► Kia EV6 electric SUV tested
► Kia’s take on the Jaguar i-Pace
► Same E-GMP skeleton as Ioniq 5
The Kia EV6 is one of the best electric cars on sale right now – let alone one of the best electric SUVs.
Based on the same dedicated EV platform as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the EV6 aims to continue the work of the Stinger by proving that the South Korean brand can mix it with historically more premium brands in the ongoing switch to electric. Priced in the UK from £44,195 (but with more expensive versions available), the EV6 is officially in the territory of electric Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW EVs, not to mention Polestar and, of course, Tesla…
Our Kia EV6 review tests the cut-price Jaguar i-Pace rival from Korea – with driving impressions, prices, spec details and a detailed verdict you can trust. Read on for our full UK road test.
Looks slick… But what exactly is the Kia EV6?
Good question. See, in pics the EV6 looks like a large hatchback, yet in reality it’s a full-size SUV that’s about as long and wide as an Audi Q5. Anyone who’s seen an Ioniq 5 up close will know how deceiving the manufacturer pics can be when it comes to scale – and the electric Kia is a much bigger car than it first appears.
The front is designed around Kia’s ‘Digital Tiger Face’ (yes, really) and uses the ‘Tiger Nose Grille’ from the e-Niro and other Kia models. This, together with the distinctive headlight pattern, sizeable rear spoiler and angular posterior mean that – love it or loathe it – the Kia EV6’s design stands out among often more generic contemporaries.
It’s a monospace concept and this brings one great benefit: interior space, and lots of it.
How fast is the EV6?
It depends which version you go for. All EV6s get a 77.4kWh battery (bigger than the Ioniq 5’s 72.6kWh unit, but there’s a choice between a rear-wheel drive single-motor variant and the all-wheel drive dual-motor model. The former develops 226bhp and 258lb ft of torque, managing the 0-62mph sprint in 7.3 seconds, while the latter makes 321bhp, 446lb ft and hits 62mph in 5.2 seconds.
Many might be expecting a little more from Kia’s flagship EV, but it’s important to note that the most recent electric cars aren’t boasting about the headline acceleration figures they once did. The market is changing as EVs become more accepted – customers are rightly demanding more well-rounded models that have more than just crazy speed to shout about.
Performance from the AWD EV6 feels the same as the stats would suggest. It’s more than quick enough to embarrass most things on the road, but never feels like it’s about to take your head off. Accelerating to 62mph is a brisk experience, but the increase in speed begins to drop off noticeably at motorway speeds.
How does the Kia EV6 handle?
There’s no denying that the EV6 is exceptionally easy to drive once you get over the sheer width of it. There are three driving modes (Eco, Normal and Sport), with each doing exactly what it says on the tin and feeling perceptibly different. Regenerative braking is controlled via paddles on the back of the wheel: tap the lefthand paddle (marked minus) to increase the regen, the right paddle (marked +) to reduce. Single-pedal driving is very easy.
With a kerbweight of just over 2 tonnes, the 2022 Kia EV6 isn’t actually the heaviest electric SUV out there, yet it’s still enough to cause headaches when travelling through a corner. Especially when the EV6 is only available on passive frequency selective dampers (the flagship GT model will be on an adaptive set-up).
To combat this, Kia has stiffened up the front and rear spring rates compared with the Ioniq 5, as well as increasing the available damper force.
The result is a car that feels a good couple of hundred kilos lighter than it is, showing off admirable agility in tighter bends and high-speed direction changes. You can even – in greasy conditions – bring about controlled oversteer on corner exit, the rear-biased powertrain enabling deft adjustability through each phase of the bend. As if any Kia EV6 customer would ever want to drive their electric car thus…
What’s more impressive is that this doesn’t come at the expense of a poor ride even on the larger 20-inch wheels. Sure, it’s firmer than the Ioniq 5 hatchback, but it’s a long way from being close to uncomfortable. In fact, owing to the extra body control some may prefer the way it tackles a twisty medium speed road at a swift pace. Wind noise is perceptible above 60mph, but it’s not enough to spoil a well-judged driving experience.
We’ve also driven EV6s on the smaller 19-inch wheels and can report this is a really good set-up, with a plump ride and decent grip. As ever, less is sometimes more…
How much range and how long to charge a Kia EV6?
Lots and not long – is the short answer. Range for the RWD version is quoted at up to 328 miles on the WLTP test cycle, with this dropping down to 300 miles for AWD cars with the 20-inch wheels. Crucially, though, the range read-out doesn’t fluctuate wildly depending on how you drive the car. What you see is, bar exceptional circumstances, what you get.
We’d go so far as to say that the Kia EV6 holds charge during mixed driving better than pretty much any of its rivals. Hyundai and Kia, along with Tesla, really have aced this energy management and battery tech; we managed an easy 4.6 miles per kilowatt hour on the commute without trying too hard.
And when you do eventually run out of juice, you’ve got the benefit of an 800-volt charging architecture that can be used with the UK’s small but growing network of ultra-fast chargers. Find one (it needs to be 220kWh rated or more), and the EV6 can go from 0-80% battery capacity in just 18 minutes, with a 62-mile top-up taking just 4.5 minutes. Deeply impressive stuff and enough to dispel any notion of range anxiety.
The recharging flap nestles behind a hidden flap by the rear tailgate; the main socket is for a universal Type 2 plug, while the rubber cover removes to allow for DC rapid charging in public.
Any other good tech?
All versions get twin 12.3-inch touchscreens with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard, as well as a suite of safety aids. On higher spec cars (the trim structure starts at Air, then GT-Line then GT-Line S), features like an augmented realty head-up display are added, as is a greater spread of driver assistance tech and wireless phone charging. Of particular note, is the side rear facing cameras activating when indicating, giving you a clear over-the-shoulder view on the dash display.
It’s all very high-end gadgetry, and it fits in well with the overall look of the cabin. Materials feel relatively expensive and well-trimmed, the layout is impressive and there’s a genuine impression that Kia has thrown a good deal of its considerable resources in to making the interior a nice place to be.
We particularly approved of the climate control dials that double up as the radio volume adjustment and tuner at the touch of a button. Just watch out for the small, capacitive digital heater controls – they can be fiddly and adjusting fan speed is a frustrating experience for those with big fingers.
Another fiddly detail is the pop-out door handles. Cool gadget? Hardly. They feel overwrought and fiddly to us.
And the rest of the car?
Owing to the EV6’s size, the interior is deceptively large. The lack of a transmission tunnel means there’s a huge amount of storage space under the central column of switches up front, while rear seat passengers benefit from greater footroom should you want to carry the maximum five occupants. Rear leg and headroom are outstanding. There are even USB-C chargers built into the seatbacks.
Kia EV6 boot space is less impressive thanks to a shallow load area and intruding wheelarches, yet there’s still enough for 490 litres worth of luggage with the rear seats in place and 1300 litres with them folded down. The ‘frunk’ meanwhile, is small and barely worth mentioning; at least it has a covered box to stow your charging cables in the nose under the bonnet.
Verdict
There’s no denying that the Kia EV6 is a hugely capable EV that sits comfortably among traditionally more prestigious rivals and more than holds its own. The range, charging speeds, tech, overall drive and inevitable reliability are all selling points in their own right, yet put them together and they bring the EV6 close to being a five-star car.
It’s also worth noting that this is a far more impressive effort than the previous flagship of the Kia model range. The Stinger is a loveable thing with tonnes of charm, yet it simply doesn’t have the across-the-board competence (in the context of rivals) that the EV6 does.
We hope this Kia EV6 review has persuaded you that it’s one of the best electric cars money can buy. That’s some achievement and shows just how far the Koreans have come.