “Designers shouldn’t worry about getting it wrong.”
We don’t think he has.
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