The Hyundai Concept THREE proves to be a delightful treat with its bag of tricks
As car enthusiasts today, it can be disheartening and something of a horror-show to see the noble automobile reduced to mere A-to-B transport appliance status in recent times, which makes the Hyundai Concept THREE such a breath of fresh air.
With new electric vehicle (EV) brands entering the fray, the emphasis these days is more on price than product. Even when the product is discussed, it dissolves into a debacle of one-upmanship that sees features and equipment items clinically crossed off a checklist, with everything but the kitchen sink included in the latest EV debutantes.
This situation should come as little surprise, because new EV brands with little / no history effectively compete against the legacy car brands by serving as low hanging fruit to consumers in order to disrupt the industry and gobble up market share. After all, in the price-sensitive mass market segment, price speaks a lot louder than pedigree.
See also: Touring Jeju-do in a Hyundai Ioniq 5
So, even if you do wield a big stick, there is no treading softly in such a competitive market.
There is too much distracting flash-bang (flashy ads / events / promos and best bang for buck), as well as in most cases, more equipment than the space shuttle (and certainly, the legacy brands at any given price-point).
Judging from the leaps and bounds by which the new EV brands have begun to dominate the Singapore car retail landscape, it is clearly working too. When you are pinching pennies, it is hard to ignore how attractive many of these propositions are, especially if the sole purpose is nothing more inspirational than A-B-A commuting.
See also: Simon Loasby talks to us about the Hyundai Concept THREE
This has forced established car brands to pivot and reimagine how their cars should be offered. With legacy “luggage”, brands caught wrong-footed in the electrification battle cannot afford an all-out price war against these new brands. In many ways, it is an uphill struggle against rivals that engineer appliances first, automobiles second, because there is no legacy or corporate heritage to follow.
Cars used to be fun, but they have become more functional these days, reduced to bullet points or ticks on a spec check-list derived from the prevailing market leading models.
In a sea of sameness, the Concept THREE blows into the IAA Mobility 2025 show in Munich, and we’re given a closed-room pre-show peek at Hyundai’s littlest Ioniq prototype yet, which is expected to join the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Ioniq 9 when it makes production.
Hyundai seems to be playing with a good hand, as the full deck of its product portfolio spans ICE to full-electric, which caters to a wide range of consumers. The brand offers different powertrain alternatives as options, as opposed to treating BEVs as a foregone conclusion.
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The brand eschews a family look to its cars, preferring instead to adopt a “Hyundai look”, with shared aesthetic elements that show a kinship and bind them together, as opposed to a common “face”. (photo above by: Zora Yu)
There’s certainly nothing common about the Concept THREE hatchback, which embodies Hyundai’s strikingly sculpted “Art of Steel” design language, as well as features plenty of cool aesthetic elements both inside and out that spark joy in this jaded scribe.
With the chirpy cheeky Concept THREE, the brand hopes to take the fight to the European compact EV segment and tap into a younger audience (or even empty nesters) in search of a fun-sized, commuting companion with intelligently optimised interior space in urban environments.
At production, the Concept THREE will to sit under the Ioniq umbrella (rumoured to be either the Ioniq 2, or even Ioniq 3 – don’t forget, the SEVEN Concept from 2021 would become the Ioniq 9 in production form) to complement its existing mid-sized and large EV models.
In the flesh, there’s a little bit of the Veloster about the Concept THREE’s edgy silhouette, but the prototype features a more dynamic and aerodynamic “Aero Hatch” profile, which incorporates a vertical tailgate. To our minds, its sporty shape almost demands that there be a powerful N version, eh Hyundai?
The lemon-tinted glass of the windows, windscreens and rim accents are intended to mirror the cycling sunglasses worn when the going gets fast, which creates a more active impression. In this case, it ties in nicely with the Moonbeam Yellow cabin theme.
The pixel lighting elements will be a familiar sight to fans of the current Ioniq range, but these are elevated to Parametric Pixel status in the Concept THREE, which gives front and rear light-signatures a greater depth and a stronger visual identity.
There’s even a pixel board in the front that displays animated graphics.
Like the Insteroid concept (with its Mr Boost), there’s an interactive emotional companion for the Concept THREE, Mr Pix (pictured above).
In addition to little notes (“Smile you’re being recorded”, “May the downforce be with you” and “Smile2Unlock”), Mr Pix features prominently throughout the car, with these discreet Easter eggs helping to bring back some of the fun to one’s daily commutes.
In case you’re wondering, the objective of the Concept THREE isn’t to impress, but to initiate interaction and engage the emotions of its occupants, especially once they are ensconced within the cabin.
We like that there isn’t a humongous screen as a centrepiece in the Concept THREE to dominate the “living space” and it is nice for a legacy brand like Hyundai to elevate it beyond appliance status.
Some brands still consider it a badge of honour to have the largest touchscreen display in the market, but that is very gimmicky and gauche to us.
It is a good thing then, that the interactive and aesthetic elements in the Concept THREE don’t go overboard and are more quirky and whimsical than garish.
This is altogether more conducive for face-to-face chit-chat, so you don’t need to bury your nose in technology by attempting to scroll through a gazillion features had a touchscreen been there.
Finished in sustainable ocean waste textiles and lightweight aluminum foam, the cabin is designed around a “furnished space” concept. The calm environs are intended to be welcoming, warm and intuitive, with modular “Bring Your Own Lifestyle” (BYOL) widgets (think peg-board modularity) that can be configured to one’s liking.
It’s fabulous that the Concept THREE is designed to put the occupants first, and there is ample opportunity for face-time, even in such a futuristic city commuter.
It brings humans back to the forefront, with features and functions geared for Man, so you never need to feel you are a slave to the machine… and this is a neat trick.
