In the U.S. market, sedans are vanishing. Most makers now focus on SUVs—and some have killed off passenger cars entirely. The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 is an exception to that trend: It expands Hyundai’s lineup of compact, mid-size, and larger sedans with a new all-electric model.
But there’s already a dominant entry in the EV sedan world: the Tesla Model 3. Built since 2017, close to half a million are now on U.S. roads. Add Chinese and European buyers, and the Model 3 was the world’s highest-production EV until overtaken by its sibling, the Model Y crossover.
Before a March media drive of the new Ioniq 6, we thought it’d be fun to compare the new entry to its major competitors. Tesla doesn’t offer media test cars—in fact, it won’t talk to reporters at all—so Jason Torchinsky and I rented a 2023 Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor (built January 2023) on Turo for a day, then drove the two cars back to back in and around Phoenix, Arizona.
They’re roughly the same size, but the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Tesla Model 3 were more different than I expected. Tesla may be the top dog in EVs, but Hyundai has aggressive plans to launch a variety of EV and zero-emission vehicles worldwide. The two companies’ electric sedans offer a window into how each sees EVs becoming mainstream.
(Full Disclosure: Hyundai provided airfare, lodging, and meals to enable The Autopian to bring you this first-person drive report of the Ioniq 6. Tesla doesn’t communicate with the press or provide loaners, so we rented one from Turo on our own dime.)
Accessible, Predictable
I had high hopes for the sleek, striking Ioniq 6 and it didn’t disappoint. The Korean sedan is smoother, quieter, and has a lighter and more plush driving experience than a Model 3. It will likely reassure buyers who fear EVs are “weird” or too hard to learn. It drives like a Hyundai, but quieter and smoother, and its EPA-rated range of up to 361 miles is competitive—as is its 800-volt charging.
Then there’s Tesla. The Model 3 is built in huge numbers globally, on three continents. While it’s now in its seventh model year, it pretty much defined the modern midsize electric sedan. It’s purer, more uncompromising in its vision, and far sportier and more performance-oriented than the Hyundai. It’s also harsher, noisier, and takes more time to learn.
Think of the Tesla Model 3 as a BMW, versus the Hyundai Ioniq 6 as a … what, exactly? The analogue is less clear. A Volvo S60? But if shoppers drive the vehicles back to back, as we did here, I suspect they’ll come down in one camp or the other—depending on how familiarity and a known brand stack up against cutting-edge digital technology and harder-edged performance.
DESIGN
ADVANTAGE: TIE
While the production 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 isn’t as sleek and stunning as the Electrified Streamliner concept first shown in January 2022, it’s still jaw-dropping. When we picked up our Tesla at a local motorcycle shop, the proprietor walked out to ask us what the Ioniq 6 was.
We threw it back: “What do you think it is?” He had no idea. But, “I had to come out to see this, ‘cause it looks like something from the future.” Well done, Hyundai.
The Model 3 is now so ubiquitous in some areas it’s impossible to assess it as a piece of design, like the Volkswagen Beetle half a century ago. The Ioniq is a compelling new shape; the Model 3 is the default against which all others are judged. Pick your poison.
The Hyundai’s drooping tail (echoing the Infiniti J30, for those old enough to remember it) is a unique look found only on the larger Mercedes CLS. It’s well-executed, and fresher than the seven-year-old Tesla. The car’s smooth nose echoes the Tesla, which uses the advantage of the dedicated skateboard EV platform for a shorter nose and a lower cowl height than the Hyundai. That gives the Model 3 a long cabin and appealing snub nose: form over function.
Overall, the Hyundai is a busier design, especially at the rear: it has a shark-fin antenna, a spoiler below the rear window with the center brake light, another spoiler at the edge of the trunk lid, and then a busy rear bumper shield. That’s a lot.
Shoppers will notice differences in a usually unremarkable function: How do you open the doors? From the outside, our Hyundai Ioniq 6 Limited extended its door handles as we approached. The Tesla required users to push the handle to pivot it out of its housing. Inside, the Ioniq has conventional door handles you pull—while the Model 3 required pushing a rubber-covered button in the armrest that lowered the power window before popping open the door.
The Tesla lost on interior charm: its all-black interior contrasted unfavorably with the lighter, multi-tone interior of the Hyundai. That’s despite the light and openness of the Model 3’s all-glass roof, tinted as it was. Note to designers: If you have a vehicle constrained by aerodynamics, a black interior feels cramped. A light-colored interior doesn’t.
Inside the cars may be where the two contrast most vividly. Tesla has moved all but a very few of its vehicle controls onto a landscape-format 15-inch touchscreen in the center of an otherwise clean, pristine dash with an elegant strip of wood from side to side. It’s calm, elegant, and (once you learn the digital touchscreen controls) intuitive.
The Hyundai is more traditional, with physical knobs for temperature and volume control below a pair of horizontal 12-inch screens side by side. It’s an elegant layout, but flipping back into the Ioniq 6 after the Model 3, it seemed … cluttered, crowded and busy. Frankly, I hadn’t expected that—so points to Tesla on that front.
Hyundai’s matte-finish light grey plastic also felt cheap, not befitting a car with prices starting at $42,715 (for the SE Standard Range RWD model) but that can easily approach $60,000 (into Model 3 territory) for the AWD Limited model.
PERFORMANCE
ADVANTAGE: Tesla Model 3
This one’s easy. The Tesla was faster, sportier, and more rewarding to toss through the twisty roads in the hills around Phoenix. The battery capacities are relatively equal: 75 kilowatt-hours for the Model 3 Long Range, 77 kWh for the Ioniq 6 with the larger pack. Both vehicles had all-wheel drive, so they compare nicely. Our Tesla had an EPA-rated range of 353 miles, while the estimated EPA range of our AWD Ioniq 6 Limited was 270 miles.
(A lower-trim Ioniq 6 SE with the same powertrain is rated at 316 miles, and the RWD-only models with the Long Range pack are 361 miles for the SE, 305 miles for higher trims. There’s also a Standard Range pack, only available with rear-wheel drive, that comes in at 240 miles.)
The Hyundai’s front and rear motors are rated at 74 and 165 kilowatts (100 and 221 horsepower) respectively, while the dual-motor Model 3 comes in at 147 and 188 kW (197 and 252 hp.) There’s no question the Tesla wins on acceleration and speed: the maker quotes a 0-to-60 mph acceleration time of 4.2 seconds, though we couldn’t confirm that during our test. Hyundai did not quote acceleration figures.
On the road, the Hyundai was softer and less sporty in ride and roadholding, and this is how it will be until a performance version of the Ioniq 6 arrives (Ioniq 6 N, anyone?). The Tesla is more sure-footed on the road and more eager to be tossed around, but it’s noisier, harsher, and generally less refined.
Tesla also wins on one-pedal driving. Not every EV driver will like it, but more EV-experienced owners often prefer strong regenerative braking paired with auto-stop. That means you can drive the car entirely on the right-hand pedal, letting it brake itself down to a stop without hitting the next-door pedal. Tesla defaults to this as standard, whereas the Hyundai requires multiple pulls on the left-hand paddle to get to “i-Pedal” driving—and you have to do that every single time you power-cycle the car. Urgh.
Note there’s nothing wrong with the Hyundai. Indeed, its softer suspension, quieter ride, and more measured acceleration may be more in tune with the broader mass-sedan market—which until now the Model 3 has occupied almost alone. The Limited trim includes a 120-volt interior outlet, and all models provide“vehicle to load” capability via an accessory dongle plugged into the charge port. Tesla offers neither.
Still, the Model 3 is just more fun to drive. As car reviewers, we tend to enjoy sportier cars more. If you prize a smooth ride over tossability, your views may differ.
CHARGING + EFFICIENCY
ADVANTAGE: Tesla
Tesla is known for the efficiency of its EVs—extracting a few more miles from every kilowatt-hour of battery energy than its competitors. The Model 3 we tested is EPA-rated at 131 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent, or the distance an EV can travel on the same energy as contained in 1 gallon of gasoline). The Ioniq 6 we tested comes in at 117 MPGe, or about 11 percent less.
Over 3,086 miles of Turo duty, the Tesla trip computer showed an efficiency of 276 Watt-hours per mile, or 3.6 mi/kWh—though I have no idea what those miles encompassed. The Hyundai consumed 3.8 mi/kWh on our limited test cycle of roughly 120 miles. Do with that as you will, but note the usages are not comparable.
Then there’s battery charging. As always, four of five U.S. households that can afford to buy a new car have dedicated at-home charging, so they will cover the majority of their miles in their garage or some similar dedicated setup, usually overnight. Those owners may well install a 240-volt Level 2 charging station in their garages; if not, Hyundai provides a 120-volt portable charging cable as standard. The Tesla Mobile Connector is a $230 option. Both cars use heat pumps for cabin heating and cooling.
But then we get to the issue of DC fast charging for longer road trips—the kind of travel stop you don’t think twice about in a gasoline vehicle. Hyundai made a brave decision several years ago and built 800-volt charging into its E-GMP electric-car platform. That’s the one underneath all the Ioniqs, present and future, as well as the Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60.
Under optimal circumstances, it will recharge the Ioniq 6’s battery pack from 10 to 80 percent in just 18 minutes. Tesla says a Model 3 can add up to 175 miles in 15 minutes. The Ioniq maxes out at 235 kW for a portion of its charge curve; the Tesla does the same at roughly 250 kW. Those highest rates are achieved with the pack almost out of charge; and the times quoted require a station that can deliver current at those rates along with moderate ambient temperature.
Both cars will precondition their batteries if a charging station is set as a destination. Tesla’s done this since December 2020, while Hyundai only now added it in the Ioniq 6, with an update coming for the Ioniq 5. We didn’t test the Ioniq 6 charging, but the Model 3 burned range faster once headed for a Supercharger site, as it heated or cooled the battery to the desired temperature for fastest charging—meaning less time spent off the road.
But here’s the elephant in the room. The Hyundai Ioniq 6 relies on third-party DC fast charging networks, with Electrify America as its preferred partner. That network has far fewer sites than the Tesla Supercharger network, and it won’t provide data on its reliability—though anguished howls from thousands of EV drivers who’ve arrived at broken, dead, frozen, or otherwise malfunctioning EA and other charging sites attest to its variable reliability.
In contrast, the Supercharger network is ubiquitous, seamlessly woven into a Tesla’s navigation, and generally known to be dead reliable because Tesla takes the Apple approach, and controls every aspect of its own ecosystem. (Editor’s note: I’ve had plenty of headaches with EA and ChargePoint stations, but never with a Tesla Supercharger. Take that as you will. -PG) Tesla has by far the largest number of fast-charging cables in the country, and is expanding aggressively to keep pace with its growing sales. Did I mention one of two EVs on U.S. roads is a Tesla?
Tesla wins this one, hands down. No comparison. Seriously.
COMFORT
ADVANTAGE: TIE
We were impressed that both cars were capable of accommodating four 6-foot adults. Sedans with sloping rooflines can’t always do that, but our reviewers (5’11” and less) were able to sit behind themselves with ease.
A couple of caveats: For rear-seat foot room, the Ioniq’s rear bottom cushion was more angled and its backrest more raked—meaning the Model 3 rear seat was more comfortable, despite its upper rail being a bit closer to a rear passenger’s head than the Hyundai. The Tesla’s all-glass roof also offered more headroom. But Hyundai rear-seat riders got a better view out the window than Model 3 passengers (those falling vs rising beltlines again).
From the driver’s seat, controlling the two cars is quite different. Both have steering wheels, the expected pair of pedals, and a touchscreen in the center of the dash. That’s where the similarities stop. Hyundai has adapted its user interface from other models to its EV line of Ioniqs, so it’s familiar to anyone who’s driven the Ioniq 6 utility—and will be more comprehensible to shoppers who’ve never before sat in an EV.
The Tesla differs a lot. I’ve driven many of these, so muscle memory returned quickly for how to control virtually everything from the center screen. It’s not as bad as you might imagine. Each car takes time to learn, but a Tesla will always be less familiar to anyone who’s not previously driven one. They’re learnable, and commendably usable once that hurdle is crossed. But shoppers need to be adventurous enough to be willing to throw away their preconceptions and learn an entirely new interface for things like seat heaters and wiper controls to get comfortable with a Tesla.
Tesla’s Silicon Valley roots show through in its grasp of screen design and response time. The Tesla screen was faster to respond in every single function than the Hyundai’s. After refamiliarizing myself, I remembered that the commonly used settings are on the lower left of the touchscreen’s bottom rail.
One unexpected Hyundai feature is window switches on the center console, a feature found mostly in Jeeps whose doors are designed for removal while rock-climbing. The goal, Hyundai designers suggested, was to make the inner door panel clean and less intrusive. That may be, but door-mirror controls by a driver’s left knee and window switches on the console took some getting used to.
The Tesla Auto wiper setting remains as inadequate as in past tests, but the flick-wipe button at the end of the indicator stalk worked fine during our rainy test day. Changing wipers to something other than Auto requires multiple taps, sadly, so I spent a lot of time flick-wiping.
SAFETY
ADVANTAGE: UNCLEAR
Hyundai expects its Ioniq 6 to earn top ratings, but it hasn’t yet been crash-tested by either the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It comes with a laundry list of expected advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) as standard, including automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, active lane control, and more.
Optional features include adaptive cruise that learns driver behaviors, active blind-spot collision avoidance, and parking-collision assist. One note: Some of the more advanced features require a monthly connectivity fee, which comes with a 3-year free trial. Asked about the cost after the trial, a Hyundai exec said, “We have a variety of packages available” and moved to the next question.
Tesla has consistently ranked at the top of crash-safety ratings from both the IIHS and NHTSA. The Model 3 received the top rating of five stars from the NHTSA in every test category, and was dubbed an IIHS Top Safety Pick+, receiving top ratings in every crash and crash-prevention category. But since the Ioniq 6 hasn’t been rated, I can’t yet render a fair judgment, but I’d trust a major automaker like Hyundai not to disappoint here.
One of the basics of safety is outward visibility for the driver. On that front, Hyundai wins. The drooping beltline offers far better rear three-quarter vision—yes, I know both cars have now-mandatory reversing cameras, but you should never trust those as your only backing-up aid—against the Model 3’s rising beltline and higher rear cowl.
In the few hours available for our test, we chose not to compare the standard Tesla “Autopilot” system to Hyundai’s “Highway Driving Assist” and optional “HDA2”. Our Model 3 did not have the Enhanced Autopilot (a $6,000 option) that adds navigation on Autopilot, Summon and parking functions, and automatic lane change. The continuing controversy around Tesla’s uses of ADAS suggests that should be a separate and systematic test. So I’ll punt on that one for now.
FEATURES
ADVANTAGE: IT’S COMPLICATED
Hyundai takes a more traditional approach to options on the 2023 Ioniq 6. The lowest-priced model, at $42,715, the SE Standard Range, comes with a smaller 53-kWh battery, RWD, and a projected EPA range of 240 miles. All other models—the SE, mid-range SEL, and top-of-the-line Limited—come with the Long Range battery and a choice of rear-wheel drive (which gives longer range) or all-wheel drive, with ranges from 270 to 361 miles. Wheels are 18-inch or 20-inch alloys.
My rented Tesla Model 3 came on base 19-inch wheels (giving it 358 miles of range, against 334 for the more stylish 21” wheels). The Ioniq 6 Limited had top-of-the-line 20-inch wheels. But despite the Tesla’s taller sidewalls, it was still harsher on rough pavement than the Hyundai.
Tesla doesn’t do packages or trim levels. Its models are Standard, Long Range, or Performance, and pretty much everything else costs more—including any color other than white. The price of a 2023 Model 3 Standard Range with rear-wheel drive starts at $42,990, plus a destination fee of $1,390. Add $11,000 for Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive.
The Tesla website didn’t price the Model 3 Long Range at the time I checked it, saying only that car would be “available during 2023”—despite our renter having bought one just two months before. Note that Tesla changes features and price very frequently, so always this info to see if it’s still current when you happen to read it.
One final note: Tesla’s options list is topped with the now-notorious “Full Self-Driving” option, at a whopping $15,000. Now offered to select Tesla drivers as a “beta” release (meaning owners with good driving records get to be guinea pigs for Tesla), it allows Teslas to “drive themselves” in certain circumstances. Proceed at your own risk.
OVERALL
ADVANTAGE: Tesla Model 3
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is a very appealing car. I’d be more than happy to drive it daily, and I’m confident its looks and approachability will find it as many buyers as Hyundai chooses to send cars to the U.S.
But for real-world use beyond the range of home charging, Hyundai is handicapped by its reliance on third-party charging networks of variable reliability—as is every other non-Tesla automaker. I hope that changes. It has to change if the EV transition is to proceed at the pace required by states that expect to end sales of new vehicles with tailpipes by 2030 or 2035. But today, that’s where we are.
The challenge with electric cars today is that shoppers must consider not only the EV. They must also evaluate the fast-charging network that makes it usable on the same long road trips as gasoline cars.
That’s what gives the edge to Tesla—at least this year. Furthermore, the Model 3 is still the sportier and more focused option, the athlete of the two, if that’s what you want. Add in the Tesla charging network and the advantages are very clear.
If you’re looking for a compact-to-midsize electric sedan, either car will meet your needs admirably as a second or third car. If it’s going to be your only car: You should buy the Tesla Model 3.
John Voelcker edited Green Car Reports for nine years and has contributed to Wired, Car and Driver, Popular Science, Tech Review, IEEE Spectrum and more. He is based in New York.
What is the major driver of the efficiency difference? Just aero? Or are we at the point where the minutiae of motor design are making big differences?
Probably a bit of everything. Aero is definitely the biggest factor, but inverter efficiency can make a difference. Tesla’s IPM-SynRM design is also generally better for high-speed cruising than other motor types.
Great review and comparison. I’ll never have a use for either car, but I enjoyed getting a in depth review like this on both.
Maybe I just haven’t seen this discussed anywhere but why aren’t all fuel providers jumping on the EV charging bandwagon? They’re already in the business of selling energy and they already have the real estate a lot of those big gas stations have plenty of room near their edges where they could install chargers. It just seems a mystery to me that some of these large energy conglomerates haven’t done that or don’t even seem like they want to do that.
Some of the big petro companies are getting into the charging space via buying smaller charging companies. One of the big challenges in retrofitting chargers into existing liquid fueling infrastructure is electrical grid support. The fast chargers mentioned in the article require input voltages from the grid of 480V. I’d be surprised if most gas stations are using more than 240V right now. The power demands rise very fast for multiple chargers. If you have three 350kW DC fast chargers (not cables, each charger can have multiple cables, so if multiple vehicles are connected delivered power to each vehicle goes down to stay under 350kW), you’re already over a megawatt.
With most people charging at home most of the time, and EVs being a relatively small market share right now, an individual gas station franchisee is looking at a large initial capital invest with an uncertain but likely long pay-off period. As a result, they’re not going to spring for it. When the demand and payback picture becomes clearer, you’ll see more investment. You’re already seeing more investment in stations from big box stores where they hope to get additional revenue from the people charging inside the store, and the cost in terms of real-estate is minor compared to their overall footprint.
“Familiarity and a known brand”
Kia/Hyundai is one of the youngest brands in the US. So what we’re looking at here is a brand known for barely 30 years and with a reputation for making junk, vs a brand known for almost 15 years and with a reputation for being a fast, sporty status symbol.
I don’t think brand reputation is a point in favor of the Hyundai, even a little.
I do think that Hyundai and Kia have earned a pretty good reputation over the last 5-7 years. It’s weird to say that as someone who had the unfortunate experience of owning a 1999 Elantra when it was new. Weird world we’re in.
I don’t think anyone under the age of 35 has the idea of Hyundai as “junk.” That’s a reputation from the 1990s and earlier, basically before Chung Mong-koo took over as CEO in the late ’90s and shifted their strategy to quality.
By 2003, Hyundai was already tied for second place with Honda in overall brand reliability. They’ve been making truly desirable cars for over 15 years. The Genesis was introduced in 2007, the Veloster in 2011, just as a couple of examples. At this point, Kia and Hyundai are both highly desirable brands, in the same league as any Japanese manufacturer.
Tesla has been selling cars for 15 years, but they didn’t really hit general public awareness until the Model S ten years ago. I’d say that Tesla has really only been “known” by most people since the Model 3 started shipping 7 years ago.
Does Tesla have a reputation as a “fast, sporty status symbol” with the general public? With certain segments of tech fans, yes. But they’ve got a controversial reputation overall. For a customer shopping for their first EV, it’s not clear that their brand reputation is a net positive.
Hyundai, on the other hand, has a solid, positive reputation as a major automaker, and would be seen as the safer decision for the average American buyer.
Kia/Hyundais are poorly regarded among mechanics, because many of their cars, including in the last 15 years, are unmitigated crap. Say GDI piston rings with me. Did you know that Kia won’t replace your short block under warranty until oil consumption exceeds a quart every 1000 miles? 5 quarts every 5k is enough to be an add oil car, not a change oil car. And that’s fine with Kia/Hyundai.
I really gotta disagree that they have earned a good reputation lately.
with a reputation for being a fast, sporty status symbol.I think you meant to say cobbled together with plywood and styrofoam holding them together. Seriously, seeing as most of Hyundai Group’s quality control issues are with ICE and Tesla still can’t get consistent panel gaps to save their life, not to mention the headache of the center screen, I think the Hyundai EV is much more compelling, lack of Supercharger network excepted.It is also interesting, in most markets outside North America Hyundai Group products have a pretty solid reputation for reliability for the models made in Europe and South Korea, so I think a lot of the quality control concerns have to do with their local manufacturing methods here. Also worth mentioning is that pre-GDi Hyundais were quite reliable and it’s not uncommon to see 2000-2009 cars with upwards of 300k miles, especially with the Mitsubishi designed Lambda V6.
There are a few things I disagree on (I think ride quality and NVH should be mentioned under the comfort section), but I respect the level of raw detail put into this review. Kudos.
If they don’t have a status feature (which seems to be the case), the charging stations should have some kind of self-evaluating test that can notify users (and operators) via app if they’re out of order.
Neither one will drive like a sports car regardless of performance numbers, so I’d take the better ride and less stupid touchscreen BS and less ubiquity and that’s not a Tesla in spite of being a Hyundai hater.
Great write-up John, I appreciate the details. Like you said, many of those little annoying Tesla idiosyncrasies quickly fade away after a week. If you’re good w/ tech in general, you’ll adapt quickly. The wiper/mirror adjustments buried in a menu were the worst of it. You can just hit the end of the wiper (which wipes and brings up a wiper speed selector for a few seconds). Its very different, but not *that* much more inconvenient. The mirror adjustment must be done when parked, with the steering wheel scroll buttons which seems absolutely unforgivable until you consider this is set once then assigned to your driver’s profile (includes seating/steering position, EQ settings, easy entry, steering sensitivity, regen settings, etc), tied to your/spouse’s phone, which is amazingly convenient for sharing the car. Set once, never think about it again. Its the small things.
Memory mirrors and seats were one of my favorite options…in my namesake 1988 928. I had to push a button back then (it’s considered an antique today), but phone/fob ID isn’t a significant leap. The original owner didn’t spring for the passenger memory seat, but that just seems silly.
Its the number of things linked to the phone that really makes it significant. The list of custom options is too long to list. Seat/wheel/mirror position, Spotify account log-in, acceleration (sport/default), regen strength, garage door opener settings, autopilot settings, music volume.. on and on and on.. There’s got to be like 200+ settings, it’ll save a marriage.
Some of these comments makes me wonder how other brands, automotive and non automotive, would fare were their ownership and organizational structure just as well known as Teslas.
A few examples:
Henry Ford (Antisemitism)Volkswagen Group (slave labor until death)
BMW (slave labor until death)
Cummins (Currently used in Russian equipment in Ukraine)
Tesla sold a little over 2% of all cars globally in 2022, which includes Tatas in India and 70/80/90’s cars still being produced with worn down pressing tools in Iran/India/China/Brasil etc.
Would that figure be even higher, had Elon been just another unknown CEO?
Do you guys have the same considerations when you purchase cheese, paint and new shoes? Pretty sure some of the cheese CEO’s are awfull people!
In response to your last point, the world and its global supply chains are too complicated for a consumer to make well-researched, painstaking considerations with minor purchases such as cheese and paints. (Look at what happened to Doug Forcett when he tried.)
On the other hand, a vehicle is the most expensive item of personal property that most people will ever purchase. Just like you spend more time researching the features of vehicles then features of cheese, it makes sense to spend more time considering the ethics of the car company as a whole versus the ethics of the cheese company (including the CEO).
My cheese budget may be a little unusual
I wouldn’t buy a Ford until they were the only one besides VW offering what I was looking for (cheap manual hatchback that seemed engineered well after crawling all over it myself, was OK to drive, and that didn’t rust right off the lot, so another Mazda was out) and I often wonder if part of the reason I have no interest in German cars is their Nazi past. When I see MB, BMW, VW, and Porsche I still see Messerschmitt 109, Focke Wulf 190, Hitler’s universal aryan peoples’ car, and tanks. That said, I don’t see Mussolini when I see FIAT, so maybe it really is just that I don’t like the German automaker tendency for overcomplication for the sake of it, find most of them to be overpriced, overweight, and overrated, and I don’t find them inspiring enough to want one. Cummins doesn’t sell anything that I buy, but my only association is with rear window stickers on the pickups of scumbag coal rollers, so I would be disinclined to buy them. If they’re still dealing in Russia, that’s just another reason to avoid them.
So what do you see when when you see a Mitsubishi?
rebadged Nissan
The CEOs of those other companies have the good sense to keep their political opinions private, not spew them all over Twitter trying to own the libs. I don’t know the political stances of the current CEO of Cabot Creamery, but I do have the misfortune to know exactly what Elon thinks about a whole bunch of stuff because it’s impossible to avoid.
That is where you and I differ.
I prefer my bs upfront, not hidden for history to dig up.
Great to see a detailed comparison, though the one thing I do miss about print magazines is the full road test with performance metrics, not just 0-60 and quarter mile, but braking distances, g forces, sometimes even a slalom run PLUS the subjective driving and design impressions fou d here.
I will quibble with the tie and I n design. The Ioniq may be more controversial, but it certainly looks much more modern and elegant, interior seems to be a built in bias for Tesla by the writer. I feel the Hyundai is the clear winner in design.
The nearest Supercharger site to me is nearly 200 km away. But there’s a Chargefox site just up the road. Most Tesla charging stations in Oz are actually third party operated destination chargers in motels and the like.
Which is exactly where you need it in most cases, far away. Daily charging, in most cases, is done at home, over night, and will easily get you those 200 km.
What if you live in an apartment or have to park on the street?
Window switches in the center console? Just like my 2006 Saturn Vue!
Also late 80s Chevy Berettas.
I think there’s something to be said about Tesla not providing “press cars.”
With press cars, automakers want to put their best foot forward, and they don’t want to be embarrassed in the press by build quality issues that can appear on mass produced models.
With this in mind, press cars are often painstakingly disassembled and rebuilt so that every part and fastener on the car can be verified and checked.
Companies like Consumer Reports bypass this practice by purchasing production models from dealerships in order to deliver more accurate reviews, with vehicles that are actually representative of what a buyer would experience.
Tesla knows their cars will be sought out and reviewed by the press, yet they don’t bother with the extensive process of preparing “press cars.”
They are willing to let the production model speak for itself. To me, this represents a higher level of transparency and integrity.
Elon Musk sucks tho for real.
They dont advertise either, which seems crazy when you consider legacy automaker’s media budget.
Ahh, thank you. The Ioniq 6 rearend was reminiscent of something from my ‘90s childhood but couldn’t put my finger on it; the Infiniti J30 is perfect. Also a gold star for referencing the Merc CLS.
No mention of Tesla opening up its charging network to other makes, in either the article or the comments?! To me that is the biggest news in the EV world in quite a while, so I think it should at least be noted as something that is in the works.
Fair point, although the catch is that Tesla is not opening the entire network. They are opening “select locations”. As of right now it is only a handful, and it is unclear how many in total they will open. My understanding is that the chargers need retrofitting in order to accommodate a built in adapter for non Tesla cars, which certainly suggests a leisurely implementation.
Tesla is opening up the absolute minimum to get the federal funds. Currently, its less than 15-20 stations nationwide, and I dont see it opening up to enough to rely on. It’ll get a few luck souls out of a bind, but nothing close to useful. Currently, Tesla has stations just about every 50-75 miles on just about every major highway in the country, even in Podunk places like rural Nevada.