Hyundai’s new electric three-row family hauler is set to make its debut this June at Korea’s 2024 Busan Motor Show, as reported by the Korean Car Blog. This timing aligns with earlier speculation about the mid-year launch of Hyundai’s third Ioniq model, following the 5 crossover and 6 sedan. Series production of the Ioniq 7 is slated to commence in South Korea concurrently with its unveiling, with U.S. manufacturing and sales anticipated to kick off in 2025 at Hyundai’s Metaplant in Georgia. Development of the upcoming Hyundai Ioniq 7, the Korean brand’s first big electric SUV, is well on its way, and spy photographers have finally managed to capture a glimpse of the interior while the test car was charging during winter testing.
Based on the amount of camouflage inside,
it looks like the Hyundai engineering team was prepared for the possibility of
being intercepted by spy photographers. However, there’s still a lot of
interesting stuff to see. Firstly, there’s the massive rectangular screen that
stretches from behind the steering wheel to the center of the dash. It will
comprise both the instrument cluster and the infotainment screen. Fans of good,
old-fashioned controls will be glad to see that the HVAC and radio will still
be handled by physical buttons.
We can also see that this particular test
vehicle has cameras rather than door mirrors. Screens showing what’s behind the
vehicle can be seen right at the top of the door cards. Unfortunately, the
exterior of the Ioniq 7 was covered in even more camouflage than we’ve seen
before. However, the overall shape is quite similar to the SEVEN concept, which
was first shown off in 2021. Its arcing roofline and general proportions appear
to have been carried over from the show vehicle, and it looks like the
extravagant headlights and taillights on the production vehicle will be quite
similar to the concept as well.
The Ioniq 7 is expected to share the same
platform and mechanical hardware as the Kia EV9, which is already available for
purchase. The Kia EV9’s lineup includes an entry-level model with a
single-motor electric powertrain producing 215 hp, an
all-wheel-drive version with 379 hp, and a high-performance
variant boasting 576 hp. The Kia EV9 starts at US$ 54,900, and it
is likely that the Ioniq 7 will offer a comparable range of powertrain options.
Hyundai’s big electric SUV will likely
offer two battery options. The first is a 76.1 kWh battery pack, which provides
a range of 370 km in the Kia EV9. The second option is a larger
99.8 kWh battery, offering up to 489 km of range, as per EPA estimates.
These battery choices should provide customers with flexibility when it comes
to range and performance. Hyundai has not yet confirmed when it plans to reveal
the Ioniq 7, but we expect it to be unveiled in the middle of 2024, going on
sale for the 2025 model year.
