The Most Affordable EV With Over 350 Miles Of Range In 2024

An electric vehicle (EV) with more than 350 miles is still a rarity these days. Granted, a 300-mile EV is already excellent and is the sweet spot for a number of American EV buyers, but 350 miles is perhaps the range that most will consider an EV to be their primary car that can truly replace their internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. The average American drives roughly 14,500 miles a year (or about 39 miles per day), which makes Americans very sensitive to range anxiety. Combined with factors such as battery degradation over time, range that drops depending on weather and payload conditions, as well as the charging infrastructure that still needs improvement, that long-range also serves as a backup plan of sorts for all of these factors.

Now, if you want to own an EV with 350 miles of range, you do have a good number of options, but most of them are mostly large vehicles with high price tags. If you want the most affordable option out there, there is, surprisingly, one model that is slightly below the average new car transaction price of $47,401 and way below the average new EV transaction price of $55,353. Stay tuned to find out what that affordable 350-mile EV is.

In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from Hyundai and other authoritative sources, including CleanEarth and Cox Automotive.

The Hyundai Ioniq 6 Is Your Answer

If you want the most affordable EV with 350 miles of range; or in this case, 361 miles of EPA-estimated range, you’d have to head to your nearest Hyundai dealer and order the Ioniq 6. In addition, if you want that much range, you don’t even have to step up to a higher trim or get a larger battery just to achieve that 361-mile EPA-estimated range.

That Means Settling For The Base SE

That’s because all Ioniq 6s sold in the United States for now is the Long Range model, which comes with the larger 77.4 kWh lithium-ion battery versus the Standard Range’s 53 kWh. The Standard Range is coming soon, and that is going to come with a lower price tag and an EPA-estimated 240 miles of range. For now, we’re here to talk about the Long Range SE, which is not just the cheapest way to get on an Ioniq 6, but it also gets the longest range among all Ioniq 6 variants.

Lower Price, But Longer Range

Yes, in this case, getting the lowest-priced (for now) Ioniq 6 SE Long Range also means getting the Ioniq 6 with the longest range possible, and that’s because of one crucial difference–its alloy wheels. The SEL and range-topping Limited come with 20-inch wheels, which, while they do look good and contribute significantly to the Ioniq 6’s design, it reduces the range by 56 miles for the rear-wheel drive (RWD) model and 46 miles for the dual-motor all-wheel drive (AWD) version. Whether the range reduction is worth the added style is completely up to you.

As for what powers the Ioniq 6, you can either get this midsize electric sedan with a single-motor RWD layout with 225 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, while the dual-motor AWD offers 321 horsepower and 446 pound-feet of torque. Likewise, splurging for the AWD, which adds more power and grip, will reduce the range.

Hyundai Ioniq 6 Comparison

(Data sourced from Hyundai)

It’s Not Just An EV With Long Range

The EV age has set an equalizer of sorts for the automotive industry. That’s because whatever lead an automaker had with the ICE for the past century or so is probably going to be null and void as more and more countries favor vehicles with alternative energy sources.

As a result, you can easily tell in 2024 how much an automaker has invested in EVs based on how they build their vehicles. In the case of the Ioniq 6, it tries to reinvent the vehicle ownership experience thanks to one crucial aspect–its vehicle architecture.

Platforms Make The World Go Round

Like most automakers, Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) the parent company of Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis, has invested in scalable vehicle architectures. In the case of (some) of its EVs, they utilize the Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), which has been developed from the ground up to be an EV-only vehicle platform. Without the need to consider an ICE and its related drivetrain components, the packaging advantages of the Ioniq 6 are evident, from its front trunk and its spacious interior that’s enabled by a wheelbase that’s even longer than the Palisade midsize SUV.

When An EV Also Becomes A Lifestyle Tool

That E-GMP platform also comes with an 800-volt architecture, which introduces a couple of interesting ownership experiences that wouldn’t be possible in an ICE car. The Ioniq 6 (and also the Ioniq 5 and other EVs using the E-GMP platform) has bidirectional charging capabilities, otherwise known as vehicle-to-load (V2L).

Basically, its 77.4 kWh battery can essentially act as an external power source, so if you’re planning to use an E-GMP-based EV on a camping trip, you can bring your appliances with you and have them plugged in to the car. Oh, and if you’re curious, yes, you can use the V2L to power your home during a blackout, or charge another EV when needed.

With all this talk about batteries and bidirectional charging, we have yet to talk about its charging capabilities, but I assure you, we’re getting there in a moment. Remember that 800-volt architecture? Well, that allows the Ioniq 6 to have some of the fastest charging capabilities of any EV. How does up to 350 kW in DC fast charging or 22 kW in AC charging sound? At it max 350 kW DC fast charging speeds, the Ioniq 6 can top up from 10 to 80 percent in just 18 minutes, while a five-minute charge already adds 68 miles to its range.

Everything Else That’s Offered On The Ioniq 6 SE

So, you’re now convinced to get the Ioniq 6 SE Long Range. Great! You’ll also be glad to know that while this is currently the base model of the Ioniq 6 range, you still get plenty of stuff as standard. That’s probably not surprising to hear, because even if Hyundai’s average transaction prices have gone up as they continue to make ever-desirable cars, the South Korean automaker hasn’t forgotten about its value-for-money roots.

Sleek, Streamlined Exterior

As with the rest of the Ioniq 6 range, you get a “streamliner-inspired” exterior design. The aerodynamic shape is mostly dictated by aerodynamics, which, at 0.22 Cd, is one of the slipperiest sedans in its class, though the newest update to the Tesla Model 3 has reduced its drag coefficient to just 0.219 Cd. Nevertheless, that slippery shape includes full LED exterior lighting, amber LED daytime running lights, and flushed door handles that automatically retract or extend, and it even comes with a hands-free powered trunk lid as standard.

Of course, the main contributor to its 361-mile EPA-estimated range is its 18-inch wheels, and while they don’t look as nice as the 20-inch wheels, you’ll probably appreciate the significantly longer range and improved ride comfort provided by the thicker tires of the smaller diameter alloys.

A Cocooned, Safe Space

Compared to the Ioniq 5, which aims to replicate a living room, the Ioniq 6 is more cocooned and sportscar-like with its rising center console. Speaking of which, the center console is where the window controls are also located. It’ll be something that will take some time getting used to, but what that enables is having door panels that offer some of the biggest storage bins ever fitted to a car’s door.

As for features, the two 12.3-inch screens come as standard, and this comes with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. You also get dual-zone climate control, fabric upholstery, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, and heated front seats, just to name a few. What you don’t get is stuff like the Bose sound system, the dual-color ambient light, and the second-row-mounted V2L (though the external V2L is still standard).

Safety is also paramount on the Ioniq 6 SE because you get most of the Hyundai SmartSense suite of advanced driver-assistance systems, which include the following:

• Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (without Junction Turning)
• Smart Cruise Control (SCC) with Stop & Go
• Highway Driving Assist I (HDA I)
• High Beam Assist (HBA)
• Lane Keeping Assist (LKA)
• Lane Following Assist (LFA)
• Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW)
• Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA)
• Driver Attention Warning (DAW)
• Intelligent Speed Limit Assist
• Safe Exit Warning (SEW)

These ADAS features come on top of the usual parking sensors (front and rear in this case), the reversing camera, and the plethora of airbags surrounding the interior.