Kia EV6 review, first drive

Built on a dedicated EV architecture, the Kia EV6 is the brand’s first purpose-built all-electric offering that showcases the brand’s strengths and technological prowess vis a vis electric vehicles.

The likes of the Kia Soul and Niro EVs have been around for a few years now, so the EV6 is by no means the brand’s first electric car, but it is Kia’s first product conceived from the ground up as an EV and built on the E-GMP dedicated electric vehicle platform. Kia calls the EV6 its most technologically advanced car yet and the good news is that it will be available in India June 2, 2022 onwards. However, it will be imported as a CBU and in limited numbers, making it an expensive and consequently, a very niche offering, but Kia’s intention here is not to chase volumes, but to flex its muscle by showcasing what the brand is capable of when it comes to future-ready EVs.

Now, we know styling is a very subjective matter, but we doubt there will be too many out there who would disagree when we say the EV6 is quite a stunner. It’s one of those cars which look so much better in the flesh than in pictures or videos. The low set nose with those sharp headlamps adds aggression to the front end, while the side profile blurs the lines between hatchback and crossover body styles. Running along the lower end of the doors is a character line that rises up and integrates with those beautiful LED tail lamps that arc along the spoiler at the base of the rear windshield. Kia has kept the overall look sporty with two-tone alloy wheels, gloss black finish for front and rear bumper elements with the only prominent use of chrome being on the tailgate unifying the turn indicators.

Don’t be fooled by the EV6’s almost hatchback-esque form factor for this is a fairly large car, comparable in size to mid-size luxury SUVs measuring 4,695mm long, 1,890mm wide and 1,550mm tall at the tape. The generous 2,900mm wheelbase helps maximise interior space.

Seated in the driver’s seat, the cabin greets you with a modern and sophisticated cabin with twin 12.3-inch displays housed under a single curved glass panel, tasteful detailing on the dashboard and top-notch quality all around. Between the front seats sits a console that houses the gear selector, wireless charging pad and touch controls for seat ventilation and heating, and sports a floating look with space underneath for small bags or large handbags. There's another touch panel right below the AC vents that offers control for the two-zone auto aircon as well as the infotainment screen, plus there are physical knobs as well adding convenience especially when you're, say, trying to change the temperature while driving. Kia has ensured the EV6 comes with a long list of features that includes electrically adjustable front seats with memory function, a 14-speaker Meridian audio setup, a sunroof, and an auto dimming IRVM to name a few. The cars that will be delivered to customers in India will come with suede seats with vegan leather bolsters and a vegan leather wrapped steering wheel.

Space in the rear seat, legroom specifically, is very generous, although headroom is just about ample and taller individuals, 6ft or more, are likely to have a slight knees-up seating position. Three averaged sized adults can fit in the rear seat with the flat floor helping make the middle passenger’s experience that much more comfortable. For those seated in the back, there are b-pillar mounted aircon vents, type C USB ports integrated into the front seatbacks and an armrest with cup holders. There’s also a socket to directly plug devices like laptops into and that’s something you don’t see often in cars. Under the electrically operated tail gate there’s 520 litres of luggage space. In case of the all wheel drive variant that we had with us, there’s a 20-litre frunk, the rear wheel drive variant ups that number to 52 litres.

We were handed keys to the Kia EV6 GT Line AWD variant for our review that comes with a motor on each axle resulting in a combined power and torque output of 325bhp and 605Nm. This translates to a rather quick 0 to 100kmph time of just 5.2s. The EV6 impresses in the handling department and, though, it is billed as a city commuter, it performed quite well around the Buddh International Circuit highlighting its fun to drive nature. There are Eco, Normal and Sport modes at the driver’s disposal and they alter the car’s behaviour exactly as you’d expect them to and you also get a Sport mode for the brakes. Kia EV6’s AWD system can seamlessly switch between rear wheel drive only or sending power to all four wheels depending on the way the car is being driven to give you the best possible mix of performance and efficiency. Based on our drive that was restricted to the near perfect tarmac of the Buddh International Circuit, it is hard to judge ride quality, so we'll reserve judgement until we get to drive it on public roads.

The other variant that will be on sale is the GT Line RWD which gets a single motor producing 229bhp and 350Nm. Needless to say, it's slower to the 100kmph mark taking 7.3s from a standstill. On the flip side, however, it offers more range from the 77.4kWh battery pack that does duty on both variants with a WLTP certified figure of 528km, versus the AWD's 505km. Aside from multiple levels of regenerative braking that can be selected via the steering-mounted paddle shifters, there's the i-Pedal mode which essentially enables one-pedal driving and also an auto setting that alters the intensity of regen basis the traffic in front.