Kia’s new EV6 electric crossover goes straight to the head of the pack

HEALDSBURG, Calif.—Remember how, a few decades ago, the Japanese car industry came and ate everyone’s lunch? History doesn’t repeat, the aphorism goes, but it does rhyme. And this time around, the lunch-eating is courtesy of Korea’s automakers.

That’s especially true with electric vehicles. The second-generation EVs from Kia and parent company Hyundai were some of the few to get close to Tesla-levels of powertrain efficiency. The companies applied that knowledge to create E-GMP, a purpose-built 800 V platform for larger rear- and all-wheel-drive EVs.

The first vehicle to get that powertrain was the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which went straight to the top of the class when we tested it in late 2021. Today, we drive the Ioniq 5’s cousin, the Kia EV6. If the Ioniq 5 is all pixels and angles, the EV6 starts with a similar bone structure but drapes it in a much curvier crossover body. Everyone’s tastes differ, so I try not to dwell on a car’s looks, but from some angles the EV6 is a better-looking Lamborghini Urus. And its rear styling definitely reminds me of the Aston Martin DBX.

The EV6 is distinctive. The rear features a Kamm-like tail design.

Credit: Jonathan Gitlin

Karim Habib, Kia’s head of design, humored the suggestion. He conceded that, from the rear and if you squinted, “there are some similarities. But no. For us what was important was to use the potential of the architecture,” he said. “What EV platforms really allow us is definitely more freedom, and also, I think, just in general, there’s an openness for body types that are maybe not clearly placed in one segment or another. We just wanted to try something like that.”

The associated journalists at the first drive in California had different opinions about which form factor best describes the EV6. The Kia staffers on hand, however, were resolute in calling the EV6 a CUV.

“Having this flat floor allows you to sit in a more flexible way,” Habib explained. “You don’t have a particularly fixed space for your feet or your heels. You can twist, you can slide. Yes, the disadvantage is it does build more height, but there are some things that, in return, help us.” He pointed to the trend for ever-bigger wheels that make a big car read as a smaller one until you get up close.

“So the wheel-to-body relationship stays quite healthy,” he told me. “What becomes a bit more tricky is that, when you go shorter, you stay high. That’s why you see so many EVs in the crossover or SUV direction, because it just works.”

At first glance, the EV6 reads as a smaller car, but that’s the 20-inch wheels playing tricks on your visual processing.

Credit: Jonathan Gitlin

E-GMP was always meant for larger vehicles (Kia has cheaper front-wheel-drive EVs like the Niro for the actual small-car market). And so the EV6 is bigger than you first think. At 184.3 inches (4,681 mm), the EV6 is a couple of inches longer than the Ioniq 5, but its 114.2 inches (2,901 mm) wheelbase is slightly shorter than its predecessor. (Yes, that’s also the same wheelbase as Kia’s much larger Telluride three-row SUV.)

Three powertrains to choose from

The EV6’s powertrain layout is conventional for a battery EV, with a slab of lithium-ion polymer cells between the axles. The entry-level model is the $40,900 (before tax credits) rear-wheel-drive EV6 Light. The Light’s 58 kWh battery pack powers a 167 hp (125 kW), 258 lb-ft (350 Nm) AC synchronous permanent-magnet motor which, in turn, drives the rear wheels. Curb weight for this version is 4,017 lbs (1,822 kg), of which 816 lbs (370 kg) are from the battery pack.

The Light has a range of 232 miles (373 km). The E-GMP platform can fast charge to 80 percent in 18 minutes when connected to a 350 kW charger or 63 minutes if you can only find a 50 kW DC charger. (Technically, the smaller pack won’t charge at more than 180 kW but you’ll need to find a 350 kW-capable charger to see those speeds.) Level 2 AC charging will take just under six hours at 11 kW.

I can easily believe the EV6 will achieve 4 miles/kWh when driven by normal people on normal roads.

Credit: Jonathan Gitlin

Kia didn’t have any EV6 Lights for us to sample, but we did spend a good amount of time behind the wheel of the other two powertrain variants. Both use a 77.4 kWh (gross capacity) battery pack. The single-motor RWD configuration sports 225 hp (168 kW) and 258 lb-ft (350 Nm) to achieve 310 miles (499 km) of range. The twin-motor all-wheel-drive arrangement is 320 hp (239 kW) and 446 lb-ft (605 Nm) for a range of 274 miles (441 km).

As with the less-powerful EV6, these are AC permanent-magnet synchronous motors. The motors can rev to 15,000 rpm (versus 11,000 rpm in the Niro) and use square copper hairpins and oil cooling. The front motor, if fitted, is connected to a disconnect device so it can be rapidly uncoupled from the wheels to prevent drag. To maximize energy recovery through regenerative braking, however, the motor always recouples when you decelerate.

Both motor configurations are available in either Wind trim ($47,000 for RWD or $50,900 for AWD) or the slightly lighter but sportier-looking GT-Line ($51,200 for RWD, $55,900 for AWD). (All these prices are before tax credits, by the way.) These EV6s weigh a bit more—the larger pack weighs 1,052 lbs (477 kg), so curb weights range from 4,225 to 4,661 lbs (1,916-2,114 kg).

Charging times for the larger pack are the same, regardless of whether it’s a single- or dual-motor version. A 350 kW charger (actual max power: 240 kW) will get you to 80 percent in 18 minutes, while a 150 kW-rated fast charger does the job in 25 minutes. (Unlike many other EVs, the EV6’s platform allows it to fast charge at either 800 V or 400 V. How? The motor and inverter act as a DC-DC converter.) For everyday charging at home or work, expect a full charge in just over seven hours with an 11 kW (48 A) AC source.

The EV6’s cabin is spacious.

Kia

The EV6’s cabin is spacious. Kia

There is plenty of rear leg and headroom.

Kia

There is plenty of rear leg and headroom. Kia

The blind-spot monitor shows what’s behind you when you use a turn signal. But the highway driving assist can go a long time before prompting you to keep your hands on the wheel.

Kia

The blind-spot monitor shows what’s behind you when you use a turn signal. But the highway driving assist can go a long time before prompting you to keep your hands on the wheel. Kia

There is plenty of rear leg and headroom. Kia

The blind-spot monitor shows what’s behind you when you use a turn signal. But the highway driving assist can go a long time before prompting you to keep your hands on the wheel. Kia

Kia’s new infotainment system is better than the one you’ll find in a VW ID.4, but some drivers might prefer Ford’s Sync 4a in the Mustang Mach-E, which has slightly better voice commands and now does full-screen CarPlay.

Kia

Wireless phone charging is standard across the range, but you’ll need to plug in via USB-A if you want to cast your device. There are USB-C charging ports front and rear.

Kia

You can easily toggle through the four increasing modes of lift-off regen with this paddle. The paddle on the right side of the wheel let’s you go down through the modes.

Kia

There’s 24.4 cubic feet (690 L) of cargo space with the rear seats in use or 50.2 cubic feet (1,422 L) when the rear seats are folded down.

Jonathan Gitlin

The charge port lives behind a door.

Jonathan Gitlin

Equipment levels are generous, even with the cheaper EV6 Light. The smaller-battery EV6, however, has to do without the optional heat pump or a vehicle-to-load ability to supply 120 V AC power. Most other features are standard across the entire EV6 line-up, including a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system running Kia’s new Kia Connect platform (which includes wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), wireless charging, and a complement of driver safety systems like adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping, and automatic emergency braking.

The cruise control on the GT-Line and (sold-out) First Edition has a machine-learning function that learns your preferred driving style. Both trims let you initiate automatic lane changes via a turn signal. However, driver monitoring, such as it is, is done solely with a steering wheel torque sensor. Several journalists on the first drive noted that they were able to travel for some minutes before their cars prompted them to keep their hands on the wheel.

It’s a driver’s EV

The sinuous roads of Sonoma County are not entirely representative of the daily life of an EV, but they did allow me to give the EV6’s chassis a workout. In 2015, Hyundai Motor Group hired Albert Biermann away from BMW in order to head its R&D programs, and his influence on Kia’s vehicle dynamics can be expected to last well beyond his recent retirement.