Kia EV6 Review

Motors and performance

RWD (rear-wheel drive) models come with a modest 225bhp as standard with the AWD (all-wheel drive) variants packing a beefier 320bhp courtesy of an addition motor driving the front wheels. Should you require any more oomph, Kia will happily sell you the GT version, which comes with 577bhp.

You can choose from a slightly dizzying six levels of brake regen via the steering wheel paddles, depending on how vigorous you want the brake recuperation to be, and how vital it is that you’re clawing back range. With such impressive claimed range figures as standard, it might not be as crucial here as in rivals. If you select i-Pedal mode you get pretty effective one-pedal driving and if you select auto, the car works out the most efficient regen' based on the kind of roads you’re on.

Drive and Handling

Is the EV6 fun to drive? Well, it kind of depends on what your definition of fun is. We can’t help but feel that Kia tried a little bit too hard to make the EV6 feel sporty with the original model. Perhaps in an effort to distance the EV6 from the lounge-like Hyundai IONIQ 5 (with which it shares its platform), Kia opted to give the EV6 sharp responses and a pretty unforgiving suspension set-up.

For the facelift model, Kia has addressed most of the concerns. The suspension has been wound back a few notches, which has removed the low-speed harshness without taking away its agile feel. That said, Sport mode still borders on the unpleasant in terms of jagged responses and throttle calibration. As before, Normal and Eco are the most pleasant modes for day-to-day driving.