
Here we are again. After gathering the year's new EV offerings for a week of intense back-to-back scrutiny, rigorous driving, and long hours of charging, a Hyundai has come out on top. Following last year's win by the Ioniq 5, that model's new sedan sibling, the Ioniq 6, motors away with the top prize this year. Add strong showings by the Genesis Electrified GV70 and the Kia EV6 GT, and a picture starts to form: When it comes to EVs playing in the broad main swath of the market, the Hyundai-Kia-Genesis group is clearly out in front.
That the Ioniq 6 shares much with the Ioniq 5 is to its benefit, but the new entry does more than just put a three-box hat on the same platform and up the model name by one. "Just look at it, we said of the Ioniq 5 when it won, and we could do the same for the Ioniq 6. While the two siblings' designs are dissimilar, the banana-shaped sedan is every bit as striking as the angular hatchback. We see a bit of the first-gen Mercedes CLS in the sloping profile. Hyundai claims the 1930s Stout Scarab as inspiration and though that obscure machine and the Ioniq 6 are nearly a century apart, once you see pictures of the two, you know the notion isn't just something the designers made up.
Regardless of whether the shape came to Hyundai designers by way of a turn-of-the-millennium four-door "coupe," a Streamline Moderne-era proto minivan, or some kind of fever dream, its aerodynamics give the Ioniq 6 a slip-through-the-air drag coefficient as low as 0.22. We also like it because it's good to see an automaker introduce a dedicated EV that's a sedan (the Polestar 2 and Tesla Model 3 are two others) rather than another mid-size crossover.
This story is from the July - August 2023 edition of Car and Driver.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July - August 2023 edition of Car and Driver.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In

AN AMERICAN TOURING SCOTLAND IN AN ENGLISH CAR BUILT IN CHINA
In Dornbach, Scotland, Kitman walks past a modern MG and a Morris Minor, its distant relative. From left: Motoring through the Scottish Highlands; lobster traps in Dunbeath; taking on electrons at Gridserve; traversing the North Sea coast.

THE MAD SCRAMBLE
AN 814-HP V-12 THAT SCREAMS TO 9400 RPM IS JUST THE START OF THE INTENSE EXPERIENCE THAT IS THE LAMBORGHINI REVUELTO.

2022 Rivian R1T
This EV pickup proves to be E-Z to live with.

Spite Defender
Ineos Grenadier HIGHS: Dapper off-road style meets genuine off-road capability, wonderfully smooth powertrain, built like a brick outhouse. LOWS: Incessant warnings, sloppy and slow steering, noisy on the highway.

The Revivalist
The Nissan Murano emerges fresh-faced and revitalized from a long-overdue redo.

ELECTRICAL CONNECTION
The Toyota Camry, the Honda Accord, and the Hyundai Sonata all take different approaches to hybridization, but which one does it best?

The Achilles Kneel
Mercedes-Benz W123 wagons doing the Carolina Squat can get their droopy self-leveling rear suspension back up to snuff courtesy of a Californian.

Dollars to Donuts
Despite the high cost, automakers are still drawn to racing.

G to the Power of E
Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology HIGHS: Quicker than the old G550, improved handling, better braking. LOWS: Cubist shape torpedoes highway range, cramped inside, dorky name.

The Best Odds
The cars I recall most fondly were neither the prettiest nor the quickest. Certainly not the most expensive. They were machines that emerged willfully peculiar and intractably idiosyncratic.