{"id":3943,"date":"2026-02-25T08:41:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/?p=3943"},"modified":"2026-03-03T07:55:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T12:55:40","slug":"tesla-model-3-versus-hyundai-ioniq-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/tesla-model-3-versus-hyundai-ioniq-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla Model 3 vs Hyundai Ioniq 6: which EV is the better buy for the money?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Recently, the Tesla Model 3 was named the &#8220;Top Rated Electric Car&#8221; by Edmunds. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edmunds.com\/car-news\/tesla-model-3-edmunds-top-rated-electric-car-2026.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">review praised<\/a> its speed, range, comfort, and tech \u2014 all for a pretty reasonable price. But it seems like that price may be one of the deciding factors for Edmunds rather than the overall experience.<\/p>\n<p>Said Edmund&#8217;s Executive Director of Written Content, Jodie Tourkow: &#8220;Tesla recently added the more affordable Model 3 standard. Which still has the key strengths of the Model 3 at a lower price. This lower bar for entry makes a difference. We appreciate that every version feels solidly built and comfortable. With all the improvements Tesla has made, this is the very best version of the Model 3 we&#8217;ve ever had.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the Tesla Model 3 can be found for as low as $36,990. It&#8217;s one of the cheapest electric cars on the market. However, there&#8217;s an electric car around the same price that actually outshines the Tesla Model 3 in many key categories.<\/p>\n<h2>Tesla Model 3 vs. Hyundai Ioniq 6: Range and charging<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3947\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3947\" style=\"width: 1014px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3947 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/hyundai-ioniq-6-2025-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"2025 hyundai ioniq 6\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/hyundai-ioniq-6-2025-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/hyundai-ioniq-6-2025-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/hyundai-ioniq-6-2025-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/hyundai-ioniq-6-2025-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/hyundai-ioniq-6-2025.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3947\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image Credit: Hyundai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One of the selling points of the Tesla Model 3 for Edmunds was its range. The Long Range, which is actually $47,500, was the &#8220;perfect commuter,&#8221; according to Jonathan Elfalan, the Director of Vehicle Testing, partly because he &#8220;never worried&#8221; about range. On a single charge, the Tesla Model 3 Long Range gets up to 363 miles (AWD) to over 400 miles combined (RWD). The base model gets 321 miles.<\/p>\n<p>The Hyundai Ioniq 6 starts at $37,700 for the base model, which gets 240 miles. However, the SE Long Range RWD model gets 361 miles, which is not too far off from the Tesla Model 3 Long Range RWD. And guess what? The Ioniq 6&#8217;s most expensive version with the longest range is only $42,800. This means it&#8217;s about $5,000 cheaper than the Tesla Model 3 Long Range and you still get plenty of range for the price. It sort of kills Edmund&#8217;s whole &#8220;it&#8217;s cheaper, so we love it&#8221; argument when they are actually talking about its most expensive Model 3 when it comes to the details.<\/p>\n<p>When you finally have to pull over and charge one of these models, you&#8217;ll also be stuck at the charging station much longer with the Tesla Model 3. It can take up to 30 minutes to go from a 10% to 80% charge. It takes the Ioniq 6 about 18 minutes to accomplish the same percentage jump. The Ioniq 6 is also faster at home, taking about five to seven hours compared to the Model 3&#8217;s seven to 12 hours.<\/p>\n<h2>Tesla Model 3 vs. Hyundai Ioniq 6: Driving experience<\/h2>\n<p>Once you&#8217;re actually on the road, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 will offer a far superior experience behind the wheel. Those who have driven both say <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Ioniq6\/comments\/1chp5qp\/comment\/l24mfgb\/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">the Ioniq 6 is much quieter and smoother<\/a>, making it feel much more luxurious and comfortable. The blend of better build quality and a more car-like experience makes the Hyundai Ioniq 6 more appealing when it comes to handling and performance \u2014 especially if you are a fan of combustion engines looking to make the switch.<\/p>\n<p>It also has many familiar controls and cabin features that don&#8217;t feel as far-out or EV-centric as those in the Tesla Model 3. The Model 3 has better software and technology, but the actual\u00a0<em>feel<\/em> is lacking compared to the Ioniq 6. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Ioniq6\/comments\/1gxw2kh\/comment\/lz0b1uc\/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Said one driver<\/a>: &#8220;With Tesla, think about doing everything through an iPad with menus\u2026 everything. Heat change, navigate menus while driving. I like legacy car features like buttons for things.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>MotorTrend<\/strong> put it simply when its review of the Ioniq 6 put this on the &#8220;pro&#8221; list: &#8220;Better than a Tesla Model 3.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There are Tesla stans out there who will argue that the Model 3 is unbeatable. They&#8217;ll tell you to ignore <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/tesla-cheap-cybertruck-deal\/\">Elon Musk&#8217;s ongoing breakdown<\/a> and who cares about all the recalls and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/tesla-tough-week-robotaxi-crash\/\">lawsuits<\/a>, really&#8230; But the argument is often that Tesla is the most advanced, that it offers the most features. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Ioniq6\/comments\/1chp5qp\/comment\/mqgphne\/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">One fan even said<\/a> Tesla &#8220;wraps around your life&#8221; as if that&#8217;s a good thing. So yeah, if you want more screens, more menus, and more nanny features, the Tesla Model 3 will get you more bang for your buck. But if you want to\u00a0<em>enjoy<\/em> your drive, the Ioniq 6 offers a more standard-car experience, not only with more physical buttons but also a more enjoyable overall performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently, the Tesla Model 3 was named the &#8220;Top Rated Electric Car&#8221; by Edmunds. The review praised its speed, range, &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Tesla Model 3 vs Hyundai Ioniq 6: which EV is the better buy for the money?\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/tesla-model-3-versus-hyundai-ioniq-6\/#more-3943\" aria-label=\"Read more about Tesla Model 3 vs Hyundai Ioniq 6: which EV is the better buy for the money?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3971,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-electric-vehicles-evs","category-news","resize-featured-image"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}