FIRST DRIVE: HYUNDAI IONIQ 6 – Streamline EV Tested Across Korea PLUS Staria Camper Review

Oh look at that right, uh credit card – oh God knows uh blue 60 seconds right, okay, so oh 90 seconds to get it plugged, in other words its not going to. Let me right. Okay here we go right success. So what are we up to here? Well, the car Ive just plugged in is Hyundais new ionic six, and it makes a great play about how streamlined it is and what that means for its range, so were gon na drive it a long way the length of the Korean peninsula. In fact, just not the northern bit and were not even going to stop when we get to the bottom because were going to go to the island of JeJu, where a surprise awaits. In the meantime, though, Ive done about 150 miles and got 50 of charge left, which means I need to find some stuff to do. I guess that wasnt difficult and see on Udo a once rural fishing Backwater thats now a Haven for insta selfies tourists are well catered For here, provided you like looking at fish in tanks and soon after seeing the same fish on your plate. Theres, a wonderful Beach, interesting transport possibilities and quirky local sculptures and those werent. The first wed seen that day, wed left Seoul early and carried on leaving Seoul for the next two hours. The Metropolis home to some 25 million people feels like a Scooby Doo backdrop, a constantly repeating Loop of thick urban sprawl its easy to navigate, though with signs in English, a legacy of South Koreas, post war links to America and painted colored lines on the roads.

For the exits I stopped at her Services investigated snack options and found more quirky sculptures. It had been a busy morning anyway, back to the Ionix 6. happy days. We are now fully recharged and just leaving sionudo, which is about halfway down South Korea, the countrys about the same size as England, so its under 300 miles from north to south, which means we could have done the whole journey on a single charge. But if wed done, that, we probably wouldnt have come here and we would have really missed out because cionudo is, is beautiful and its also an island in the middle of the sea. To get here, we had to drive along a dual carriageway that runs along the top of the worlds longest man made sea Dyke, but anyway lets tell you about the car, because this is a flagship version which means its got: the bigger battery, so 77 kilowatt hours. Rather than 53, its got the twin motor set up, so its 324 horsepower and 445 pounds for a torque for not 60 in 5.1 seconds. If that matters, this ones still good 323 miles and thats accurate. We have been averaging exactly what it says. We should be doing, but I reckon they could have cut, drag even more. The cameras are tiny inside those housings and those housings dont, look particularly aerodynamic to me and theyre, not really in keeping with the whole design of the car, which I dont think is as successful as the ionic 5.

theres a lot of slightly lumpy curves. I think, where the lines all come together at the back of the car, it just looks a bit overwrought, somehow not quite as clean as you might hope, and while Im having a moaned. This steering wheel looks like its been put on upside down. But when was the last time you saw a steering wheel, which didnt have the manufacturers logo in the middle of it. This has just got four dots, which, in a sort of neat little twist, is Morse code for the letter H and it does all sorts of funny things. It lights up red and blue, depending on what the autonomous drivings doing now. One of the very neat things it does here is the car can automatically slow down for Speed cameras, thats good thinking, but in terms of this being a car whose driving manners match what you expect its absolutely bang on. This feels like a comfy slick Cruiser, and it does that very well. It just seems to slip along even when you lift off, but Ive got to crack on, because weve got a date with a ferry in mockpo, Music, Music, foreign, Music Music. So this is all a bit asked about face: weve had to take our bags out of the car before we drive the car onto the ferry its not how its done at home city of 90 000 people. The name translates as forested Harbor and its the main port in the southwest for fishing, trade and ferries across to the island of JeJu.

There you go. This is quite interesting. You drive it on park it up in a very narrow space and then are told to go and get off the boat. So Im gon na go and find my luggage and then try and get back on the boat keys. Music were successfully on the ferry. Its a four hour sailing to Jeju, but we dont even sail for another couple of hours, yet the ionic six has been brilliant. The whole way down its been super, refined and comfortable, really quiet and very light on its electric. Now, tomorrow were going to use its electricity for a different purpose, but right now its after 11 p.m and Ive spotted something you dont find on a cross Channel Ferry Music. Oh, this is no messing about kidney punches, yeah, its getting quite intimate, relax or relax. No idea where we are, or what were gon na, do Im sure he Music sure, Music good morning uh, I should have slept in the massage chair last night. I reckon it would have been way comfier than top bunk. Anyway. We are now on Jeju and Jeju to Korea is a bit like Hawaii to the US its where they all come on holiday. Now, unsurprisingly, Ive never been here before. So what we need is a tour guide, but first we had to track it down. All will be revealed shortly, which meant driving up halasan. The 1950 meter tall volcano thats, the highest mountain in South Korea and dominates the skyline here with Autumn arriving lava light colors were running down the flanks of the mountain and the road was smooth and sinuous.

The ionic 6 is no Thriller, but its more capable and composed around corners than I expected moving the game on substantially from the vague ionic, 5. and lurking for us near the summit. So heres our big surprise, a Hyundai camper van well, why not? They do everything else around here: the roads weve driven on the boat. We came here on the charges weve charged at and now tonights accommodation, its called the stereo and its well great way to find your way around a holiday Island. I reckon so James youre gon na drive that Im going to hop in this, but first of all, theres a lovely view over here. Jeju is beautiful, but as much as it is an Island, Jeju is a project. Back in 2012 Koreas central government announced plans to make the island carbon free by 2030, with all energy coming from Renewables. It was an achievable spearhead, not least because theres no heavy industry here 120 wind turbines have been installed in the seas around it. Solar panels fitted to many homes. There are added incentives to buy EVs and as many car chargers as there are electric cars. This holiday island is the perfect place to drive Electric. You see these areas all over Korea, usually dressed up as taxis or family haulers, but Hyundai has turned a handful of them into Camper vans, because Korea has a big camping culture now, obviously, the the comparison that we would draw is with the Volkswagen California, but at The moment Hyundai has no intention of bringing these stereo campervans to Europe, but the underpinnings arent very modern and futuristic its powered by a diesel engine mated to a five speed automatic gearbox.

Tell you what its really nice to have proper big Wing mirrors that work as mirrors and the feeling of being in this car is fantastic. You sit in quite a car like driving position, but the Scuttle is so low to the side. So youve got this wonderful sort of viewing angle downwards and also lots of useful stowage around the cabin into which we have crammed some very suspicious snacks. Ive actually got the same driving modes in here, as I have in the ionic six, which does mean, if I put this into sport mode like that, I can pull. Paddles Ive got paddles and I can hold it in a gear but yeah. The gearbox is pretty sleepy Applause but as a Driving Experience, its pretty ponderous and sluggish, but its a camper van thats. What you expect from these? So yes, if we want to be driving with a bit more Verve, I would be in the ionic six. But I want to see the island because its very important to get a sense of the local culture, Music Applause, the authorities on Jeju Keen to encourage holiday makers to do more than lie on beaches or high kalasan put in place. Various incentives and tax breaks to encourage the building of museums and get this all you needed to qualify was a collection of at least 100 objects, a room, a thermostat and a burger alarm. Many are upstanding and honorable some are gloriously silly.

I focused on those you want something they said: theyd prefer it. If I didnt go in toy time together at last cars and pianos Music, foreign Music yeah, we cant show anything from in there Music you used to be able to Wild camp on Jeju, but its a bit more frowned upon now, but given its Autumn, we thought We would chance our arm with it, but this is me, proving I dont know much about the geography of this island because we wanted a sunset so were in the west, but it turns out its the North and South that have the pretty beaches and the palm Trees and what we get is volcanic rock and wind, but the wind is important here and all these windmills – and I dont know if you can hear her in the background, but theres quite a lot of noise coming off them. But wind power generates 20 of jejus electricity, electricity that can go into the ionic and back out because it supports V to L charging vehicle to load. So tonight that is going to power that right now were plugged in. Let me show you around: the car so were going to go around this side, because this is the main entrance, if you like so once were in what we can do is raise the roof all right. So I open the screen pop that down. That allows me to then lift this up. There we go bye bye.

I can stand up, get the full height now, if youre thinking this looks a lot like a VW, California, well youre, not wrong. The layout inside is very, very similar, although what this doesnt have that is very useful in that is a table stuck into the side of the door and two chairs, tucked away in the tailgate anyway. So seats come all the way forward like that to them its got electric buttons to lie the seats down more electrics, more quite slow processes, dont think Ive ever had a leather mattress before anyway. Let me turn around because I want to show you over here. We have got storage in there fridge in there and a sink in here, plus, more storage down here and a pull out Table Right Next Stage. Ive got a bit of a mattress topper and a lovely sleeping bag. Thats me done for the night Music theres, a confidence to Koreas growth and development everywhere, you look, we can see it in Hyundai already, but when you come here, you see it in everything, from infrastructure projects and architecture to the tourism and the energy switch. However, not everything has worked out. Jeju is currently lagging well behind schedule for the 2030 conversion to renewable energy, while electric car sales have been slow only six percent Market penetration, when the 2022 Target was 23, the electric switchover isnt going according to plan, but its not necessarily seen as a failure. More an opportunity to improve Jeju is basically South Koreas test center for renewable energy and EVS, see if things work here, then roll them out elsewhere and if theyre not working figure out, why that is and make the changes and its that approach that has allowed Hyundai To achieve its remarkable progress, the ionic 6 gives it a convincing long range executive to rival Teslas model 3.

, while the stereo, either as camper or regular people mover, could, alongside Volkswagens ID Buzz, help Herald and MPV come back. They make a great pair and worked in Harmony on this trip. The long range EV that got us from Seoul down to Jeju and the tour guide that not only provided overnight accommodation but also helped us see the sights, but for both Jeju and Hyundai renewable energy goes further. Hyundai now has plans to make the island a center for hydrogen adoption. I havent leveled up electricity yet and already theyre.