At 528 kilometers, this Long Range model promises the greatest WLTP range of the series .
Kia vehicles have been available in Europe for less than 30 years, and if we look at the brand’s beginnings with the Sephia or the Pride, the prospects for this manufacturer, which is completely unknown in this country, were not exactly rosy. Why should you buy a badge-engineered South Korean when the local market actually left nothing to be desired??!
But it has not even taken three decades and especially in the field of electromobility, the question must now be asked the other way around: Why would anyone actually buy anything other than a South Korean on an E-GMP platform?! Yes . why actually? Our test drive with the Kia EV6 RWD Long Range clarifies this question .
As an editor in the automotive sector, you’re used to having new and sometimes still very rarely seen vehicles under your butt on the road. Nevertheless it happens only quite rarely that one is addressed for example on the supermarket parking bay on the drivable Untersatz, in which one straight gets in or from which one straight gets out. With the EV6, on the other hand, there wasn’t a single trip to the grocery store where we didn’t somehow get involved in a short conversation.
KN? It looks really good .
The most frequent and first question was: "What kind of brand is this?? KN? What does that mean?" Right, the new logo. Even finding the manufacturer is difficult. This is usually followed by a compliment: "He looks really good." Or: "This is finally something different." Then we agreed without reservation. Without words.
And that’s not just because the test car in the GT Line is striking with its black accents, or because the paint finish in Moonscape Matt in combination with the sharp LED lighting provides a certain future flair. It simply looks good. Point.
However, with its dimensions (the details of which are listed at the bottom of this article) it is quite a large participant in traffic. On the photos it looks smaller, but in reality it is a competitor of the VW ID.4 or of a Ford Mustang Mach-E. In addition it is quite high and has an enormous wheelbase. All these points ensure that even if you are 1.90 meters tall, you can expect enough headroom in all seats. Yes, even under the flat sloping roof above the rear seats. Airy.
Just as airy as the overall feeling of space is the arrangement of the leftover buttons and dials of the vehicle’s functions, which have not been integrated into the infotainment system consisting of two 12.3-inch screens with a slight curvature. So the functionality always remains in the foreground. We never have to search long in the extensive menus for certain settings.
Eastereggs or questionable-funny features like for example in Tesla we are looking for in vain. So we can’t play video games or start a campfire. Although . acoustically Kia treats us to a chimney. But this is not new.
As already mentioned in the beginning, we chose the EV6 version, which already has the larger 77.4 kWh battery and with 229 hp and 350 Nm a little more power, but still without the engine on the front axle and thus without the all-wheel drive. This increases the theoretical range with 19-inch tires (we have through the GT-Line but mounted 20-inchers) to 528 km. Realistic are however "only" up to 400 km. Because under 20 kWh/100km you will not be able to push the consumption.
Fast and yet not nervous
On the road the EV6 is a charmer. He walks smoothly and quietly. You just have to love the almost completely silent and absolutely relaxing locomotion. In contrast to its tech brother – the Hyundai Ioniq 5 – the Kia EV6 handles winding roads with more composure. If one wants however also sportily more ambitious. It has a wonderful steering feel – perfectly weighted, fast, not nervous. And in eco and normal mode, they also remain serene.
Sport mode makes all systems a little sharper. Of course, you shouldn’t expect an Audi e-tron GT now, but for ambitious hobbyists there’s still something on offer. And yet the RWD Kia seems lighter on its feet than its AWD counterpart with a few pounds more on the ribs, thanks to the lack of a front engine and the resulting weight reduction. Playfully, however, two tons can never really be moved.
Charging at record speed
By the way, you don’t have to be afraid of longer distances. The charging speeds (already adequately described in our first review of the Kia EV6) that E-GMP makes possible with its 800-volt technology are on par with Mercedes EQS. And that’s actually a bit sad, because the relaxation positions of the comfortable front seats don’t really need to be used for long at fast chargers.
And here it comes, the point of criticism: because we have gone to a lot of trouble to find a negative feature about the EV6. It involves a driving assistant. More precisely . the lane keeping assistant. It tends to work sporadically, not really reliable, and confidence in the system fades after a few miles. Especially for a long range model for long distances not so nice. Another point would have been the very bright head-up display, but here we were able to change the radiance in the windshield after all.
In terms of price, we are less than 50.000 euros. A lot of money for a Kia, yes. And with the GT-Line package we even get to around 55.000 euros. But for a lot of money, you also get a lot of car. By the way, we are on a similar level in comparison with the in-house competition. But even otherwise the price is somehow justified for so much outstanding technology. After deducting the current premiums and subsidies anyway.
Conclusion: 9/10 points
Chapeau, Kia! There’s really not much more to say about it. If it has to be an e-car in this class, you can’t go past the Koreans any more. So everything is actually right with the EV6, and if we hadn’t discovered the little thing with the lane departure warning system, we would have awarded it full marks.
But especially with a long range model you would have to be relieved on long distances rather times. And with confidence. With the upcoming GT model with 585 hp, this fact probably won’t bother us as much, and then this performance EV6 could become a promising contender for the 10-point ranking.