HYUNDAI IONIQ 3 SPIED UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL, REVEALING THE INTERIOR

Just a couple of months ago, Hyundai brought a concept car to the Munich auto show. The Concept Three was a smaller electric hatchback with a front-end that copied the Ioniq 6. Now that car is already on the road. The CarBuzz spies have captured the production version testing with concept looks and a great look at the interior.

All In The Ioniq Family Looks

While the car is still heavily camouflaged, the Ioniq 6 nose is clearly visible. It's taller than the concept's front, which is a necessary part of building an actual car, but the split headlights and soft curves are all still there.

Images of a second prototype, which has a heavier cover, show even more of the front lights and the Ioniq family nose crease. The parametric pixel lights are showing through the mask, as are the turn signals.

From the side, the car still has some of the concept's looks. No, not the cool yellow glass, but the sharp upturn of the shoulder line in the middle of the rear door, for example. The rear doors are much more door-like this time around.

At the back, the ultra-thin taillights match the nose. This prototype also has a large rear spoiler, which would help with airflow over the tail, likely contributing to the car's estimated range.

Early Look At New Interior

Usually, our spy photographers are greeted with covered interiors but this time around, they got lucky. The inside of this test car is largely uncovered, revealing all kinds of Ioniq 5-style details. The door handles are straight from the Ioniq 5, and the four dots on the airbag cover are, too. The four dots are Morse code for H, so it's a sneaky Hyundai logo that's specific to the EVs and their pixel design.

This is an incredible look at the inside of the car, especially for this early in development. The two screens, one large for the infotainment and a second smaller one for the gauges, are a departure from Hyundai's current monolithic screen look.

The small top screen shows range, speed, and speed limit data. It's higher than usual, putting it in the driver's view without the need to take your eyes off the road. It also happens to be displaying that the car has 338 km of range on an 82% charge. We can work back from that to estimate that this car has a maximum range of around 256 miles.

Of course, we don't know how the car has been driven, and the maximum theoretical range according to the car's computer is 336 miles. In short, let these estimates roll around in your brain, but wait for the official figures before making any final decisions. The on-screen maximum suggests that this car is the smaller 58.3 kWh battery pack, with a WLTP estimate of 260 miles. The 81.4 kWh pack should manage 365.

Most of the center screen is turned off on this prototype. It uses Hyundai's new Pleos system, which was introduced earlier this year. The software is meant to control all aspects of the vehicle, offering more apps and other customizations and features.

Even though it has a new infotainment system, Hyundai is giving the car plenty of buttons. We see knobs for both volume and tuning, HVAC basics, and an interesting button that controls both seat heating and ventilation. Though we're not exactly sure where the gear lever is on this car.

The Hyundai Ioniq 3 will be built in Turkey, the automaker has said. It is set to go on sale in the third quarter of 2026. There are a few strikes against it making it to the US, including that it's small and electric, but that assembly plant might be the final straw. Shipping from Europe to face no incentive, a hefty tariff, and competition from the likes of the Leaf and Bolt EV might be insurmountable.

2025-11-04T04:09:45Z