Tesla may grab all the attention when it comes to electric vehicles, but Hyundai just bested the market leader on who has the more efficient EV.
Hyundai's Ioniq 6, which goes on sale this spring, has been rated higher than Tesla's most efficient Model 3 on the EPA MPGe scale.
With a combined MPGe rating of 140, the base SE Long Range version of its 2023 Ioniq 6 with rwd also matched the industry's top two nameplates on the EPA efficiency scale — the 2023 Lucid Air Pure awd with 19-inch wheels and the 2023 Lucid Air Touring awd with 19-inch wheels. Both Lucid models are also rated at 140 combined MPGe.
Tesla's popular Model 3 rwd has an MPGe of 132.
MPGe, or miles per gallon equivalent, is the EPA's calculation of an EV's energy efficiency, equal to miles per gallon on an internal combustion engine vehicle. The measurement equates 33.7 kilowatts to 1 gallon of gasoline.
Hyundai said the 2023 Ioniq 6 SE Long Range with rwd has an EPA-estimated range of 361 miles, while the same model with awd has an EPA-estimated range of 316 miles.