Kia EV6 GT-Line 2022 car review

MODEL: Kia EV6 GT-Line
PRICE: $111,990 + ORC
ENGINE: 77kWh lithium-ion battery, dual electric motors
POWER: 239kW/605Nm
GEARBOX: Single-speed automatic, AWD
0-100KM/H: 5.2 seconds
CONSUMPTION: 18.0kWh/100km, range 484km
PRICE: $106,990 ($109,990 with sunroof as featured)
BODY STYLE: Five-door SUV
STATUS: Currently available

The all-new Kia EV6 is a fresh addition to the Kia line up and is a much anticipated vehicle to land here in New Zealand. It is based on an all-new Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) that we’ve already become familiar with in its parent company’s Hyundai Ioniq 5. But you would be hard pressed to find any physical resemblance, with Kia’s modern and elegant design a lot easier on the eye than its box-shaped cousin.

Earlier this year the AA attended the much anticipated Kia EV6 launch event where Kia New Zealand announced the new All-Electric Crossover is available from $72,990 plus on-road costs, with two of the models making it under the $80K cut off for a Clean Car Discount.

Following on from the launch event we were invited to sample the top-of-the-line EV6 GT-Line 77.4kWh Long Range AWD.

Head turning exterior

Up front, the contoured shape really is quite striking with bright (matrix LED) lights, automatically closing shutters in the lower valance and the new KIA badge on the slopping bonnet, making it both aesthetically pleasing and aerodynamic. We like the Auto-Flush door handles that uniquely pop open with the slim shape matching the sleek contour of the sides.

Its size is deceiving (4.7m long x 1.9m wide x 1.55m tall), resembling that of a sporty hatchback while the rear silhouette appears to resemble a mid- size SUV but without the added ground clearance underneath.

The rear features a striking LED ‘full width’ lightbar, which strongly signals your road presence and intention to stop when in bumper-to-bumper motorway traffic.

Our EV6 GT-Line came in the head turning Yatch Blue. Slinking its way through the Auckland streets during school drop-off hour turned a few heads. Available in six colour options, you’ll be spoilt for choice, with some decent options on hand: Glacier White, Snow White Pearl, Runway Red, Yatch Blue, Moonscape Matte and Aurora Black Pearl. The Glacier White is not available on the GT-Line while the Snow White Pearl is only available on the GT-Line and buyers will pay an extra $1,450 for the pleasure of having the Moonscape Matte body colour.

Spaceship interior the Jetsons would drool over

Inside, the cabin is spacious and can comfortably fit adults in the back, while leg room is plentiful up front. Rear leg room is impressive too.

There’s a lot of tech factor, with customisable features that will have you playing around for hours. Some new innovation includes the neat aforementioned Auto-Flush exterior door handles and Smart Parking Assist that allows you to park the vehicle from outside the car using the remote key, which is handy for those tight parking spaces.

The optional Vehicle to Load (V2L) and Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) charging plug allows users to plug in and run an electrical appliance such as a TV or kettle or opt to charge another BEV. If you don’t have the V2L adaptor that’s fine too as Kia fitted an electrical socket by the rear seat, which could be especially useful for when you need to vacuum the car without having to run a lead from the house.

The electric revolution has arrived

The steering guides the nose into the turns as it should, while bumps and ruts in the road are soaked up to allow for a comfy ride, all thanks to an Australasian tuned suspension, which is well suited to our road conditions.

There’s more than enough power available, if you are looking to leave petrol vehicles in their dust, otherwise a tame right foot will allow plenty to be pleased about. If you need to tow, there’s a decent amount of torque and tow ratings in the line-up. The RWD models have 350Nm/125kW from the rear wheels, while the AWD models have a whopping 605Nm/239kW on hand. There is another RWD option in the form of the Air Long Range RWD trim, which offers 168kW. A tow rating of up to 1,600kg braked is also useful to have.

The level of regenerative braking can be adjusted on the fly using the paddle shifter behind the steering wheel. With multiple AA drivers reviewing the EV6, we all found this a great way to personalise the ride.

Three drive modes: Eco, Normal and Sport are self-explanatory and most city commuters would opt to use Eco. That said, we found when you really feel the urge to get to motorway speed in a hurry then Sport mode is the obvious choice, and it doesn’t disappoint on this front with 0 -100km/h claimed at 5.2 seconds.

If you like to hear a sound in line with your accelerator response, then you are in for a treat. The Kia EV6 has four Active Sound Design modes to choose from: Enhanced, Normal, Soft and Off. There’s also some advanced settings to allow for a semi-customisable version if you like to spice it up a bit. During our drive time, we preferred the quietness of BEV driving so our overall preference was ‘Off’.

Visibility out the rear is limited but the 3D camera system covers every corner when needed. There’s also blind spot cameras that take an image from cameras located at the bottom of the wing mirrors and display the image on the instrument panel relevant to the indicator being used. However, no rear wiper meant it was a bit hard to see behind in rainy conditions.

The two-spoke design wheel steering appears rather dated than futuristic and we would've preferred a modern look for a vehicle in this price range. Other than that, it works perfectly fine.

The mobile phone wireless charging tray is located on the centre console for convenience. The design of the centre console makes it appear to be floating up front. There is plenty of storage in the cubby along with storage space below.

There’s no shortage of USB ports too with a pair up front and one on the driver and passenger’s seat backrests for rear passengers to use.

The futuristic looking headrests up front look potentially uncomfortable, but surprisingly they work well once adjusted to your needs.

What range anxiety?

The biggest hurdle for shifting people’s perception of BEVs has always been range anxiety. But this is a thing of the past as more manufacturers offer longer range and quicker re-charge times. Kia is no exception to this, with battery range starting at 394kms for the RWD Air model, while the RWD Air Long Range model packs another 134kms to come in at 528kms - that can put any range fear to bed.

Besides the Air, the other two models are the Earth and the range topping GT-Line, both come in AWD and the GT-Line also has an AWD + Sunroof variant with range. The AWD Earth has a range of 506km while the AWD GT-Line range is 484kms.

If you can find a capable charger, then it’s possible to recharge from 0 – 80% in just 18 minutes as the EV6 has 800v ‘Ultra-Fast’ charging capability. Battery capacity starts at 58.0 kWh for the RWD Air and increases to 77.4kWh for the rest of the Long Range EV6 models.

Pricing:

Our verdict:

The Kia EV6 is a dedicated BEV that adds some style and class to this segment. EV6 will certainly be a good consideration for buyers shopping in the sub $100k range, while the Air range is priced just right to allow buyers to take full advantage of the government Clean Car Rebate scheme too. It gets the thumbs up from us.

Pros:

• Futuristic interior
• 800v charging capability, 0 – 80% charge in under 20mins.
• Two models eligible for the clean car rebate (under $80k)
• The zoomable, 360 Surround View Monitor
• The Auto-Flush door handles
• The rear LED ‘full width’ lightbar

Cons:

• Visibility out the rear screen is limited
• Boot space is restricted due to the sloped rear design

Safety systems

• Forward Collision Avoidance Assist (FCA) 
• Lane Keep Assist System - Line/Road Edge (LKAS)
• Lane Follow Assist System (LFAS)
• Driver Attention Alert (DAA+) 
• Multi-Collision Brake System (MCB) 
• Blind Spot Collision Avoidance Assist - Rear (BCA) 
• Rear Cross Traffic Collision Avoidance Assist (RCCA) 
• Parking Collision Avoidance Assist (PCA) 
• Blind Spot View Monitor (BVM) 
• Smart Cruise Control (SCC) with Stop & Go
• ABS Brakes with EBD & BA
• Electronic Stability Control (ESC) 
• Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) 
• Dual Front and Side Airbags
• Dual Side Curtain Airbags 
• Front Centre-Side Airbag 

Find out more on how the AA can help you when buying a new car:

• AA Money - aa.co.nz/money
• AA Insurance - aa.co.nz/insurance
• AA Car Reviews - aa.co.nz/car-reviews
• AA Running Cost Reports - aa.co.nz/runningcosts

Vehicle experts you can trust