1. Introduction, Design and Appearance
2. Interior/Features, Practicality/Space
3. Driving Experience, Charging/Range
   Competition and Conclusion

Driving Experience

The EV6 is quiet, torquey, and easy to drive, with slightly stiff suspension that can get quite jiggly. Yes, it’s just like the Polestar 2 and Tesla Model 3 – because to a much larger extent than ICE cars, EVs drive very similarly. 

This is not a bad thing, since it translates into tranquil urban commuting. Like its rivals, the noises that disrupt the peace all come from external sources, the roar of a diesel HGV, even the tyre hiss of a van or sports car.

With the ease of urban driving and the very comfy seats, plus all the nice amenities, the EV6 makes the urban grind quite tolerable, even enjoyable. It also has clever driver support systems – the automatic regenerative braking adjusts the ‘engine’ braking cleverly, without sudden jerks, and the adaptive cruise control and lane keeping/steering assist all do the job well in traffic. Another useful feature is the lane monitor camera system first seen on the Kia Sorento. 

There are no special chassis differences between the GT Line and Standard cars, and both run on similar 19-inch wheels. The car’s EV-specific platform – E-GMP – shows its not just technology bluster.  It weighs just over two-tonnes, which is actually rather svelte as this class of EVs go. And it’s relatively nimble and weatherly, with little of the slop and wallow that heavier EVs show.

It isn’t super-torquey quick, but it is more than fast enough for most people. In sport mode it makes a little more electronically-generated noise, but make no mistake, this charges faster than a Taycan, but isn’t near it in dynamic terms. 

Our complaints? The steeply-raked A-pillars do make for tricky sight-lines, and there’s noticeable tyre noise above 75km/h. We also suspect the single motor Standard model will be more enjoyable to drive, since it’s lighter and rear-wheel drive in the bargain, since this often is true for petrol-powered cars too. 

Kia’s Niro EV was one of the longest-ranging EVs we drove, even in 2021, and the Kia EV6 is even more adept at going the distance. Officially, the car does 17.2kWh/100km, and our ham-footed test drive over 150km clocked in 17.3kWh/100km. If you stick further away from triple digits, especially on the highway, you can bring that down to 16-ish kWh/100km, and around 450-plus km per full charge.

As for charging, the car takes around eight hours at the standard 11kW wallbox rate. Which brings us to the Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion of the World question: Does the super fast charging matter?

Yes and no. Yes because even the Porsche Taycan takes 22.5 minutes to go from 10 to 80 percent, compared to 18 minutes for the EV6. Tesla’s Model Y takes ‘around 20 minutes’.

No, because Singapore’s fastest DC chargers currently top out at 150kW. 350kW chargers are still a few years out, and the only 350kW fast charger we’ve seen in person is Hyundai’s concept E-Pit, and super-fast chargers are also super-expensive.

Kia doesn’t provide an official figure for that speed of DC charging, but our estimate would be around half an hour. So while it can’t quite go at its maximum charge rate just yet, prospective owners might be glad to know it’s very future proof and leading the EV charging tech race for now. 

Competition and Pricing

From what you’ve read, you can gather that the EV6 is an extremely capable car – one that you could rightly consider to be one of the most technologically-capable EVs on the market now. Its killer feature is – through no fault of its own – not applicable just yet, but it’ll still be a point of pride if you’re the sort to get all amped up by future proofing. 

The real problem for now, is that nobody has been able to reach Tesla’s performance at the same price. The EV6 GT Line splits the Model Y RWD and Model Y Performance in both price and performance terms, with the former offering excellent dollar value. And if you look to the Continent, the Polestar 2’s pricing is almost the same as the Kia’s across the two variants.

In other words, even in an EV world, the Kia ain’t cheap. It is, in fact, Kia’s most expensive car to date. Scary fact spat out, COE prices are a big part of that – the EV6 would be much more palatable at a S$220k price point, though its rivals would still be in lock-step with it. In that sense, it needs an owner who’s not afraid to rumble on the streets without falling back on a badge.

Conclusion 

The Kia EV6 is the Korean company’s most impressive car to date, in sheer technology terms: It looks very cool, it drives well, is long-ranging, and has a blend of tech and qualities that make a driver’s life easier, and more comfortable.

The verdict is this : there’s enough pros and cons, branding aside, that an EV buyer would be remiss not to consider the EV6 here, even against Polestar and Tesla. If these EVs were wrestlers and we threw them all in the ring, the EV6 could easily come out on tops, they’re that competitive. In other words, choosing a full-on, tech-heavy EV just got a lot harder, thanks to Kia.

Kia EV6 GT Line Long Range Dual Motor 

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