The first threat that any vehicle receives to make an impact is with its styling. Long earlier than reviewers begin seeking to get rear tires to interrupt free, or bury themselves ten menus deep in touchscreens to surmise a vehicle’s actual capabilities, we appraise its sheet steel for a glint of perception into the layout briefs or – deeper still – its authentic purpose. At this, the all-new 2022 Kia EV6 — the business enterprise’s first electric powered-best version — were given me excited lengthy earlier than I’d slid into the driving force’s seat.
Just examine it. It visually sits someplace among a crossover and a wagon, however irrespective of the way you appraise it, it’s beautiful.
Kia has constructed electric powered automobiles withinside the beyond with the EV Niro and Soul, however that is the business enterprise’s first clean-sheet layout. It’s a part of why the EV6 can come up with the money for to be so bold. Based at the E-GMP EV structure shared with sister business enterprise Hyundai – and used on new Hyundai Ioniq 5 – the EV6 isn’t simply Kia’s present day supplying to electric powered vehicle shoppers, it’s a announcement of rationale to critics, consumers, and competition alike that they are able to electrify with the high-quality of the legacy and new-wave automakers, and appearance desirable doing it.
After I’d pulled myself farfar from the heckeblende tail lighting fixtures and double-scalloped hood to surmise its spec sheet, it seems the EV6 makes a stable announcement on paper, too. Kia will provide it with 3 exceptional drivetrains: The “Light” base version trim punches out 167 HP to entirely the rear wheels, while the better tier “Wind” and “GT-Line” trims may be optioned with both a unmarried 225 HP motor riding the rear wheels, or a couple of AC synchronous motors — one on the the front and one on the rear — setting out a mixed 320 HP and a greater-than-decent 446 foot-kilos of torque.
Base shoppers will discover themselves with a fifty eight kWh battery rated at 232 miles of variety, whilst the better-trim Wind and GT-Line are rated at as much as 310 miles on a unmarried rate in their 77.four kWh energy pack. Additionally, Kia’s fast-charging machine can upload over hundred miles of variety in 18 mins assuming you may discover a 350 kW charger, in order to assist lessen journey instances notably whilst 310 miles on my own simply won’t pretty reduce it. A port on the rear gives an opportunity manner to apply energy, offering a 110V outlet able to turning in as much as 1,900 watts with an adapter, aleven though you may’t – but – plug the EV6 immediately right into a home’s breaker board to conquer outages.
Pricing is aggressive for the electrical vehicle market. Kia comes inside extraordinarily near variety of almost each competitor it hopes to place a shot throughout the bow of: the EV6 begins offevolved at $40,900 (plus $1,215 vacation spot fee) for the Light trim, mountain climbing to $55,900 for the fully-loaded twin-motor GT-Line AWD. Unlike with the Ioniq 5, Kia will promote the EV6 in all 50 states from the get-pass.
No count number which trim shoppers choose, they become with a roomy car that well straddles the road among wagon and crossover. With 50.2 cubic toes of shipment area with the rear seats folded, and a Telluride-period wheelbase of 114.2”, it has the scale of a crossover, however – with its 60.8” height, fantastic ahead visibility way to its low hoodline, and vehicle-like seating role – it seems like riding a wagon. Buyers additionally get well included, twin 12.three inch displays that function the tool cluster and the infotainment and navigation displays. CarPlay and Android Auto also are wellknown, albeit best with stressed connectivity. Wireless charging, however, is wellknown from the bottom version up.
More dazzling than comfort, aleven though, is the suite of protection functions at the EV6, which comes wellknown with Kia’s unobtrusive but phenomenally useful Drive Wise help package deal. Navigation-assisted cruise that mechanically slows down on sharp corners, one of the high-quality lane hold structures at the market, and stop-and-pass site visitors cruise manipulate are all wellknown from the bottom Light trim level.
Buyers transferring as much as the GT-Line trim get wellknown blind-spot cameras that show thru the tool cluster on flip sign activation, in addition to 360 diploma parking cameras. In its fully-optioned form, it’s nearly hard to force the EV6 dangerously way to how complete and nicely-included the Drive Wise machine is.
But I’ve discovered that with a variety of the EV market’s contemporary services it’s far almost not possible to glean how a vehicle will sincerely behave from the numbers at the page, or the functions withinside the cabin. ICE automobiles all have a few acquainted trends I’ve learned — a turbocharger’s tsunami of torque whilst it spools, a V8’s earthmoving grunt at low RPM — however this early into the times of electrification it’s tough to surmise simply how any given vehicle will experience really through glancing at a few numbers. To assist me examine simply what the EV6 is made of, Kia tossed me the fobs to a couple of GT-Lines and set me free in wine country.
And withinside the AWD, fully-loaded GT Line with Sport mode engaged, acceleration is downright beautiful in authentic EV party-trick form, with .seventy five most G’s upon launch. What’s greater dazzling, aleven though, is how nicely-composed the EV6 remains after it pulls off the road. As I persisted to push the EV6 nicely beyond wherein a regular crossover need to live composed, it sincerely felt fun to force.
There’s hardly ever any frame roll to talk of, and the AWD does an fantastic activity scrambling for optimum grip, allocating energy to the corners that want it maximum with out hesitation. The digital energy steerage is sharp and, mixed with the extraordinarily robust regenerative braking, facilitates pass the four,six hundred pound wagon round adore it weighs a fragment as much.
Switching lower back to “Normal” or “Eco” modes, aleven though, with their much less-harsh regenerative braking mode engaged, makes it a hugely greater sedate, cushty crossover. In Eco, the acceleration will become downright leisurely and efficient, way to a singular electric powered the front motor grab that lets in the force unit at the the front axle to disengage whilst now no longer needed. Additionally, notwithstanding the shortage of frame roll and standard composure I discovered on the restriction in advance in my force, the suspension stays one of the maximum cushty I’ve discovered at this fee factor whilst meandering via the hills of Northern California at the 101.
Road and tire noise is minimum, and that cushty, vehicle-like seating role makes consuming miles a cinch. With the driving force-help package deal engaged, it’s a satisfaction cruise, specially ensconced withinside the vegan synthetic leather-based the GT-Line is prepared with.
Unfortunately, notwithstanding my pleasure at locating the EV6 had each poise and luxury in motion, I had some gripes with the ergonomics of the interior. The 12.three” major display screen is a contact-activated unit, and whilst it’s included superbly withinside the dash, it’s far really too a ways from the driving force to be effortlessly used whilst riding. The middle console holds the capacitive-contact panel that turns on seat and steerage weather controls, and whilst it’s less difficult to reach, it’s additionally tremendously clean to bump by chance with the palm of your hand whilst seeking to modify the weather manipulate panel immediately above it.
The Meridian sound machine that the GT-Line is prepared with trails at the back of many different branded audio structures at the market, with a disappointing pinnacle cease and minimum bass. And at a lanky 6’2”, I discovered my head a chunk uncomfortably near the roofline, which made the EV6 experience plenty much less roomy than I’d anticipate for a vehicle of this size.
Despite those quibbles, aleven though, the Kia continues to be a markedly compelling access to the EV market. I discovered the riding dynamics most desirable to the rival, similarly-priced Polestar 2. It gives almost the equal area of the Mustang Mach E whilst using and searching like a far smaller car. The interior, notwithstanding the much less-than-perfect touchscreen positioning, is hugely greater pleasant to the driving force than Volkswagen’s ID.four or Tesla’s Model three. And it does all this whilst supplying riding variety that places it on the very pinnacle of the sub-$60,000 EV market.
As a result, the EV6 is an effortlessly endorsed must-check for a potential EV shopper. It seamlessly combines the high-quality attributes of a crossover and a wagon in one of the maximum appealing automobiles of the last decade accordingly a ways, and does so at a fee factor this is extraordinarily aggressive. For Kia, it seems, the primary time setting electric powered first is the charm.