Kia EV6 Review 2024

If proof were needed about how far perceptions of an automotive brand can be shifted over a relatively short period of time, then this car is it. Not just one of the best electric cars available, it’s one of the best cars on sale full stop. Now available in freshened-up form, read our comprehensive Kia EV6 review to find out why its rated so highly.

The Kia EV6 has proved itself to be stylish, clever and desirable — incredible considering the brand only appeared in the UK 30 years earlier selling bargain-basement small cars. This is an altogether different proposition, with an upmarket interior and interesting styling that blurs boundaries between rakish hatchbacks and SUV coupes.

Things never stand still in the car world so a series of improvements have been ushered in towards the end of 2024 to ensure the high-riding Kia EV6 continues to ride high against a slew of alternatives vying for customers’ attention.

Two of those rivals are from within the same manufacturing group, sharing much of the parts you can’t see — and some you can — with the EV6, although they have been honed to feel different. With its attention-grabbing angular lines and 1980s-inspired details the Hyundai Ioniq 5 has been made to feel the more comfortable and relaxing of the trio.

For those who want an even more luxurious experience and aren’t afraid to take a step into the unknown there’s also the striking Genesis GV60 — think of Genesis being to Hyundai what Lexus is to Toyota and you’re along the right lines.

Because the Kia’s shape makes it a difficult car for people to pigeonhole other rivals it’s cross-shopped against often don’t feel like direct alternatives. Yes, both the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Skoda Enyaq Coupe have rooflines similar to the EV6, they also play on their family SUV attributes to a greater extent.

It’s a similar story with the ever-popular Tesla Model Y, although for many that brand’s draw is its network of Superchargers. Whether that remains the case as it opens more sites up to other brands remains to be seen.

On the other side of the coin there are those which make no claim of being remotely family SUV-like, instead offering useable interior space combined with the convenience of five doors yet with an attractive slinkiness to their lines. As a consequence, both the BMW i4 and the Polestar 2 are in Kia’s sights.

Changes to the Kia EV6 as part of its 2024 facelift are seemingly few, which illustrates a rightness about its original form. New is its restyled nose featuring the company’s Star Map signature lighting and a revised bumper design, which is echoed astern. Matters are further enlivened by new alloy wheel designs.

Those finger-print amplifying piano black plastic trims are gone from its interior, replaced by textured finishes that make it less obvious where your hands have been. Further tweaks include different dashboard mouldings, revised ambient lighting and fresher graphics for the dual 12.3-inch screens, now with wireless smartphone connectivity at last.

Under the surface the original Kia EV6’s 800-volt charging system already set the standard for rapid charging speeds. From the 2024 facelift, improved energy density means the battery capacity rises to 84kWh from 77.4kWh and peak charging performance is up to 258kW. This means the battery can be recharged from 10%-80% in only 18 minutes and can hoover up some 241 miles of range in just 15 minutes.

There remain two core power options —a single motor, rear-wheel drive developing 229PS and a dual-motor, all-wheel drive arrangement producing 325PS. There’s an even more punchy Kia EV6 GT, although all versions are set-up to feel sporty to drive.

Pre-facelift the most efficient Kia EV6 had a WLTP Combined cycle driving range of 328 miles, improved further to 361 miles after the makeover.

Kia has installed upgraded suspension dampers from 2024 to try and make the EV6 behave better on uneven surfaces, largely to good effect. While the EV6 doesn’t offer the same plush low-speed ride as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, it’s noticeably sharper in the bends and feels more tied-down at higher speeds. 

It’s never uncomfortable, either, and motorway cruising is still pleasant thanks to comfortable seats, clever driving aids and good overall refinement. It’s a little quieter now too, since rear motor noise has been reduced by the introduction of more sound insulation.

What’s more its great around a city, and although visibility out the back isn’t great the slightly raised driving position means it gets the main selling point of an electric SUV with few of the drawbacks. 

There remains a brilliant blend of both style and substance in the updated Kia EV6. It doesn’t just look like a car from another century, it drives like one too – if that’s not enough to get you the behind the wheel of a Kia, which, don’t forget, still comes with a seven-year/100,000-mile warranty, we don’t know what is.

Hyundai and Kia have gone down different routes with the tuning of their electric cars, despite them being very similar underneath. Whereas the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is tuned primarily for comfort with a soft ride and rather unengaging handling, the Kia EV6 sacrifices some plushness for more satisfying handling. 

New for the 2024 facelift, Kia has installed upgraded frequency-selective suspension dampers to try and make the car behave better on uneven surfaces, largely to good effect.

Which you prefer depends on your priorities but we reckon the EV6 might be the best compromise. Although it’s firmer and you feel (and hear) more of the road surface, it manages to dampen out sharp potholes and speed bumps really well. Combined with good forward visibility and a fairly decent turning circle it makes for a good town car.

Plus, once you’re up to higher speed it feels less loose and floaty than the Hyundai. It’s also noticeably better at smoothing-out bumps than the disappointingly harsh Tesla Model Y. Road and wind noise aren’t as intrusive either, so it’s a solid choice for ploughing the motorways. 

While the EV6 is hardly as thrilling on a twisty road as a Porsche Taycan or BMW i4, it does a better job than pretty much every electric SUV. There’s loads of grip and it doesn’t lean very much in the bends and although the steering isn’t brimming with feel (something that’s rare these days in any car), it’s accurate enough to inspire confidence. 

All-wheel drive models feel a little more planted and grippy, which is necessary given the extra performance and the fact that it’s 100kg heavier than the RWD car, at 2165kg. 

Pre- and post-2024’s Kia EV6 facelift, there are two core power options, with the 585PS EV6 GT now absent from the range of its own makeover.

Entry point to Kia EV6 ownership is with the single motor, rear-wheel drive system, labelled 225bhp which converts to a metric figure of 229PS. With 350Nm of torque on tap that translates to a 0-62mph acceleration time of 7.7 seconds while the top speed is electronically pegged at 115mph.

All-wheel drive Kia EV6s have two motors, producing a combined 325PS (referred to by Kia as 320bhp) and 605Nm of torque, offering 0-62mph in 5.3 seconds and a limited top speed of 116mph. 

Most people will find the 229PS model delivers plenty of performance for their needs. Yes, a 0-62mph time of 7.7 seconds might sound a bit wet next to what Tesla is putting out but because you get instant electric motor response it feels nippier than most petrol or diesel cars.

If you do crave more zip, the dual-motor AWD models are so brisk that they make you question the need for the separate EV6 GT model for anything other than bragging rights.

Both versions have a very quiet electric motors and strong, progressive brakes. Handily you can alter the regenerative braking from strong right down to nothing at all via paddles behind the wheel. In the zero regen mode it’s quite incredible how easily the EV6 coasts along without losing speed or using power.

Euro NCAP has given the Kia EV6 a full five-star rating for crash safety, with a strong 90% adult occupant score. The pedestrian protection score could be better but it does well on the safety assist front. 

Speaking of which, all models come with automatic emergency braking that detects cyclists and pedestrians, lane keeping assist (that’s easily switched off via a wheel-mounted button), a driver alertness function and intelligent speed assist. 

Mid-spec models also bring rear cross-traffic alert, blind spot monitoring and safe exit assist (which stops you opening the door into oncoming traffic. You’ll need the GT-Line S model if you want proper ‘Highway Assist’ self-driving functions, parking collision avoidance and blind spot cameras. 

It’s unlikely that the 2024 facelifted model will be subjected to a separate Euro NCAP test.

Electric cars aren’t usually great for towing but both Kia EV6 versions have a reasonable 1800kg braked trailer weight limit. 

Will this desirable electric model fit in your garage? Well, the Kia EV6 dimensions make it 4695mm long, 1890mm wide and 1545mm tall. That makes it 60mm longer but with a 60mm lower roof height than the Hyundai Ioniq 5 with which it shares much of the componentry you can’t see. 

Passenger space is still excellent, however. Yes, that lower roof means there isn’t acres of headroom like in the Ioniq 5 but unless you’re well over six feet tall you won’t find your scalp brushing the roof. If ultimate headroom does matter then avoid the GT-Line S versions with their space-robbing sunroof. 

Legroom is nothing short of exceptional, both in the front and rear. Up front the wide cabin, big windscreen and lack of a bulky central tunnel means it feels positively airy, with lots of leg space.

Unsurprisingly, given a whopping 2900mm wheelbase, the rear is almost limo-like, as even if there’s two six-footers up front two equally-sized adults can stretch out behind with loads of kneeroom to spare. What’s more, the rear backrests recline for extra relaxation, while the cabin width and lack of a lump in the floor means the middle seat is pretty useable as well.

We can’t even complain about storage — both the door bins and the glovebox are large, there’s a huge storage area between the two footwells, another deep cubby below the centre armrest and plenty of cupholders. 

The only black mark with the Kia EV6 is the boot space. At 490 litres with the seats up it’s enough for most family needs yet that’s only 20 litres more than you’ll find at the back of the smaller Ford Explorer and the Kia lags behind the Renault Scenic E-Tech’s cavernous 545-litre capacity. Still, the load space is long and there’re plenty of little practical touches, such as being able to fold the rear seats via levers in the boot itself. 

You also get a 52-litre space under the bonnet — a frunk or froot, depending on your preference — with rear-wheel drive EV6s. With a second electric motor fitted to all-wheel drive versions, that drops to a less useable 20 litres. That’s not really good for anything other than your charging cables but at least it’s there, unlike some EVs. 

Rear visibility is hampered by that sloping roofline, larger pillars and the shallowness of the back window when viewed from the driver’s seat.

There’re plenty of parking aids across the range to assist, while top models get both remote smart parking — that lets you move the car forwards and backwards in and out of a space via the key from outside — and a blind-spot monitoring system that displays a camera feed in the digital dials. 

Kia has rapidly improved the feeling of quality in its cars in the last few years, to the point where they feel more upmarket than many mainstream rivals. The EV6 is no different and even better in the updated version from the end of 2024.

Gone is the piano black trim finish, replaced by a textured finish to cut down on fingerprint smudges. There’s also a refined steering wheel design, an updated dashboard finish and new ambient lighting sources to highlight the horizontality of the new interior design.

The cabin of each of the core Kia EV6 variants — Air, GT-Line and GT-Line S — is now finished in a different upholstery, with good looking black and white variations using cloth, artificial suede and leather, depending on your trim level choice.

It’s certainly posher inside than a Volkswagen ID.5 and wouldn’t feel overly inferior even next to premium-badged German alternatives such as the BMW i4.

Regardless of which Kia EV6 you go for you get the same infotainment setup comprising of a panoramic interface featuring two 12.3-inch screens which dominates the dashboard. It includes a freshened-up infotainment system to which wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone connectivity has been added from the 2024 update.

There’s also a fingerprint scanner as part of the facelift with which to load your personal settings, handy if you share the car with other people, while the uprated wireless charging pad can now operate at 15 watts. 

The touchscreen itself is pretty intuitive despite there being quite a lot of menus and the response seems good, even if there is occasionally some lag. It’s easier to operate than Volkswagen’s system, though the digital dials aren’t quite as clever. 

We’re glad that Kia has stuck with proper physical steering wheel buttons for the EV6 rather than fiddly haptic touchpads, although there is a panel of haptics elsewhere which can be switched between shortcuts for the infotainment screen and climate controls. You can opt to lock either mode in as the default setting and the response is decent but traditional climate knobs and switches remain easier to use. 

Top models get a fancy 360-degree surround view camera that gives you an external rendering of the whole car that can be moved around for greater awareness of obstacles when parking. It’s very clever, as is the augmented reality head-up display on GT-Line S trim that displays directional navigation arrows for you to follow on the windscreen. It’s not as distracting as it sounds.

The base price for a 2024 Kia EV6 RWD Air is £45,575, rising to £58,125 for the top-spec AWD GT-Line S. 

At first glance that might make it seem a little pricier than some rivals, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5 but because the EV6 only comes with one large battery size and even the cheapest version has a range of over 340 miles, it actually seems pretty good value. 

That’s not considering the space, performance, clever technology and stylish design. Take all that into account and we reckon it’s one of the best value EVs around, even if there are cheaper options. 

When talking about petrol or diesel cars the main running cost metric is miles-per-gallon (mpg). With electric cars you need to look at miles-per-kWh — abbreviated to a still-clunky mi/kWh. The Kia EV6 comes of rather well here with RWD models capable of between 3.7 and 4.9 mi/kWh without much effort. 

That means you get more out of each unit of electricity you zap into the Kia which is important given rising energy costs and increasingly expensive public rapid charging. Like every electric car, the EV6 makes the most financial sense if you have the facility to charge it up overnight at home. 

All versions of the Kia EV6 now have an 84.0kWh battery. Opting for a rear-wheel drive model means a WLTP Combined range of up to 361 miles, dropping to 347 miles with the larger 20-inch alloy wheels fitted to GT-Line S versions. 

Go for an all-wheel drive Kia EV6 with its increased power output and weight and those figures tumble to 339 miles for the GT-Line and 324 miles if you choose the GT-Line S.

Charging rates are excellent, with peak charging performance improving by 8% in the 2024 facelifted versions, increasing from 239kW to 258kW. Kia reckons you can take the battery from 10%-80% in just 18 minutes via a 350kW ultra-rapid charger and customers can gain up to 241 miles of range in only 15 minutes.

Many rapid chargers are still 50kW, however, which means you’d be looking at a 10%-80% charge in 1 hour 16 minutes. With a 7kW home wallbox you can fully charge the EV6 overnight in 7 hours 35 minutes but that becomes a massive 34 hours 40 minutes if you’re using a regular three-pin socket. 

There are three trim levels in the core Kia EV6 range, both before and after 2024’s makeover, consisting of Air, GT-Line and GT-Line S.

The entry-level Kia EV6 Air comes equipped with 19-inch grey-coloured alloy wheels, LED headlights, vegan (faux) leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, nav-based smart cruise control with stop and go tech, dual 12.3-inch screens, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, a six-speaker audio system, five USB-C ports, forward and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera and a suite of driver assist features. 

Stepping up to the Kia EV6 GT-Line brings you black-painted 19-inch alloy wheels, sportier exterior styling add-ons, dark-tinted rear privacy glass, a solar windscreen, adaptive LED headlights, black vegan leather upholstery with white panelled seat bolsters, electric front Premium Relaxation seats, alloy pedals and a wireless phone charger.

The top-spec Kia EV6 GT-Line S also adds 20-inch alloy wheels, automatic flush door handles, a sunroof, rear heated seats, ventilated front seats, electric steering wheel adjustment, a smart electric tailgate, a 14-speaker Meridian sound system, an augmented reality head-up display, remote smart park assist and a 360-degree around view monitor and camera-based blind spot monitor. It also adds some extra driver assist features including Highway Driving Assist 2 for semi-autonomous driving. 

In usual Kia fashion, the range of options is limited — essentially you can choose your paint finish, with some colours carrying an additional charge, while all-wheel drive EV6s can be specified with a heat pump for £950 to condition the battery for greater efficiency.