Kia EV6 Review

Exterior

What is the Kia EV6? In our buying guides we have put it in the category of electric SUVs, but it is very far from the image of an off-roader that SUVs evoke. It is a car with sporty features, with a height more typical of a sedan and with a ground clearance of just 16 cm.

It is also a large car, which reaches 4,680 mm . It is also very wide, since it goes to 1,880 mm without counting the mirrors and measures 1,550 mm to the roof, far from what we understand by an SUV. If you choose the GT Line finish you will have a slightly longer, wider and lower car.

I like to see the reaction of my neighbors, who have classified it as strange and futuristic. Also from the children when they leave school, who pointed it out a lot. Especially the front, with very narrow standard LED headlights and sequential daytime running lights. On the very bulky hood, the brand’s new logo already appears and the lower air intake gives it more visual width. By the way, the bumpers on the GT-Line versions change quite a bit.

On the side we have the standard 19-inch wheels (they can be up to 21) and we like the flush handles. You press, it opens out and then you pull mechanically.

There is not much glass surface and in fact it is lost towards the back, where it is confused with a spoiler that, in addition to a curious shape, is backlit. By the way, this unit is in Glacier white , new to the range along with Forest green .

At the rear, the most striking thing is the light signature that runs through the entire car as if wanting to form a second spoiler and that has sequential turn signals. They are joined at the bottom with a chrome strip with geometric motifs at the ends. And on the right side, the charging socket.

Interior

If it is groundbreaking on the outside, it is also inside. What is most striking without a doubt are the two 12.3-inch screens joined with a curved glass. The one you have before you is the instrumentation and it shows the driving data in a quite legible way and changes the way it is displayed depending on the driving mode you choose.

It is accompanied by another central for the infotainment system. It works quite well and has many functions but I blame it for the same as other cars in the group, that it uses icons that are too small and sometimes it is hard to hit when running.

And they should improve both voice commands and maps. Of course, being compatible with Apple Carplay and Android Auto you can use those of your favorite application without problem… as long as you have a USB cable, because it is not touch. The USB-C socket, by the way, does not work for that connection.

I particularly like that it retains some knobs. We have the one with the four blinkers, vital in an emergency. And then we have an area of ​​touch controls that varies in function: either they are used to control the air conditioning, or the sound system. Quite an ingenious solution.

Interesting also the center console. It is high and in it we have the rotary change control, similar to the one you find in a Kia Sorento. There is no shortage of spaces for drinks and an area to charge the mobile by induction. If your terminal does not have that functionality, you have USB sockets in the lower part of the console, where there is a huge space to leave things, in addition, of course, to the central chest under the armrest.

It has seats upholstered in vegan leather, with electrical adjustments. They are comfortable and quite wide, so they fit people of any size. As the round steering wheel is adjustable for height and depth, it is very easy to find the ideal driving position, which is not too high.

And behind, because with 2,900 mm of wheelbase, the space for the legs is very large. For the head it is fine for adults of normal size, but the tall ones may end up rubbing. The seats are reclining and that can help in those cases.

As usual in the electric ones, you sit a little lower, so you have to go with your knees more bent than usual. Or stretch them out, but there’s not much room to put your feet under the front seats either.

Then there are curious things, which show that the brand is doing well and dares to innovate: The air outlets are in the central pillars and the USB-C sockets have been placed on the side of the front seat, whose rear part has a form that enables it to be used as a hanger. And underfoot, a 230-volt outlet.

Trunk

Opening the tailgate we access the main trunk. Announces 490 liters of capacity , a good figure but not as much as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (531 liters).

It is a fairly deep and quite wide space, but with little height to the curtain. It is something typical of electric propulsion cars. The electric motors take up less space than the combustion ones and are placed between the rear wheels… at the cost of losing height in the trunk.

Under the floor we have a double bottom, but to be able to use it completely you have to remove the floor, it is not possible to place it in the lowest position. Yes, there is a space to place the tray if you remove it. And further down, a space to store tools.

There is no lack of practical elements such as hooks to secure the load or a 12 V socket. It is possible to carry long and narrow objects using the hatch in the backrest of the central seat without dispensing with the side seats. And, if you need more space, fold down the seat backs. Divided into two parts, you get a completely flat space with a capacity of 1,300 litres. But there is more.

And it is that as the engine is in the rear, there is space in front for a second cargo space. It has a plastic lid and has a 52 liter capacity. It’s not as big as the one on the Mustang Mach-E we tested, but the Skoda Enyaq, for example, doesn’t. If it has all-wheel drive, yes, it stays at 20 liters.

Equipment and Price

The unit you see corresponds to the simplest finish in the range, called Air . We say simple, but not at all basic. As standard, it has the 12.3-inch Supervision instrument panel and the second screen for the UVO COnnect infotainment system that includes a good rear view camera, connectivity services or compatibility with Android Auto and Apple Carplay.

Also standard are 19-inch wheels, vegan leather seats, driver’s seat with electric adjustment, two-zone climate control or wireless charger.

And, of course, a host of driving aids such as adaptive cruise control with Stop&go, lane keeping assist, speed limit recognition, fatigue detection, high beam assist, front brake assist, lane detection in heavy traffic, rain sensor and lights or the front and rear parking sensors.

This termination can be completed with the Comfort Pack . For 3,100 euros more, it adds the relax-type front seats (electrically adjustable with lumbar adjustment and with memory function (for the driver), the blind spot detection system, the dynamic assistant for adaptive high beams and the Head-up Display with augmented reality.

The 50,350 euros can be greatly reduced with offers and purchase aid. You can find Kia EV6 deals in our new car section, published by official dealers of the brand. We also have interesting tools to finance the car and be able to pay it comfortably month by month.

Motor

The basic version has a 170 hp (125 kW) engine associated with a 58 kW battery. Above are already the Long Range versions , with a 77.4 kWh battery .

Battery	Autonomy	Motor
58 kWh	394 km	125 kW (170 CV)
77,4 kWh	528 km	139 kW (229 CV)

With that same battery is the all- wheel drive version with 325 hp (168 kW ), which has a 224 hp rear motor and a 101 hp front motor that only comes into play in loss of traction or in very strong accelerations. Of course, its autonomy is reduced to 484 CV.

The truth is that the variant we have in hand is in my opinion the most interesting. For being the one with the greatest autonomy, with those almost 530 km approved. And because it announces some interesting features, since it reaches 100 km/h from a standstill in 7.3 seconds , with a top speed of 185 km/h.

In addition, the Kia EV6 has two advantages:

• First, the electrical system is bidirectional. It serves to recharge the battery and can also supply power. To any appliance or even another car.
• Second, the 800-volt network . It is something that the Porsche Taycan boasted, for example, and allows very energetic electricity shots, up to 240 kW in fast charge in this version. In 18 minutes you can go from 10 to 80% charge, or recover 100 kilometers of autonomy in 5 minutes). Other advantages are that it uses energy more efficiently or that it needs fewer cables and connectors, and it saves weight. Tech hits? That in Spain you cannot have a heat pump.

Behavior

Share many elements with the Hyundai Ioniq 5, but Kia has sought a more sporty behavior. It is due to the work and grace of the suspension, which is harder and hence the imperfections of the terrain are a little more noticeable. We can’t describe it as uncomfortable either, but it is true that you notice potholes more than in an Enyaq.

That harder suspension is certainly appreciated on curvy roads. It is a car that hardly swings which is very far from the usual behavior of an SUV. It doesn’t reach the level of cornering of a Ford Mustang Match-E (we tried the all-wheel drive), but it is very good in this regard.

In addition to suspensions, the address is very well tuned. That helps to move with agility, because the 229 CV and 350 Nm of torque are more than enough to move with agility. The car weighs 1,985 kg on the scale, little for an electric car of its size.

It accelerates more forcefully than an Enyaq or a Volkswagen ID.4, which are clearly heavier. Especially in Sport mode, the sportiest. There is one that prioritizes comfort (Normal) and another consumption (Eco). And if you press the steering wheel longer, one to drive on snow (Snow). The differences between them are remarkable.

And I also liked the brakes, with good touch to be an electric and easy to dose to slow down smoothly. And this is where we also have to talk about regenerative braking. We have cams behind the wheel and with them we control how much the car retains. From a 0 mode where the car coasts as much as possible to i-Pedal mode where the car stops completely when you take your foot off the accelerator. There is also a Smart mode that varies the intensity depending on the traffic or the route you follow.

Playing with the regeneration you can get reasonable consumption. Approves 16.5 kWh/100 km of consumption. On highways I have moved around 21 kWh/100 km and, combining secondary roads and some city, I have been able to lower it to 18.5. That leaves us with autonomies in mixed use of the environment of 350-400 km, which is not bad.

Hyundai EV6 Review by CubzAuto

The first fruit of the specific platform for electric vehicles has been good. It is a car that has risked in design. Perhaps too much for some, but Kia also wants to show how far it can go in electric mobility and be noticed.

Good interior qualities, great equipment even in this Air finish, unusual technical solutions such as the 800v network and dynamic behavior that convinces on all types of routes, being comfortable but without sacrificing agility.

Is your competition better at something? In other rivals we find wireless Apple Carplay and somewhat better resolved rear seats. Perhaps in the city it is where it stands out the least compared to other electric ones, since it turns somewhat less and being wide, the maneuvers are somewhat more complicated.

And then there is the price. It is not cheap, as it is comparable to that of an equivalent Ford Mustang Mach-E. But the innovations are so many and its performance so good that it is not surprising either.