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The new Kia EV6 offers a futuristic driving experience and an 800-volt high-voltage electrical system
Photo: Thorsten Weigl / KIA
The first impression:
The rear with the mighty spoiler lip is a show.
But unlike comparable SUVs such as VW ID.4 or BMW iX, the EV6 still looks sleek.
The design also serves to distinguish it from the sister model Hyundai Ioniq 5.
What the manufacturer says:
Kia is reinventing itself, wants to get out of the corner of the faceless mass manufacturers. That is why there is a different trademark, a new design language is to be established. So Kia should also emancipate itself from the group sister brand Hyundai, which so far mostly reaped the merits for achievements such as fuel cells or electric driving. "This car marks a new beginning for us," says product manager Ioannis Roussis. It will be the first of more than half a dozen battery cars to help establish Kia as a driver of e-mobility. Roussis praises the EV6 platform as the first to work with 800 volts for a mass manufacturer. The technology is usually known from Porsche, Pininfarina and Co. Even Mercedes and BMW are satisfied with half the voltage - so these cars charge electricity more slowly.
However, Kia is climbing in price regions where existing customers could gasp.
60,000 euros and more for a car, Kia customers were not used to that.
But above all, Roussis wants to "win over new customers" with the EV6.
We noticed that
if Kia had previously chosen an almost classic style for the cockpits, the driver in the EV6 feels like in a spaceship.
The Kia designers have draped two curved screens in a gentle curve behind the steering wheel.
Graphics are projected onto the windshield, which adapt to the surroundings using augmented reality technology.
Air conditioning and many other functions are almost exclusively controlled via screens and sensor surfaces.
Driving enhances the spaceship feeling.
The EV6 glides silently and energetically across the road.
There is also a difference to the Hyundai sister model: The Kia should be an athlete among the electric vehicles.
The chassis and steering are noticeably tighter than on the Ioniq 5.
What both share is the successful recuperation.
There is an automatic mode in addition to the usual levels, which allow kilometers of sailing or strong deceleration even without using the mechanical brake.
With the help of distance control and navigation data, it decides how much the car decelerates when the driver lifts his foot off the accelerator.
So it can often and easily be driven with a pedal.
What is striking is how much space the car offers inside.
At the front you sit even better than in the large Kia SUV Sorento, and at the rear, with a 2.90 meter wheelbase, there is more legroom than in any other model of the brand.
For luggage there is, in addition to the 530 to 1300 liters trunk in the rear, a »Frunk« in the front, like with Tesla.
Even if the four-wheel drive model only offers 20 liters instead of the usual 52 liters due to the second motor, it is large enough for a charging cable and breakdown kit.
However, there is no sliding back seat in the EV6.
The massive console between the front seats is in the way.
This was important to the Kia developers because a lot of stuff can be stowed in it and it gives the neat throttle a stage.
Otherwise, Kia treats the car to plenty of equipment, including a fairly autonomous highway pilot.
In addition, the EV6 should be sustainable when it comes to the choice of materials.
According to the manufacturer, more than 100 plastic bottles are recycled for the interior of a vehicle.
You have to know that:
Like the Ioniq 5, the EV6 uses the E-GMP platform of the Korean corporation and will be launched in several versions in autumn. There are two battery sizes with 58 or 77.4 kWh, which enable WLTP ranges of up to 528 kilometers, and initially three engine variants. The basic model has a 125 kW motor on the rear axle, and the so-called GT-Line comes with 168 kW as a rear-wheel drive or 239 kW as an all-wheel drive with a second engine. This means that speeds of up to 185 km / h are possible - a touch more than in the MEB models of the VW Group, but less than with Tesla. For now, at least. Later an EV6 GT follows, which with 430 kW reaches 100 km / h in 3.5 seconds and is only limited at 260 km / h. The prices start at 44,990 euros and are not only above VW and Co., but also 3000 euros above the Ioniq 5.
The Kia also wants to be plugged in quickly. The car charges at both 400 and 800 volt stations, where in the best case it can go from 10 to 80 percent battery level in 18 minutes. This means that it only takes four and a half minutes to collect energy for 100 kilometers of driving. That is faster than some much more expensive electric cars like the Mercedes EQS. Nevertheless, there is a nice gimmick for the pit stop: at the push of a button, the seats become comfortable loungers. The fact that charging usually takes longer in practice than in theory only hurts half as much.
We will not forget that:
the adapter with which the battery can be tapped. If you plug the device into the socket under the fuel filler flap, you can not only plug in your electric lawnmower, the music system for the party at the quarry pond or the e-bike battery. It can even give other electric cars jump-start help.
