The latest sleek new car from Hyundai promises game changing performance and makes a huge leap over the competition.

You can’t ignore the Hyundai Ioniq 6. The design is bold, curvy, sleek – and polarising.

The Korean brand’s latest EV – due here early in 2023 – offers plenty of talking points. There are digital side mirrors, hundreds of illuminated pixels in its rear light strip, rear wing and headlights and a back-end that has hints of the unloved AU Falcon.

But there’s a purpose to the styling and it’s aerodynamic. It shares its platform, electric motors and 77.4kWh battery with Hyundai’s award-winning and in-demand Ioniq 5 but travels more than 100km longer on a single charge. In EV world, that’s an eternity.

The Ioniq 6 has a drag coefficient of 0.21, making it one of the most aerodynamic production cars in history. The rear-wheel-drive variant, which rides on 18-inch wheels, has a claimed range of 614km, compared with just 507km for the Ioniq 5.

The initial batch earmarked for Australia, arriving in a few months, will be all-wheel-drive flagships on 20-inch wheels. Those rims penalise range by some 10 per cent (the price of aesthetics) and the weight of a second motor means the first Aussie Ioniq 6s will have a 519km range.

Hyundai plans to expand the range with cheaper models at a later date, including one with a smaller 53kWh battery and exceptional efficiency.

The Ioniq 6 is expected to command a small premium over the Ioniq 5, so it should arrive at about $80,000 plus on-roads for the AWD model with its healthy 239kW and 605Nm outputs and swift 0-100km/h time of 5.1 seconds.

Ultra-fast charging capability means a 10 to 80 per cent charge takes just 18 minutes at a 350kW public charger. An AC home wallbox with up to 10.5kW fills an empty battery in some 7.5 hours. You can even use the car to power your electric bike, fridge, coffee machine or anything else with a domestic socket.

The interior oozes luxury. Dual-colour ambient lighting creates a sense of theatre, as does the sweeping dash panel and button-free doors, while monitors placed in the dash-top extremities show rear views. External cameras replace side mirrors with reasonable success, but it takes some getting used to on the road.

Eco leather seats are set high for a sedan but are heated and cooled. The dashboard and armrests are soft-touch bio goodness, while carpets are of surprisingly cosy recycled fishing net. A brace of 12-inch screens for infotainment and driver information integrate seamlessly while there’s Bose audio, a brilliant head-up display and wireless phone charging but no wireless CarPlay or Android Auto.

Over-the-air software updates – a first for Hyundai – will add improvements and features in future.

Hop in the back and it’s almost limo-like, with tremendous knee and leg room, helped by a flat floor the entire width of the car.

The sloping roof, however, means six-footers have their heads almost on the ceiling, while the boot has a narrow opening and only 401 litres of luggage space.

On the road it feels both sporty and cosseting. The cabin is impressively quiet, even when stuck in Seoul’s rush-hour traffic.

You can flick between AWD and RWD modes after navigating a sea of menus and both provide grin-inducing acceleration with just a prod of the pedal. It’s fast, responsive and even playful in turns when the power is fed through the back wheels, though it feels its 2100kg weight. You can personalise motor power, throttle response and steering efforts, which is very clever but can feel artificial. The steering can get vague at speed. Otherwise it feels graceful, eager and a special car to pilot.

There’s a pretend spaceship sound which intensifies as you accelerate. It sounds like a choir of increasingly angry angels, so we left it off entirely. Silent cruising suits the Ioniq 6 to a tee.

The suspension is stiff on poorer roads but it’s a magic carpet on highways. It stops using brake regeneration only if you specify (there are five different levels to choose).

Endless driver aids and safety systems create a thoroughly relaxed and futuristic driving experience, which is in line with the Ioniq 6’s cosmic styling.

Superb luxury, technology, driving serenity and range, if you can handle the styling.

SAFETY 7 airbags, auto emergency braking, lane-keep and blind-spot assist, speed-sign recognition, safe-exit warning, rear cross-traffic alert

POWER Dual electric motors, 239kW and 605Nm

RANGE 519km – 583km (WLTP)

This start-up has attracted a lot of interest with its first model, but this all-new design should turn even more heads with its striking design.

The booming electric car maker has confirmed it has started production of one of its most anticipated new products. And it could change a whole industry.

The current crop of EVs come with price tags that are out of the reach of many buyers. But this cute softroader could change all of that.