Recycled interior and electric motor: review of a South Korean sedan for 4,6 million rubles

Cars from South Korea are no longer new to us, with parallel imports even more so. Therefore, the release of Hyundai loniq 6 in the Russian Federation was received without much excitement. At the same time, the dealers delivered the cars and didn’t even increase the price tag much.


More on whether it’s worth buying an electric sedan in Russia, and why the Hyundai loniq 6 is so interesting.

General information

Hyundai loniq 6 is an electric D-class sedan with rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. There is a small selection of engines and equipment on the market. The rest of the model is quite conservative.

Four-door dimensions:

✅ Length - 4 855 mm
✅ Width - 1880 mm
✅ Height - 1495 mm
✅ Wheelbase - 2 mm
✅ Front track width – 1635 mm
✅ Rear track width – 1644 mm

The “Six” is slightly longer than the fifth version, but a little narrower. The total weight of the car according to the passport is 2520 kg.

The number of horsepower, acceleration to the first hundred, engine type and power reserve depend on the configuration. What is invariable is the automatic transmission, which does its job well.


The E-GMP architecture is interesting - a new scheme created from scratch by Hyundai engineers. With its advent, the production of medium and large-sized electric vehicles is no longer a problem for the brand. The platform is also used in select KIA and Genesis models.

Design

Hyundai is coming up with bold solutions to attract more buyers to the electric vehicle segment. Therefore, you should not be confused by the stylish front air intakes, narrow slits of the head optics and the sloping hood.


Brand representatives called the loniq 6 design “emotional efficiency.” And these are not empty words. On the one hand, we see the most streamlined body, thanks to which the drag coefficient is only 0,21.


The “Six” literally glides along the air flow, saving battery power as much as possible. For greater effect, air dampers, a wheel clearance reducer and an elliptical wing spoiler were also installed.


This attention to detail, combined with energy-efficient solutions, has created a canvas of flowing lines that is fascinating to observe in both static and dynamic ways. The front, side and rear views are more than attractive. At least there are few negative reviews about the electric car's design online.

Interior

After looking at the car, you already want to be inside. Flush mounted door handles will help with this. Bold design solutions are visible here too.

The digital instrument panel features a 12-inch display. The multimedia system here is compatible with the popular Apple CarPlay/Android Auto services. The electric car has atmospheric interior lighting with a palette of 64 colors.


Engineers made the seats as light as possible and added a lot of position settings. All this is designed to improve the experience of the driver and passengers while in the car.


Lovers of good sound will be pleased with the Bose audio system with eight speakers. For the modern driver, a lot of electronic assistants have been prepared that will help in driving, parking and assessing the surrounding situation.

Eco-leather and recycled PET were used for interior upholstery. The materials are quite pleasant to the touch. Some say that for that kind of money the manufacturer could have chosen better materials for the seats, steering wheel, ceiling and floor mats.


It seems that Hyundai has enough money to make the interior “first class”, but here the idea is different.

Firstly, you can use cheap materials without much damage to your reputation. You can always say that this is a “feature” in support of the environmentally friendly use of the planet’s resources and waste recycling.


Secondly, this policy works well in an electric car, which also does not burn gasoline and is environmentally friendly.

Powerplant and range

Loniq 6 is equipped with electric motors with 151, 229 and 325 horsepower. They work in tandem with a non-alternative “classic” machine. The base electric car has a 53 kWh lithium-ion battery. Top equipment with 77,4 kWh battery. Acceleration to the first hundred for a sedan will take about 5,1 seconds, and depends on the combination of the power plant and the traction battery.


Certified energy consumption is 14 kWh per 100 km of track. This indicator makes the electric car one of the most energy efficient in the world. The official range is 583 km in the basic version, and 610 km in the top version. Charger for 400 V and 800 V respectively.


Hyundai engineers also implemented powering external devices from a car battery. For this, a special adapter has been developed that is inserted into an external connector.


There is also an outlet for a laptop or smartphone inside under the rear sofa, if there are not enough classic connectors in the cabin.

Driving impressions

In the Russian-speaking segment, there are not many reviews about the experience of riding the loniq 6. Therefore, we found several rather bright comments from European and American bloggers.

Everyone notes the pleasant sensations while driving. They lacked the sharp start that they were used to in a car with an internal combustion engine. The bloggers had no questions about the operation of the automatic transmission or cornering control.


Sound insulation is especially praised. In modern cars this shouldn't be a problem at all, and the loniq 6 doesn't have any. Road noise is very distant and not disturbing. Not the most powerful electric motors produce a sound that is barely audible to the ear on the road.

One of the happy owners of an electric sedan spoke about the steering.


Ventilated disc brakes respond without delay. Brand representatives stated that Loniq 6 meets all modern requirements and safety standards. After test drives you can believe it.

Pricing Policy

For the American market, South Korean electric cars cost from $50 in the basic configuration, and $150 for the top version with two electric motors. The brand has already reduced the price tag of the Loniq 53 650 by about $6, compared to the 2024-2500 models. Perhaps the special offer will spur demand for the electric sedan.


On the Russian market, the basic version of loniq 6 is sold from 4,7 million rubles. For the top-end Long Range package they ask for about 6,6 million rubles. Separately, it is worth noting the limited selection of models in the secondary and primary car markets of the Russian Federation.


The answer, in many respects, lies in the still weak development of infrastructure for electric cars. In large Russian cities this is easier, but outside of them... According to statistics, in 2023 Russians bought 450% more electric cars than in 2022. This is 14 cars that are lost in total sales in the Russian car market. Therefore, dealers most likely did not bet too much on the electric sedan.

It is now quite difficult to compete with Chinese brands in the Russian car market. However, low demand and meager supply do not make the Loniq 6 a bad car.