The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is one of the greatest electric cars on the market. We’re talking about a reasonably priced electric sedan with full-sized interior space, up to 342 miles of EPA range, an 800-volt architecture, and proper luxury car ride quality that’ll put many German machines to shame. Unfortunately, it’s also not a huge seller.
Last year, Hyundai sold 12,264 Ioniq 6 sedans in America, which sounds fine until you realize that’s a six percent decline over 2023 sales, in a year when Ioniq 5 electric crossover sales were up 31 percent to 44,400 units. Perhaps the streamliner looks of the Ioniq 6 are just a bit weird for American tastes, but Hyundai isn’t resting on its laurels.
For 2026, the Ioniq 6 sedan gets a thorough refresh, toning down some of its zanier elements and focusing on the core principles of looking like a modern interpretation of a 1930s streamliner. You just might need some time to adjust to its new face.
Up front, the big change is a new split headlight treatment that I’m still getting used too. See, I liked the down the road graphic of the old Ioniq 6 because it reminded me of a cat. The pointed headlights, the slight jowls of the air curtains, the slim trim piece over the grille flaps, it was all quite easy to anthropomorphize. In contrast, this new front end seems sleeker but less friendly, although it does work better in N-Line trim with the more aggressive front fascia.
Moving around back, surprise! No more whale tail. Instead, a simple ducktail finishes off the silhouette, while more black trim on the lower bumper balances out visual weighting. While I’ll miss the huge pixel-style third brake light, the result is a far cleaner look, especially with the simplification of the valence. Also, check out those new fan-blade five-spoke wheels. While not as complex as the old snowflake-like wheels, it’s still an interesting design and I’m curious as to what impact it has on range.
Moving inside the new Hyundai Ioniq 6, it seems its makers haven’t messed much with a good thing, instead simply improving it in subtle ways. The steering wheel grows a third spoke and seems to switch from glossy black plastic buttons to a satin finish that won’t attract swirl marks. The new-generation infotainment system, already employed in models like the Santa Fe, is also on deck, and that’s before we even move to the middle of the cabin.
The other big highlight of the interior is a redesigned center console that completely fixes the gripe of having to go into the infotainment to turn on the heated seats. Yep, the facelifted Ioniq 6 features actual buttons for heated and ventilated seats along with the heated steering wheel. Oh, and the console itself appears to be more space-efficient, finding room for two extra little cubbies that’ll accommodate small items.
Remember that N-Line trim I mentioned earlier? This is it, and you really get a sense of the new nose and whale tail delete from this angle. With the broadened plastic cladding, the result is a streamliner that looks even longer and lower than before, and the skirt package of the sporty Ioniq 6 N-Line really anchors it to the ground.
While Hyundai hasn’t revealed specs for the updated model, expect them to be similar to those on the current Ioniq 6, meaning huge range and properly fast charging. Also, expect North American models to come with a NACS port as part of Hyundai’s big format switch. Beyond that, Hyundai has confirmed that an Ioniq 6 N is coming in July, and if the brilliant Ioniq 5 N is an indicator, the result should be hugely enjoyable. Consider it something worth looking forward to.
Top graphic credit: Hyundai
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
Here’s Why American Hyundai Ioniq 6 Owners Are Getting Shortchanged On Frunk Space
-
The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 Limited AWD Could Teach Mercedes-Benz A Thing Or Two
-
Here’s Why The 641-Horsepower 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Is Proof The Future’s Gonna Be Okay
-
The Hyundai RN22E Is A Track-Focused Hyundai Ioniq 6 Meant To Show How The Upcoming Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Hatchback Will Conquer Racing’s Archnemesis: Weight
-
The Bonkers Widebody Hyundai Insteroid Concept Is Yet More Proof That Hyundai Totally Gets It
Please send tips about cool car things to tips@theautopian.com. You could even win a prize!
The styling changes, although a plus to my eyes, don’t appear to have done anything to expand the 11 cubic ft trunk which is my main sticking point. I only hope Hyundai sells enough of these to build another generation, or better yet introduce more non-CUV EV models.
I like this redesign. I was really not a fan of the previous version
So many car these days make me stop and think, “hmm, what would it look like if all that black plastic were painted body colour?” We seem to be taken over by black plastic ice cube trays and honeycomb mesh fetishes. Are there any stylists (or their bosses) willing to stop this?
They’re making everything look needlessly angry and aggressive to the expense of functionality, performance, and economy, and stylists aren’t allowed to deviate from this…
Compare the Jaguar D-Type, with either the recent F-Type or that brutalist 00 concept abomination today. The 70-year-old car has roughly half the CdA value and mass as either, in spite all of the technological progress made since that allows for something much lighter and more slippery than the D-Type.
From a platform efficiency perspective, sports cars have been moving backwards, not forwards.
This is one of the reasons that there exist no new cars available in the USA that interest me. I seek a simple, efficient, lightweight, easily maintained/repaired, relatively inexpensive, no-bullshit, go-fast machine. It’s not rocket science. Even without a stylist, such a thing would end up with a curvaceous, low-drag, sensual body in order to meet the design requirements alone, honed and sculpted by decades of racecar evolution. Today’s styling zeitgeist is opposed to it, as it’s not about making the best possible product anymore, it’s about extracting money from people.
Today, the car companies are always trying to sell the sizzle, and never the steak. And it’s such a bullshit practice to do your customers like that.
In the case of the IONIQ 6, at least, it’s to visually minimize its height. It’s riding on top of a skateboard battery but they want to make it look like it’s really low slung, and contrast under the doors helps to keep from making it look too tall.
The N-Line side profile looks almost decent. I am a fan of different and odd ball cars, but this is still just a little too far in left field to have me totally interested
Still looks like a melted bar of soap.
I sat in one last month at a car show. I’m 6’0″ with long legs/shorter torso, so I tend to sit farther back from the dash and sometimes have to slightly reach for certain controls in some cars. In the Ioniq 6, once I adjusted the seat to my driving position, the entire control panel/screen was ~6-8″ from my fingertips at full stretch while still in the seat. I would have to lean forward for every control.
Any others experience this?
Do you tend to gangsta lean the seat back? There’s a chance you’re outside the 95th percentile male form, but doubtful at 5’11” (I kid I kid).
No, I consider the extreme lean back borderline dangerous. I tend to sit very upright, since I need the seat bottom pushed back for the legs but the backrest up to reach the wheel. I always have to reach a bit but the Ioniq 6 was the most pronounced I can remember. That’s the fun of going to car shows. I hope they don’t die out completely.
(lol yeah everyone assumes I’m adding an inch or two when they hear 6’0″. My last full physical the doctor wrote 6’0″. Whatever.)
You are correct that it’s dangerous, as it negates the effectiveness of the shoulder belt and hip belt. Your shoulders should not be significantly behind your hips.
Interesting observation though. If I get the chance to sit in one I’ll see for myself, although I’m severely biased against anything with a touch screen already. The only exception being a tablet controlling a stand alone ecu.
Gotta say, I am loving this refresh. I was already a huge fan of the original I6 but can’t deny this refresh cleans the car’s busier elements while also still retaining its eccentric charm. Here’s to hoping Hyundai doesn’t skip the US market altogether because of the tariff situation.
The rear bumper was really not great and now it’s totally fixed. Good job Hyundai!
I wonder if the refresh will be built in the US, like the IONIQ 5 refresh now is.
It’s very possible, but considering the low volumes the I6 has sold thus far, I’d imagine the new Metaplant would be focused on building things that sell in our market. i.e. SUVs. Also has been confirmed that the Metaplant will eventually crank out HEVs/PHEVs/EREVs which would undoubtedly take precedence over the I6, for better and for worse.
Face . . . lift? Looks more like face (and butt) lower.
The styling is less immediately offensive than it used to be, but the shape is just gawdawful. It’s like they’re trying to out-egg Mercedes.
Infiniti J30 called, it wants it’s butt back.
I’d “kill” for a mint J30. They were something else.
As Bender said, “In order to get busy with maximum efficiency, I need a girl with a 400-ton booty”
They were also surprisingly well finished. I mean, ’90s Nissan hadn’t cost cut fit and & finish to the bone yet, but the J30 was really built to Lexus standards. Paint, materials, tolerances, etc
When Nissan was awesome. Long time ago now.
The J stood for Jellybean
Make the performance model a wagon, and I’ll be interested.
Minimum: needs to fit a box of 8-ft fluorescent tubes.
This is a car that I think looks good in photos, but I finally saw one in real life, and it was pretty tryhard with that curve. I won’t judge the facelift until I see one. Hyundais lately are just like *almost* there with the styling.
They just need to stop designing their cars when they think they’re about 80% there. The line between “hey that looks good for an affordable car” and “wow that design is trying WAY too hard” is slim and lately they’ve had a tendency to cross it. I actually think their design from 3-5 years ago was just right.
The Palisade is a nice looking car. I think the first gen Kona is a nice looking car but obviously I’m biased. While it was a bit overstyled I think the fish eye Sonata is decent looking enough. The prior gen hatchback Elantra is a very attractive car. The last gen Santa Fe looked fine. I do think the Ioniq 5 is mostly pretty good,
But the current stuff is just way too much. The Ioniq 9 is a war crime. The Santa Fe looks like a Land Rover you bought of Temu. The refreshed Sonata has approximately 70 too many lightbars. Enough already.
You have perfectly described the design of the Santa Fe and this is now what I will think of every time I see one.
It still looks like it was pinched at both ends
It doesn’t need a facelift so much as a buttlift. Yes, I said it.
I can’t tell if it’s an improvement or not, but it certainly is different
Also, the Ioniq 6 is really the only competitor to the Model 3, if you want an EV that isn’t an SUV or pickup and isn’t priced completely into the stratosphere (maybe only part of the way to it). But, with the tariffs on South Korea, it looks like the only direct competition to the lowest priced Tesla may well be knocked out of the game. And nobody else seems to show any real interest in jumping into that part of the market
Surely there’s a fair bit of overlap between the Model 3 and the i4…
They start at like $12k-13k more than a Model 3 RWD Long Range, just on MSRP, without including any tax incentives. That’s not an insignificant bump over a $42,000 car for people who shop on price vs payments
It’s decent, but would be better without the back being tricolor. We don’t need red, black, and grey all on the same section. That’s too much and I hate it. It’s more restrained on the front so it works there, but not on the back at all.
That went from bug-eyed lozenge to even more lozenge styled
Riii-co-laa!
Based on comments about the Ioniq 6 in the past, this is going to be unpopular, but I love the way this thing looks. But, I’d just get an Ioniq 5, it looks just as good but is way more useful.
I’m still figuring out if I like these or not. They’re visually striking, but I think they went too hard at the crescent moon sort of effect.
Agreed. I think I have settled on “I like it, but it’s funny looking”. A less droopy butt would be an improvement. And a hatch.
Same here! I like these changes, I just can’t get past the DLOs drooping into that melted butt.
Hyundai and Kia’s designs are just too damn much a lot of the time. They certainly stand out and I assume that appeals to a lot of non-enthusiasts because most affordable cars are pretty anonymous…but for me most of them are just too busy. Clarkson’s quote on the FK8 CTR-calling it “the car they wouldn’t stop designing” kind of rings true for a lot of Korean cars for me…and I say that as someone who owns a wonky looking Korean car.
The Genesis stuff looks pretty damn good though. I’ll give them that.
I’m glad that there is a company out there that’s letting their designers have free reign, but Hyundai/Kia are right on the verge most of the time of being way too much.
Im now seeing the K3 sedan everywhere and it’s a goddamn disaster. It looks like a wannabe import/tuner car but it’s an underpowered econobox. Something about that just rubs me the wrong way. I mostly think it’s a good thing that Hyundai/Kia actually put design effort into their affordable cars but there comes a point that they’re so over designed they’re writing checks they can’t cash.
Yeah, Hyundai/Kia seem to have reached the level of late stage Virgil Exner at Chrysler, where they’re almost just being bizarre for the sake of being bizarre, possibly because they don’t know where else to go
I assume you mean K4? I rather like them, and I definitely am interested in the hatch that’s coming.
Huge improvement!
This went from ‘so ugly that it would never be considered’ to ‘fine’.
Agreed. The old one looked like a Chinese car when they don’t have someone else’s design to copy.
I always thought of it like someone had described a Taycan to the designers over the phone
FryNotSureIf.gif anyone?
I could forgive the rear end styling if it had a hatch. This falls squarely into the category of cars that obviously should be a liftback but aren’t.
Hard agree.
Pretty face; sagging butt.
It still looks like someone left some hot lights on overnight in the studio and when they came in to a melty mess the next morning they were like, “eh, good enough”.
I’m assuming tariffs will bone these into another dimension price wise but naturally I’m intrigued by the N. The Ioniq 6 is lighter and more aerodynamic than the 5, so it should perform a little better and offer better range.
I am curious about the N as well. From all that I have read, the standard I6 is more suited to a smooth and gentle cruise down the highway than any real spirited driving so the N treatment should greatly improve things. While I’m sure it will be dual motor like the I5N, a I6N with 375-400HP in RWD would be fun.
I have a 1st Gen I6. Spirited driving is certainly possible. The wheelbase is a lot longer than it looks, so you don’t turn quickly but the turns are smooth. It’s not the fastest EV from 0-60 but it will hold you in the seat with some decent pressure on your chest.
I still don’t like the rear “droopy butt” look.
It looks like it’s squatting to take a dump. That’s pretty cool, IMO.