2026 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Facelift | First Impression & Drive with Real-World Range Tested

Just listen to this noise. Welcome to CarSceneKorea. I introduce newly released Genesis, Hyundai and Kia cars. The car I am test driving today is 2026 Hyundai IONIQ 6 facelift. I have met the car several times already. I do have in-depth review of the exterior comparison to that of the regular model and the N line as well as there's also IONIQ 6N, the second EVN from Hyundai. And it is going to be one of the fastest EVN out there. Today's video, the ride is all about test driving this IONIQ 6 facelift. So for exterior review and comparison, please refer to my previous videos because I have a very thorough walk around side-by-side comparison video of all three cars that I just have mentioned and listed. So first things first, what's changed in this IONIQ 6 facelift is definitely the battery. From 77.4 kWh of battery, the battery has now increased to 84.0 kWh of battery, increasing the range from 524 km to 562 km based on the long range, which makes the standard from 367 to 437 km. And that is based on the two-wheel drive 18-inch IONIQ 6. That is also based on the Korean standard, which is known to be much more harsh than the WLTP standards. So do keep that in mind. So the numbers I just gave you is going to be higher when measured in WLTP standards. You have my word. Speaking of which, on our way up here, there actually has been measuring the real world efficiency, battery efficiency and driving range of this car. And like I have said in all of my videos, I hardly ever clock the suggested driving range, It was no exception with the IONIQ 6 facelift, unfortunately. But there are people who clocked over 7 km figure. So all of this was tested and proven in real world situation. And it's not just a quick city drive that we've been doing for Hyundai to cheat on numbers and whatnot. It was nearly about an hour drive with a good mix of the city drives, highway drives and even some of winding toge runs. Speaking of which, this car certainly has the performance, which I didn't really cover on this video, though because I have my wife Dima on the right. She suffers big time from the motion sickness. And I didn't want to make her puke inside the car, of course not. I will find that out on my long-term distance drives. However, I already know what IONIQ 6 is fully capable of. Well, there are a lot of factors behind it. Be it number one EV sedan from Hyundai Motor Group made out of E-GMP. But there has been a lot of refinements and upgrades that isn't really quite visible on the outside. So what's noticeable the most is definitely the ride over, the speed bump, the ride this car provides. For the first time ever, there is the smooth drive mode. You can access it inside my drive mode. And just like it has been with some other explicit drive modes. For instance, there has been the baby mode with Tucson Hybrid as well as Sportage Hybrid. That offered an exclusive drive mode to each and certain types of vehicles. IONIQ 6 facelift is the first car to get the smooth drive. I've tested all out with my wife Deema here. It is Deema approved that it is the best driving mode hands down to those who suffer from motion sickness. Well, because the drive mode itself is pretty much explicitly made for those people in mind. And Hyundai just nailed it. It provides an amazing ride by providing no sudden acceleration nor deceleration. It's not really the name I want to bring up here. But it really reminded me of the Genesis G90's chauffeur drive mode. That mode allows the car to delicately control the acceleration and deceleration. So it doesn't matter how much you floor the accelerator or decelerator brake. The car will find that gentle smooth drive mode accelerating and decelerating. The drive, the ride itself, very different from G90 but however how it behaves. The nature of the drive mode itself is very similar to that. Speaking of which, there is also a prevention mode inside the IONIQ 6. Which actually started off first with Hyundai InstaCasper Electric for domestic markets and models. The car actually prevents you from sudden acceleration. Which arises from the driver confusing the foot brake and the accelerator. I don't want to test it here. I will certainly test that out on my long-term distance drives. In a wide public parking lot with boxes in front of it. So I can show you that the tech is there. It started off with the Insta but IONIQ 6 facelift also got it. So it definitely will prevent the car from unwanted or unintended acceleration. At the end of the day, it's the human error and human factor that yielded such sudden accelerations. So that's happening around the globe and Korea is no exception unfortunately. It's really great seeing Hyundai taking a step forward to prevent such incidents from happening. While we're at it, while we're talking about the whole drive of this vehicle. There is also Smart Regen 3.0. Not the first time Hyundai Motor Group offered it. But it is one of the first few cars, few EVs to get such. So those of you guys who are familiar with the I-PEDAL 3.0. It is different from that one. I-PEDAL 3.0 allows you to drive the vehicle with one foot and one foot only. However, it does not detect the vehicle in the front at a stop red light. You manually have to do all the calculation in your head. When to lift the foot off the accelerator in order to put the car into a complete stop. However, all of that is gone with the Smart Regen 3.0. Essentially, it does exactly what I-PEDAL 3.0 does not do. Meaning, if you just keep your foot on the accelerator and lift your foot off the accelerator. If there is a car in front of us like now. It is going to put the car into a complete stop. You can access it by using the paddle shifters on the right. Pull it inside your body all the way. You will see the auto with the green light turn on. So that's how you know it's activated. It really makes a day and night difference in terms of the city drives. I said the same thing for the all cars that came with it. I'm just really glad that the IONIQ 6 facelift got it as well. Just like now. You see, it's not dropping the speed. No, it's gliding following the traffic in front of it. When the car comes to a complete stop. Watch, I'm not doing anything. I didn't turn on the HDA. So it's different from that one. So big praise props to the I-PEDAL 3.0. It's my personal favorite hands down by far. Absolutely amazing. And you can also use the HDA2. Latest Highway Driving Assist 2 that Hyundai Motor Group has got to offer. Works in city drives no problem. Follows the lane and gives me a comfy ride. And the ride of the car stands out the most when you go over the speed bump, actually. Again, my wife Dima approved. It's awesome when it goes over the speed bump. Especially more so when you have the smooth drive mode on. It's beautiful, beautiful. Depending on a person, some may say the exterior has gotten a complete refresh versus it didn't. It is because, number one, the front is pretty much lifted. I think everybody would agree that it's a complete facelift. If not, more like an all new change. Different front look. It is a little different from the Seamless Horizon Lamp that we've been seeing from the Hyundai look. It doesn't really have the lightsaber across all the way on the front. Rather, it has the two horizontal broken bars as a DRL in the front. Quite the design that we have seen from here and there with other Hyundai cars. For instance, it would be Hyundai Kona. When it comes to the rear, nothing much has changed because it still has the exact same tail lamps. However, I would say there's quite a lot of design upgrade as well. It has different lower bumper, for sure. It also has different spoiler as well. They've gotten rid of the big spoiler that they used to have. The whale tail, if you will. I really like that. That is something that Hyundai brought over straight from the concept car that gave birth to this IONIQ 6. Which was known to be prophecy. So that whale tail, there has been pros and cons definitely. Hyundai decided to get rid of it on this facelift. We get more of a gentle spoiler on this facelift. Drop in the comment below which one you like better. I actually like both. Because that whale tail was definitely unique to IONIQ 6 only. And this sleek design with IONIQ 6 facelift is also really nice. Because it's really clean and sleek. And also it contributes the best CD there is, coefficient of drag, that Hyundai managed to pull out. Yet again with this IONIQ 6 facelift. Thanks to elongated front overhang by 55mm. As well as longer rear overhang by 15mm. IONIQ 6 facelift managed to get CD coefficient of drag of whopping 0.206. So this is the lowest and lower than the original, the first IONIQ 6. And of course it is the lowest from Hyundai Motor Group. And all this was achieved by the different front bumper. As well as the spoiler and the design that I've been going over. And also dual motion active air flap. Which was first implemented on IONIQ 9. Followed by this IONIQ 6. The lowest CD, well number one. Definitely contributes and gets translated into longer driving range. That I told you at the start of the video. But it also contributes to NVH, noise vibration and harshness. More aerodynamic it is, there is less disturbance and resistance. Which arises from fighting through the air. And also the drag created at the back of the car, right? So it is not just about the driving range and efficiency no more. Lower CD contributes to pretty much everything there is when it comes to the vehicle. And IONIQ 6 already did provide amazing driving range. Once again thanks to the streamliner and the pebble inspired design. It has the lowest CD out there as well as the longest driving range possible. It's even more stretched and available by this pebble shape design once again. So there is a lot more that's inside underneath this car. Than what meets the eye from the outside, exterior wise. There has been a lot of upgrades and refinements that Hyundai made with this IONIQ 6 facelift. For instance, the weatherstrip. The weatherstrip now has been upgraded to further reduce the wind noise coming into the cabin. So we are in the worst condition right now. Inside a tunnel next to the furthest lane where all the noise is bouncing off. But just listen to this noise. Yeah, it's obvious. So we just heard it. One of the best NVH there is. Again, it plays a big role with the design and the airflow. In other words, the low CD. The steering wheel responsiveness is more direct than the pre-facelift. By using the same technology used on IONIQ 5N. It's the first time ever, second after the IONIQ 5N to get such tech. Hydro-G bush is used on lower arm unlike the pre-facelift model. And the suspension reacts to the frequency providing the better comfort and ride. There's also IDA, Integrated Drive Axle. That was used on Elantra and facelift and a few other performance-oriented vehicles. Putting together more direct and fast responsive steering wheel feedback. That is nice thing to have especially when you put the car on speeder runs and roads. A good feedback through the steering wheel, right? That way you have more control over the vehicle. And the vehicle is reacting to your control. And the stabilizer is also best optimized for the facelift and the nature of the car being. And put together the damper. And you might be questioning, hey seems like IONIQ 6 got all the upgrades and everything. Yes, the list actually does not stop there. The DSM, Digital Side Mirror. It also has gotten better by 2% from the previous DSM. Fingers crossed you'll get this where you are. I know it's only limited countries and places where you get the DSM. But sooner or later it's coming. It's also one of the big factors when it comes to the aerodynamics. As well as the CD that I've been mentioning. And the rear roof rail structure has been reinforced providing less droning noise. And the 20-inch wheel disc is actually stronger. That allows less road noise to come into the cabin. And put together with the tires exclusively for this EV. Which has the sound absorbers inside the tire as well. And there's also active sound design on IONIQ 6. If I can get my hands on the IONIQ 6 N line, I'll do that. It is very similar or closer to that of the IONIQ 6 N, obviously. I think it really closes the gap between the regular versions of Hyundai cars and the N's. It's a perfect example of it. But design-wise, it looks quite similar. However, in terms of the performance, IONIQ 6 N, that car will be the fastest car from Hyundai, hands down, period. And there is this air conditioning mode called Smart Zone. And pretty much self-explanatory, it's smart. It detects the passengers using the sensors and technology the car has inside. It knows how many people are inside and where. And will use the air conditioning system accordingly to provide the best AC condition possible. But don't forget, there is also the auto mode. There still is that. But tap on that Smart Zone, it will further better aid the AC inside. Which probably also helps with the efficiency of the vehicle as you drive. So like I have said, nothing much has changed in terms of the interior design-wise. But there are miscellaneous things and items that people will miss and forget. Otherwise, I mention it. Such as the material used inside has also been upgraded. And the Hyundai Motor Group uses a lot of reusable materials inside out. And don't worry about its durability. Because I've tested and have seen it for myself that it does last. I've been to Jeju Island where there are hundreds if not thousands of IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 rental cars. And they've been exposed under severe harsh weather. It's an island. It's very windy. It gets very bright sunlights and whatnot. And I've rented out a car that had over 150,000 kilometers on. And there was no sticky steering wheel, nothing. The dashboard was holding up fine. It was perfect. It was all good. So the interior may not have changed all that much. However, there are a few things I want to point out in terms of the interior for sure. This center console, uniquely to IONIQ 6. It actually is flat if you really take a closer look at it. Therefore, you can stretch out your laptop and work inside this vehicle. If you have experienced an EV before, you guys precisely know what I mean. The car comes with V2L vehicle to load inside out. You can draw electricity from both inside and outside of the car. The car comes with the 800 volts architecture allowing you to rapid charge your car from 10% to 80% in 18 minutes when conditions are met. The car also does come with performance. Once again, I will show that to you when I am alone. If you have any questions, drop in the comment below. I will bring this car on a long distance drives and let you know. Find out everything there is to it. A little heads up. I did actually spin this car around with the pre-facelift IONIQ 6. And I know what this car is capable of. You can have fun with this car for sure. You can drift this car and have a lot of fun. So that is it for today's video. Your number one source of KTM and Genesis Hyundai Kia cars. Drop in the comment below anything you are curious about. And I will see you in the next video. By the way, that smart region 3.0, please give it a try. It's completely a different thing. I think it almost will be a deal breaker if an EV does not come with the smart region 3.0 no more. Now that I have tested it a few times already. It really is a day and night difference. And this smooth mode. Again, it almost makes it feel like I am driving a completely different car. It is similar to the baby mode I pointed out from the hybrid cars. Sportage Hybrid and Tucson Hybrid got it. So I really hope that this will be introduced for future EVs. But I think Hyundai definitely has that in mind for future. The latest and other EVs to come. So give that a try. Amazing. And the real world driving range and battery efficiency is 5.9 kilometers per kilowatt hour. For the two hours and 20 minutes driving. I had the car running as you saw. 75 kilometers with a good mix of city and freeway. As you can see, three adults sitting inside. So that is an amazing number. I've never gotten anything closer to that. Some of the other features that I might have missed out. The passenger seat does come with the relaxation mode. With a push of a button. And thanks to E-GMP, it is flat on the surface on the second row seat. Should you wish, you can actually exit left or right. No problem. Because there is no center tunnel. A hump in the middle. Unlike the ICE cars. The headroom of the IONIQ 6 has always been great. It is one of the best strength that IONIQ 6 has over other EV sedans. And look at this. Look at this car go over the bump like this. And it's really at an angle as you can see. But it's providing me a great, great ride. So putting all this together. It is something that Hyundai Motor Group definitely needs to put it in the future EVs. And I really can't wait for the long distance drives. As well as some spirited runs and touge drives with this IONIQ 6. Alright, this really is it. Bye-bye.