Urgent surgery! 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 6 goes under the knife in dramatic bid to get back in the fight with Tesla Model 3 and BYD Seal
The 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 6 battery-powered sedan has undergone a comprehensive nip and tuck to ‘fix’ its styling less than three years after its global launch.
Announcing the facelifted car will land in Australia in the second half of this year, Hyundai Australia says it will offer discounts of up to $20,000 to help clear stocks of the current car, admitting that some MY23 vehicles are still available in Hyundai dealers after a big 40 per cent decline in sales last year.
The Ioniq 6 certainly needs some help in EV sedan fight. Last year, according to VFACTS industry data, Hyundai sold just 374 examples – a 40 per cent decline on the 623 it delivered in 2023.
By comparison, Tesla sold 17,094 Model 3 sedans and BYD 6393 Seal sedans.
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Said to now have a “more refined” look, the design tweaks maintain the Ioniq 6’s dramatic streamliner-shaped body but there’s now a higher bonnet, more angular front bumper and split LED lamps, with a new set of four-bar daytime running lights added and main beam lights are positioned below .
Along the side of the car there’s a new lower body black gloss finish while, at the rear, the unusual upper deck spoiler has been deleted. Meanwhile, the lower ducktail has been extended to keep the Ioniq 6 stable at high speed.
A redesigned rear bumper with new chrome accents and a set of fresh alloy wheels completes the exterior freshen-up.
Inside, the changes are far less radical with the infotainment system upgraded to run the firm’s latest ccNC software.
A new steering wheel, larger climate control panel and revised centre console with physical buttons for heated seats, a repositioned wireless phone charger, plus the use of higher-grade materials are all claimed to provide a more premium feel.
For the first time there is also a new N Line variant that helps preview the flagship Ioniq 6 N performance sedan that will be unwrapped this July. It is likely to share the Ioniq 5 N’s 478kW dual-motor powertrain.
Inspired heavily by the wild 2022 RN22e concept, the N Line gets a sharper, sportier look by adopting a pair of new front and rear bumpers, plus fresh new side skirts.
At the rear there are ‘two-dimensional Parametric Pixel lamp design’ graphics on the LED lamps.
Full technical details of the facelifted Ioniq 6 are yet to be revealed, but it’s thought the Hyundai battery-powered sedan benefits from the larger 84kWh battery (in place of the 77.4kWh unit) that’s already in service in the updated Kia EV6 and Ioniq 5.
Likely to boost range by around 12 per cent, the freshened-up Ioniq 6 is set to be able to travel between 614km and 690km on the European WLTP test cycle.
Electric motors are set to remain unchanged.
