Kia EV6 is the other side of the new generation of Korean 800V electric cars. The E-GMP platform is shared with the IONIQ 5 and the body is to be framed in the crossover segment, those SUVs that no longer identify with the old concept of “softened off-road” that distinguished them at the beginning of their career.
Now they are “high-wheel” cars with a ground clearance that does not always correspond to those 20 cm that had been borrowed from off-road vehicles. Kia EV6, for example, rises from the ground for 17 cm and has a body inspired by the coupe world, or SUV coupe. Categories aside, where confusion reigns supreme and that we should all start not considering anymore in a world that has become fluid even in the car segments, the Korean electric is the flag bearer of the strategy called Plan S: 25 billion dollars invested between 2021 and 2025, 11 new electric vehicles by 2026 and the goal of selling 1.6 million a year from 2030 onwards.
It is more massive than it may seem in the photo: Kia EV6 has aggressive shapes but is not compact and remains in the macro-category of SUVs. It means that you will have to deal with a car 4.68 meters long x 1.89 wide (mirrors excluded).
The advantage is that of a wheelbase of 2.9 meters and a trunk ranging from 490/511 liters (the reclining backrest steals or allows space depending on the position) up to 1,300 liters by breaking down the rear sofa using the practical levers on the side bulkheads: comfortable but not as sophisticated as the buttons of more luxurious cars.
To the trunk is added the “frunk” (front trunk), a small space under the hood of 20 liters on the all-wheel drive version or 52 liters on the rear-wheel drive version. Impractical and to be used only to get rid of those useful objects to always have with us in case of emergency, but that we rarely use.
Inside you are comfortable because the roofline gives less than the cousin IONIQ 5, but the reclining backrest becomes the key to accommodate even those who are taller than 1.8 m, thanks to the fact that there is so much space for the legs given the huge step and the non-existent central tunnel: even the climate vents have been moved to the uprights so as to make everything more practical.
INFOTAINMENT, TECHNOLOGY AND ADAS
The cockpit plays its cards well in terms of variety of materials and textures, but flaws in the quality of the same (assembly still excellent at first glance). Where the Kia EV6 really manages to reach the cars of the premium world is in technology. There is everything that the most famous brands have, and the hi-tech features are there in an excellent form: to be clear, the head-up display with augmented reality holds the comparison with the Germans.
We therefore find a digital instrumentation (12.3″) alongside the touch infotainment (12.3″) and also connected via app for remote control. USB Cs are everywhere and for those behind are integrated into the side of the front seats. In terms of seating, the two front armchairs recline almost reaching the “bed” configuration. Too bad that the cockpit of the EV6 is a bit more claustrophobic than that of ioniq 5 due to coupe cut of the bodywork.
Excellent ADAS: the automatic remote parking can be activated even without being inside the car. Then there are the blind spot monitoring that also takes advantage of the camera (displaying that portion on the screen when we put the arrow), the 360 ° view, the intersection assistant, the adaptive cruise control integrated with the maps and the semi-autonomous driving of Level 2 on the highway with the automatic lane change after putting the arrow (the latter still to be improved in the speed of action).
HOW IT GOES: REAR-WHEEL DRIVE VS ALL-WHEEL DRIVE
Kia EV6 77.4 kWh RWD and Kia EV6 77.4 kWh AWD: from the price list these are the acronyms that distinguish the versions available in Italy, three if we add the 77.4 kWh PERFORMANCE AWD known under the trade name of Kia EV6 GT.
