Electrification is said to be the future of motoring and there is one electric vehicle that has been gathering accolades throughout the UK since its launch last year.
Korean manufacturer Kia has quite a large family, with something in the region of ten models on offer. A few of these models have a different body styles available, adding to the family size, and a large percentage are available as hybrid.
In regards to electric vehicles, the award-winning Kia EV6 is the brands first dedicated one. Built upon the new E-GMP platform, it is the first of eleven all-new BEV’s to be launched by Kia within the next four years.
Equipped with a single motor, 226bhp powers the rear wheels or, opt for the dual motor, and 321bhp gets put to the ground via all four wheels. Three model grades include ‘Air’, ‘G-Line’ and ‘GT-Line S’.
A range topping and somewhat incomparable EV6 GT is available with 577bhp via its dual motor. You would need to be sitting down for the price of this one as it starts from nearly £63,000.
Pricing of the regular EV6 starts from £45,245 for an ‘Air’ which features grey 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights with daytime running lights, automatic headlight control, LED rear combination lights, rain sensing front wipers and a rear spoiler. Body coloured exterior flush door handles feature alongside a high gloss black door garnish and belt line and black side sill mouldings.
Premium relaxation seats are trimmed in black vegan leather upholstery, with power adjustment for the driver’s lumbar support. There’s an engine start/stop button with smart entry, heated front seats and steering wheel, all-round electric windows with auto up and down functionality and an automatic defog system.
Comfort-oriented equipment includes an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, dual automatic air conditioning, electronic park brake (EPB) with auto hold function, navigation-based smart cruise control with stop and go functionality, paddle shifters for the drive mode select, and steering wheel mounted controls.
All EV6 models come with five seats, feature remote-folding 60:40 split rear seats, and include a luggage area load cover, luggage board, boot net hooks, and a ski-hatch and cup holder integrated into the rear centre armrest.
Four USB charge ports are provided up front, along with a trio of 12-volt sockets. An additional 12-volt socket is integrated into the boot, along with LED lights for the front and rear luggage areas. Ambient lighting is standard, along with LED lighting for both the front and rear cabins.
A suite of safety devices feature on the EV6, including Forward Collision Avoidance Assist (FCA) for city, pedestrian, cyclist and junction turning, a drive mode select system, e-Call system, Hill-start assist control (HAC), Highway Driving Assist (HDA), Intelligent Speed Limit Assist (ISLA), Lane Follow Assist (LFA), Lane Keep Assist (LKA), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), Multi-Collision Brake Assist (MCBA), Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and a tyre mobility kit (TMK).
A comprehensive infotainment system consists of a dual 12.3-inch driver display and touchscreen navigation system, together with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay – both with voice control – and Bluetooth with voice recognition and Kia Connect. EV6 ‘Air’ models feature six speakers and feature a USB port for a media connection.
To aid manoeuvrability, rear parking sensors are provided, along with a reversing camera system with dynamic guidelines. All models include front centre, twin front, twin curtain and centre side airbags, with front passenger airbag cut-off switch. There are also ISOFIX child seat top tethers and anchor fixings for the outer rear seats.
Pricing for the ‘GT-Line’ starts from £48,245 and it features black 19-inch alloy wheels, more muscular ‘GT-Line’ exterior styling, rear privacy glass, a UV windscreen, and dual LED headlights with adaptive driving beam. Inside are premium relaxation seats for both front occupants, power adjusted driver and front passenger seats with memory functionality on the driver’s side and two-way electric lumbar adjustment.
All seats are trimmed in two-tone black and white vegan leather and suede, while the cabin is finished with sporty alloy pedals and deluxe door scuff plates. Alongside the six-speaker audio system, a wireless mobile phone charger is provided on the centre console and front parking sensors are also added.
The Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) system is another addition to ‘GT-Line’ models, as well as Blind-Spot Collision Avoidance Assist (BCA) with Rear-Cross Traffic Assist (RCTA) and Safe Exit Assist (SEA). A heat pump is available as an optional extra.
The ‘GT-Line S’ starts from £52,745 and features larger 20-inch alloy wheels, automatic door handles, a sunroof with tilting and sliding functionality, heated rear router seats, ventilated front seats and a smart power tailgate.
A Meridian premium sound system with 14 speakers and active sound design (ASD) is also fitted, alongside an augmented reality HUD, Remote Smart Park Assist (RSPA), a 360-degree around view camera system, and Blind-Spot View Monitor. The Forward Collision Avoidance (FCA) system includes Junction Crossing functionality, and ‘GT-Line S’ versions also offer Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist (PCA) and Highway Driving Assist 2 (HDA2).
All three regular grades are powered by a 77.4kWh Lithium-ion polymer battery pack. ‘Air’ models are available only with the rear-wheel-drive powertrain. The other two models come with the option of either rear-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive.
Ultra rapid charging is available as standard, but I don’t believe such chargers exist in Northern Ireland as yet, going by Zap Map at time of writing. There are a few in Ireland, though. Should you happen upon a rapid charger that is functional in NI, of which there should be a handful, a 10% to 80% charge takes just under seventy-five minutes.
Replenishing the battery to 100% at home via a 7kW box will take seven hours and twenty minutes. An optional heat pump on the two higher grades aids efficiency in colder temperatures.
The rear-wheel-drive EV6 can sprint from 0-62mph in 7 seconds, with a top speed of 114mph. The four-wheel-drive model packing more punch can do the same sprint in 5.2 seconds with the same top speed.
The GT model, with an astonishing 740Nm of torque, should be capable of 0-62mph in just 3.5 seconds with an estimated top speed over 160mph.
Kia offers a 7 Year / 100,000 mile warranty (3 yrs/unlimited mileage) along with anti-perforation warranty (12 yrs/unlimited mileage), paint warranty (5 yrs / 100,000 miles), and Kia Roadside Assistance (1yr).
