The Kia EV6 is forging new ground for the automaker’s ongoing electrification efforts. The 2023 EV6 brings some significant updates to its lineup, and the South Korean company just released official pricing that starts at $49,795, a $1,000 increase over the base 2022 model
Có liên quan. Kia EV6 GT 2023. Performance Soars as Range Sinks
Kia Dims Lights on Light Trim, Wind Picks Up[dates]
When the EV6 first appeared for 2022, the rear-wheel-drive Light was the base trim, but Kia says strong demand and sales for the Wind trim led it to end Light production and make the Wind the new gateway trim for 2023
A key reason why the Wind was more popular with buyers is its greater all-electric range. The RWD version gets 310 miles of range between charges thanks to its 168-kilowatt rear-mounted electric motor and accompanying 77. 4-kilowatt-hour battery pack. The all-wheel-drive Wind adds a front-mounted motor that bumps output up to 320 hp, but the system takes a bite out of range — those versions only get 282 miles
Kia is also tweaking the option packages slightly, with the $1,500 Wind Technology Package now extended to the RWD variant. This package adds a 360-degree camera system, blind spot monitor, reverse automatic emergency braking and remote start
All-New GT Model Maximizes EV Performance
In addition to the revised trim structure that now makes the Wind the base model, the 2023 EV6 also gets a new range-topping trim in the form of the performance-focused GT, which comes exclusively with all-wheel drive and makes 576 hp thanks to a 160-kW front motor and 270 kW rear motor. That power allows the GT to make the sprint to 60 mph in 3. 6 seconds, according to the automaker, putting it in the race with Tesla and other EV rivals. The GT takes the mid-level GT-Line and adds an electronically controlled suspension, electronic limited-slip differential and beefier brakes hidden behind 21-inch wheels with Goodyear Eagle F1 tires. The interior also gets some minor changes with model-exclusive trim and lightweight sport seats
Pricing, New Charging Program
A full pricing breakdown of all trims is below. All prices include a $1,295 destination charge
- Gió [RWD]. $49,795
- Gió [AWD]. $53,695
- GT-Line [RWD]. $53,995
- GT-Line [AWD]. $58,695
- GT [AWD]. $62,695
Kia also announced an all-new charging incentive for buyers. EV6 owners will get 1,000 kWh of complimentary charging through Electrify America’s charging network, which can charge the car from 10% to 80% battery capacity in 18 minutes at 350 kW, Kia says
To give you some context for this test, I’ve come straight out of the EV6’s smaller sibling, the Kia Niro, which was also in GT-Line guise
That car suited my lifestyle quite well. It was a small SUV so it fit in my tiny unit car spot pretty easily, it was compact enough that my partner enjoyed driving it, and considering its dimensions, punched above its weight when it came to cabin space
It was also easy to charge and maintain, and I found it to be very accurate with its range calculation on the open road
The EV6 had big shoes to fill, then, and I immediately noticed some significant differences from behind the wheel, despite these two cars now sharing many of the same interior features
For a start, the EV6 immediately feels more taught and aggressive on the road. It has firmer steering, a lot more weight pulling it down to the ground, and metric tons of traction thanks to its all-wheel drive system
It also feels enormous. This car is a segment up from the Niro and it feels every square centimetre of it. I keep being surprised by its length, having to watch out in tight corners not to curb its rear wheels
I’m also finding its width to be a challenge in parking lots and even my own parking spot at home, which requires an Austin Powers-esque manoeuvre to reverse into
The sensation of accelerating is largely the same, though, with the EV6 having a very similar demeanour when it comes to putting power to the ground as the Niro
I put this down to its motors and software, which Hyundai group vehicles [including Kias and Genesis EVs] are particularly good at
The sandpapered smooth feel of the accelerator and regen dance together nicely in traffic to make for a smooth and efficient drive
One thing which also immediately stood out to me was the EV6’s slightly different soundscape to the Niro
It makes a similar sort of science-fiction hum, but the EV6’s version is deeper and more three dimensional courtesy of its internal speakers
It can be turned up or down via the multimedia screen settings, but adds a kind of feedback not present in all other EVs. A similar system is employed in the new Mercedes EQE and EQS, for example
It also packs almost twice the punch of the Niro, offering up a whopping 239kW/605Nm from its dual-motor all-wheel drive system. I’m keen to stretch its legs out a little and report back in future long term chapters
The EV6 has an almost identical on-paper range to the Niro I had before, weighing in on the WLTP cycle at 484km. This is more than enough for daily purposes to avoid range-anxiety, particularly around town
In my first month with the car I covered roughly 400km and charged it up only once at a 50kW unit local to me
With its 800-volt architecture, the EV6 is capable of charging up at 350kW which makes it one of the fastest charging EVs on the market today, although my nearest 350kW unit is some distance away
Interestingly, and perhaps because of its overkill charging system, I noticed the EV6 could maintain a rate of 50kW well beyond the 80 per cent threshold where normally EVs start to throttle back the speed
I charged it up from 15 to 98 per cent in bang-on 70 minutes, and even when I was going to unlock the charger it was still maintaining a rate of 50kW. Ấn tượng
On the AC charger, which I expect to get more use out of in the coming months, the EV6 can charge at 11kW, allowing a roughly six-hour charge time from 10 per cent. It’s also capable of V2L, which I’m excited to try out in future instalments
For my first month I landed on an energy consumption figure of 16. 7kWh/100km which is reasonably impressive given it’s only 0. 5kWh/100km higher than the Niro, which is much smaller
có và không. What is the EV6? It says SUV on the tin, but the more I look at it the more I feel like its some kind of alternate-universe station wagon
The front seats feel significantly more claustrophobic than in this car’s close relation, Hyundai’s Ioniq 5. I feel like I sit quite high in the EV6, and the roof is much closer to my head than it is in the expansive Ioniq
The dark trims, which Kia uses to ram home the sporty intent of the EV6 don’t help this effect, and while the GT-Line specific seats come in a trendy suede-look, these sorts of trims don’t always age well, particularly if you throw kids into the equation
The back seat is huge, and has matching enormous doors, so I have no doubt ferrying passengers around in this car will be a breeze
The floor is also flat, same as the Niro, so I have already used it to carry around awkward objects or even my grocery shop when I have poor access to, or can’t be bothered opening up the boot
The boot itself seems large, easily absorbing the three-piece CarsGuide luggage set, with all the seats in place, or a larger-than-I-bargained-for Christmas tree with them down
There’s also a handy storage cutaway for charging cables under the floor, and the EV6 offers a 20-litre space under its bonnet
The main practicality drawback for me then is the car’s footprint. As mentioned earlier, it’s so long and wide that it seems overkill for my purposes, and required some re-thinking to manoeuvre it into my unit parking spot
Stay tuned next month, as I plan to take the EV6 on some longer freeway trips to test out its range calculation more thoroughly, and I’ll no doubt be taking some friends and family for a ride over the festive period to get their feedback on the car’s design and the amount of room available in its rear seat