2025 Hyundai IONIQ 6: One of the best EVs out there
If you like style and class and a car that is relatively easy to drive, the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 6, a sedan, is a showstopper and quite the performer.
Just make sure want an electric vehicle (read: you can and do plan ahead for almost everything, like charging the car almost every night).
The drive is composed and perhaps a little too tight; once you get it on the highway, it performs wonderfully.
Keep in mind, this is a very quiet car. There are some bells to let you know that you are in reverse or coming too close to hitting something. For most of the drive, however, you will feel like you are a room all by yourself. With the windows rolled up (yes, I know, no one rolls up windows anymore), you might not hear the sirens until they are almost in front of you.
The general feeling is that the IONIQ 6 is one of the best electric vehicles out there.
U.S. News and World Report ranks it Number 1 of all electric cars, citing a driving range of almost 350 miles for the upper SE trim (240 miles for the base trim). There is also an All-Wheel Drive Limited trim (the one I tested, pictured here) that is a truly wonderful machine to drive but the range is a bit lower at 316 miles per charge.
EVs are becoming more and more popular and more and more easy to use and maintain.
And yet, I have my concerns. I am used to driving gas-powered cars, where you can hear the throttle, the engine noise and all that can tell you what your car is doing. The IONIQ 6 is quiet, making some older drivers like me wonder if the car has stalled. When the car comes to a stop, the ‘6’ completely stops and you have to give it a little gas to get it going. Yet the car can jump when you do that, forcing you to somewhat overreact as you try to ensure that you don’t drive into something.
It still has a bit of a bumper car feel to it.
Those of us who have driven cars for decades are used to vehicles that jump or roll a little when you take your foot off the brake or gas. With those older cars, often just easing up on the brake can get the car to roll. With EVs, all that maneuvering is unnecessary, but you still have to pay attention as well as develop a whole new set of driving skills. Just so you know……..
If you do not have a garage where you can safely charge an EV overnight, I would recommend you not buy one. Also, if you are a last-minute kind of guy like I am, remember that you will need to plan charging ‘breaks’ for your car. And you will need to learn some patience.
But environmental clean-up is important. There’s no gasoline pollution with an EV. Although the thrills and spills are definitely limited here, you are helping clean up the planet.
Plus, they can be great little cars.
