Hyundai Ioniq 5 vs Kia EV6

Both brands quote NSW driveaway pricing, so this is a like-for-like read. As of August 2026 the Ioniq 5 opens at $69,990 driveaway on a Hyundai Drive Away Offer, while the EV6 Air is $78,277 driveaway at standard pricing, noticeably more at the door. Worth knowing: the Hyundai figure is a promotional offer, so the everyday gap is a little narrower than the headline, while the Kia is its standard rate. Up the range both climb, the EV6 GT-Line and GT pushing well past the Ioniq 5's mainstream grades. Run each brand's own driveaway quote for your postcode before you decide, and check whether the Hyundai offer still stands.

These two share a battery and a charging system, so the answer is close to a dead heat. Both carry an 84kWh pack, and on the base rear-drive grades the EV6 Air claims 582km WLTP to the Ioniq 5's 570km, a 12km edge to Kia that real-world driving will blur. Charging is identical on paper: both run 800-volt architecture for a 10 to 80 per cent DC top-up in about 18 minutes, still rare at this price, and both charge at the same rate on AC at home. Energy use is line-ball too, around 159 to 160Wh per kilometre. Call range a marginal EV6 win and charging a genuine tie.

Space is the Ioniq 5's clearest win. It rides a 3,000mm wheelbase, 100mm longer than the EV6's 2,900mm, and pairs a flat floor with a sliding centre console for a genuinely open cabin. Its boot holds 520 litres seats-up against the EV6's 490, and it adds a 57-litre front boot handy for charging cables. The EV6 is the sharper-looking car, but Australian reviewers repeatedly flag that its coupe-fastback roofline is the practical compromise, trimming boot height and rear vision compared with boxier rivals like the Hyundai. Both are five-seaters with 60:40 folding rear seats, so day to day either works. If outright space decides it, the Ioniq 5 is the pick.

Both wear a five-star ANCAP rating, the Ioniq 5 from 2021 testing and the EV6 from 2022, and the sub-scores trade blows within a point or two. The EV6 edges adult occupant protection, 90 per cent to 88, while the Ioniq 5 nudges ahead on safety assist, 89 to 88; child occupant protection is level at 87. Both come standard with autonomous emergency braking that detects pedestrians and cyclists, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert across the grades most buyers choose. One caveat on the Kia: ANCAP lists the 478kW EV6 GT as unrated, so the star rating covers the Air and GT-Line grades but not the flagship. On safety this is essentially a tie.

The Ioniq 5 has the stronger ownership case. Its services fall due every 24 months or 30,000km, half as often as the EV6's 12 months or 15,000km, which means fewer workshop visits and less downtime over the years you own it. Its high-voltage battery is covered for eight years or 160,000km, an extra year and 10,000km over the Kia's seven years and 150,000km. Both cars carry the same seven-year, unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty and lean on established dealer networks. The EV6's answer is roadside assistance, quoted at a longer term than the Hyundai's, though both renew each time you service with the dealer. Add it up and the Ioniq 5 is the cheaper car to keep.

This is where the EV6 banks its premium. Australian reviewers near-universally rate it among the best-driving electric SUVs in its class, crediting a chassis retuned for local roads, composed body control and a refined, well-insulated cabin sharpened again by the MY26 update. The Ioniq 5 takes the opposite tack: it is comfort-tuned rather than sporty, and testers praise its class-above cabin quality and quietness while noting the near-2.1-tonne weight leaves the ride floaty and fidgety on rough surfaces. Neither is a hot hatch, and the badges don't change that; the sharper, more resolved drive is the Kia's, the calmer, roomier cabin is the Hyundai's. If driving polish tops your list, the EV6 is the safer bet.

At the grades these two share, the power figures are identical. Both start with a 168kW, 350Nm rear-drive motor, and both step to a 239kW dual-motor all-wheel-drive tune in the mid grades. The EV6 Air claims 7.7 seconds to 100km/h; Hyundai doesn't publish an official time for the base Ioniq 5, but with the same rear-drive hardware it feels every bit as brisk. The separation is at the top. The EV6 range is crowned by the 478kW GT, a genuine performance flagship the mainstream Ioniq 5 can't answer, because Hyundai's equivalent, the 478kW Ioniq 5 N, is a separate and pricier model. Want the fast one from this pair? Only Kia sells it here.

Because these two share a platform, a battery and most of their hardware, the decision comes down to temperament, not spec. Buy the Hyundai Ioniq 5 if space, comfort and running costs lead: it is the roomier car inside and in the boot, it services half as often, it covers its battery a year longer, and it is the cheaper way in on Hyundai's current offer as of August 2026. Buy the Kia EV6 if the way a car drives and looks matters more: it is the more resolved thing to steer on its Australian-tuned chassis, its cabin tech is newer, and only it offers a 478kW GT halo. Space and value to Hyundai, polish and character to Kia.