For those seeking to go all-electric with their daily driver, Kia’s striking, mid-size EV6 crossover offers room, a better-than-average driving range, competitive pricing and notable praise from a heralded group of hard-to-please automotive pundits.
Earlier this year, EV6 earned the distinction of ‘North American Utility Vehicle of the Year’ by a group of 50, well-established scribes (excluding this one) from varying disciplines making up North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle jury.
Within the automotive community, this coveted honor carries more weight and prestige than just about any other auto award found in traditional print, broadcast, online or Facebook posts darting through cyberspace. It’s given in January and for decades kicked off festivities at the Detroit’s North American International Auto Show until that event’s recent migration to September.
Kia’s two-row EV6 debuted in the early 2022 calendar year. It’s not the first EV offered by the South Korean automaker, but certainly the most honored and advanced. It’s sold throughout all 50 states rather solely marketed to coastal communities as was largely the case with many EVs a decade earlier.
The biggest change/addition for 2023 includes an all-new high-performance ‘GT’ trim and the retirement of a base version marketed as ‘Light.’ In the 2024 model year, Kia debuts a larger, three-row all-electric EV9 crossover stablemate.
Both Kia Motors America, and the luxury-appointed Genesis Motors fall under the purview of their parental benefactor, the Hyundai Motor Group, one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates. Economics of scale benefits the trio as all share Hyundai Motor Group’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).
This structure’s akin to a low-to-the-ground skateboard design where battery cells, modules and packs reside below the load floor between front and rear axles. This flexible structure scales up or down accommodating future EV offerings from the trio including the upcoming EV9.
In effect, Kia’s EV6 battery underpinnings remain in step with what’s motivating the luxury-appointed 2023 Genesis GV60, that brand’s first all-electric EV offering.
Kia’s offered EVs during the past seven years built from existing Niro and Soul platforms with internal combustion engine versions also available; but the EV6 design builds as an all-electric vehicle from birth, sharpening style and benefitting from superior weight distribution.
At a quick glance, EV6 could be mistaken for the Model Y ($54,990), automaker Tesla’s second available five-door crossover joining the five-door Model X ($99,990). Both boast a rounded silhouette with a modern personality, but EV6 enjoys a bit more eye-appeal.
With a 114.2-inch wheelbase (distance between front and rear axle) identical to the three-row Kia Telluride Crossover (available only with a conventional internal combustion engine), EV6 offers lots of head and leg room within its five-passenger build and flat floor. With 60/40 split second-row seats folded, a plentiful 50.2 cubic feet of space awaits. Need more storage? Pop open the front hood for covered storage area good for stowing small items as no internal combustion engine stands in the way.
For those new to EVing, it’s a quiet start. When pushing the EV6’s circular electronic start/stop button…. no engine rumble, just a silent animated display of dancing graphics within the expansive, horizontal dash screen.
Three EV6 trims in 2023 include: Wind, GT-Line and new-for 2023 GT, an all-wheel drive exclusive. Wind and GT-Line offer standard rear-wheel drive or optional all-wheel drive.
Our tester this week, the GT all-wheel drive delivers an unprecedented 576 horsepower (or 430 kw), the most potent production Kia ever built to date. Adding all-wheel drive to an electric vehicle simply requires bringing onboard an additional electric traction motor to (in EV6’s case) the front axle. EV6’s front motor generates 160 kilowatts while the rear axle motor kicks in 270 kilowatts.
All this electric power provides a zero-to-60 time in a scant 3.5 seconds according to Kia press releases. Coupled with stiff electronically controlled suspensions, EV6 GT driving performance tilts sporty when compared to non-luxury EV competitors. Unique neon green brake calipers also add a visual note of distinction.
Body-colored, narrow, rectangular electronic door openers rest flat into the body when locked via the key fob. Unlock, and the rear section teeters out simultaneously along with the sideview mirrors allowing ease of opening. The GT’s A, B, C and a portion of the D pillar all enjoy a black hue as do sideview mirrors. With the elimination of rear exhaust pipe(s), the lower back end adds an artistic rather than duty-bound flair.
In fact, the entire bulbous rear adds compelling elements such as a functional lower window lip (black in GT editions) with under lip LED lighting glowing red with distinction at night. Both ends of the lip curve downward to reveal underlip LED-style turn signal blinker bars.
Included with every EV6, Kia’s revised corporate logo where stick-like straight letters intersect, replacing the circular, bold-lettered sans-serif version retired beginning late 2021.
The electric range of the energy-dense 77.4-kilowatt hour battery depends upon the trim selected with the rear-wheel drive Wind and GT- line boasting 310 miles, one of the better non-Tesla, non-luxury-branded numbers available. An all-wheel drive Wind trim gets folks 282 estimated miles, while an AWD GT-Line checks in around the industry average of 252.
The all-wheel drive GT offers a 206 all-electric range on paper but our GT tester overperformed with its range extending upward to 248 when fully charged with electrons thanks to mild late spring temperatures appreciated by its Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt constructed lithium-ion battery pack. As a general rule of thumb, battery estimates dip as outdoor temps head below freezing.
Driving range in EVs, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and conventional gas-electric hybrids all get boosts from regenerative braking technology. Kinetic energy created during the natural braking process is recaptured and stored in the DC battery pack for later use, enhancing mileage estimates.
Pricing for a rear-wheel drive Wind checks in at $48,500 and $52,400 when sporting all-wheel drive. Our all-wheel drive GT checked in at $61,400 with a bottom line reaching $62,865 with dealer installed carpeted floor mats ($170) and destination fee ($1,295). Very few factory options are available in the three selections as each trim level heaps on more standard fare than the rank below.
The Kia EV6 works in tandem with DC Fast Chargers dispensing 350KW (800 volts). What does this mean to the general consumer? Not all DC Fast Chargers, found along interstates and select parking lots, dispense the same amount of speed levels and kilowatts. Direct Current Fast Chargers deliver charging rates (also known as rate of charge) between 50 kilowatts and 350 kilowatts, quite a variation with the higher the number representing a quicker, faster charge time.
Using a best-case scenario, a DC fast charger with a 350KW output would recharge Kia’s EV6 to an 80-percent charge in a relatively short 18 minutes from a depleted state (ten percent or so of electric power remaining). During our week-long test, the 18-minute estimate seemed overly-generous, but still a sizeable time difference when compared to a 50 or 150 kilowatt option.
Investing in a Level 2, 40-amp, garage installed Alternating Current (AC) wall unit charger allows EV6 to reach a 100 percent charge from a 10 percent remaining level through the vehicle’s 11-kilowatt on board charger (OBC) in about seven hours. Level two utilizes 240-volt household current used for home washers, dryers and HVAC units.
A long Level 1 charge chord comes standard, stowed under the cargo region’s flat floor and utilizes 120-volt household current and a common wall socket but generates a paltry four electric miles per hour earning it the ‘trickle charger’ nickname. Investing in a level 2 wall unit charger makes sense when purchasing an all-electric vehicle, but remember, Level 2 wall units offer a wide spectrum of amp ranges affecting charging times. The higher the amp output, the quicker the charging time.
Range anxiety is a term coined a decade-and-a-half ago, describing a possible scenario where remaining battery power is dwindling with no recharge stations anywhere in sight. During the past 15 years, battery range has tripled with the number of charging stations multiplying exponentially every year. We looked range anxiety straight in the eye, taking a long weekend sojourn to south central Wisconsin’s Water Capital of the World about a two-hour, forty-five minute journey from Chicago’s western burbs.
A planned stop at a pre-selected Madison Wal-Mart with Electrify America charging ports worked better than expected. A 350-kilowatt DC fast charger was available and with Electrify America (the franchise supporting this charging station) experiencing apparent technical difficulties, provided the session free of charge. Don’t expect this perk every time, but a pleasant surprise this time around.
Before departing the Wisconsin Dells, our EV6 GT edition got recharged to 100 percent capacity (248 electric miles) via a 180-kilowatt charger at Ho Chunk Casino. Many Casinos, including Ho Chunk provide complimentary EV charging to lure folks in an enjoy a slot or two while the electrons flow. The 248-mile range got us back to the burbs with 48 miles to spare. With a little advanced planning, Range Anxiety amounts to a worry from an earlier era.
Visually apparent once inside, a long black, horizontal digital center housing a highly animated left-side instrument panel (12.3 inches in length) and right-section infotainment region (also measuring 12.4 inches). The right touch-sensitive portion includes a swipe function similar to hand-held Smartphones. The wide-birth flat screen jets slightly above the dashboard’s top, with the shot-gun passenger side’s apex sloping gently downward in a wave-like fashion. A narrow horizontal row of manually adjustable HVAC vents below the screen separates the upper and lower dash.
A second narrow, flat, touch-sensitive screen resides in this lower half handling double duty. The screen toggles between animated HVAC functions and infotainment screen duties via a gentle touch of rather small central screen icons. When displaying infotainment options, twist knobs at each end monitor volume and station select. Switch on over to the HVAC screen and those same flanking knobs perform different functions, in this case raising and lowering dual front temperature zones.
Secondary sound levels and station selection tabs located on the flat-bottom steering wheel’s left side at 3 o’clock. The three-spoke orb also includes a mid-section push button selecting one of three drive modes: eco, sport or normal.
Wireless phone charging is available for Android Auto and Apple Car Play via a flat, well market region at the base of a float-style arm rest between black front buckets with a softer-than-expected cushion sporting day-glow green pipping.
This long, narrow perch-like extension with room below for storage is also home to the circular, electronic gear shifter. Twist left for reverse, right for drive and keep centered for neutral. Park requires pushing down upon a topside center button. An electronic start/stop illuminated-in-white push button is also nearby skewing towards the driver.
A welcome, easy to digest safety nuance includes Kia’s blind spot collision-avoidance assist, in effect temporarily live streaming outside activity within the instrument panel. Streaming starts when activating the turn signal stalk and helps guide drivers as EV6’s bulbous back end enhances naked-eye blind spots.
Recently expanded Federal tax credits make a strong case to purchase available EVs. However, the devils in the details and details remain ever evolving and frustrating at times to decode with a sliding scale of available credits.
In order to qualify for the entire $7,500 tax credit through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), an EV must be assembled in the U.S. and meet a host of other qualifications including battery component requirements. Very few EVs quality for the full $7,500 Federal tax credit (IRS Form 8936) as of this writing (6/21/23) and revamped guidelines entered the fray in March of 2023. The tax credit or a portion there of is taken in the year one takes delivery of the EV.
Unfortunately for EV6 buyers in 2023, no portion of the Federal tax credit is applicable during purchase. However, EV6 does qualify for some tax credits if leasing. The Hyundai Motor Group announced plans in 2022 to open an EV battery cell assembly plant in Georgia to better align with the Inflation Reduction Act. Currently, EV6 assembles in South Korea.
Kia’s EV6 sold comparatively briskly prior to the IRA implementation which, at least in the short term, could serve as a headwind for EV6 sales. However, it has plenty of company as many non-Tesla entry-type EV’s currently assemble outside the U.S.
Another perk awaiting those purchasing the new high-performance GT trim in 2023: 1,000 kilowatt hours of complimentary charging from Electrify America stations redeemable during the subsequent three years. What does this translate to on the road? Approximately 4,000 miles of driving. In addition, all EV6 trims include a 10-year/100,000-mile limited battery warranty protecting the lithium-ion battery.
Price as tested: $62,865
Horsepower: 576
Torque: 545 lb.-ft
Battery Type: Cobalt-Manganese Lithium-Ion
Battery power: 77.4 kilowatts
Battery range: 206 miles
Wheelbase: 114.2 inches
Overall Length: 184.8 inches
Overall Width: 74.4 inches
Overall Height: 114.2 inches
Battery Warranty: 10-year/100,000 miles
Assembly: South Korea