Kia EV6 review

Good, in a word. More sprightly and engaging than the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (which has its own, more relaxed, appeal), with some genuinely surprising dynamic quirks. You’ll feel it pull with the front axle if you overload the grip, and the ghost of interesting AWD systems plays out in low-grip situations. 

So what are the options?

Well, there are four trim lines that consist of the base EV6, then GT-Line and GT-Line S and finally the full fat GT, and in the UK they all get the nice big 77.4kWh battery and 800-volt charging ability. They all have a 115mph top speed, interestingly, apart from the GT, which tops out at a mighty 162mph.

The base EV6 comes with one motor for the rear wheels, 225bhp and the headline 328 miles of range. You can get the same rear-wheel drive drivetrain in the two plusher specs, but in those two middle specifications, you also get the option of another motor for the front axle that brings all-wheel drive and more power and performance. 

So you can have GT-Line and GT-Line S with four-wheel drive, 320bhp and a 5.4 seconds 0-62mph time, but with more power comes more weight and less range, so you’ll only see just over 300 miles, as long as you stay steady on the accelerator. 

Over and above them all is the GT which gets… well… everything. Two motors, four-wheel drive, 584bhp and that 0-62mph time of 3.5 seconds with a top speed of more than 160mph. As usual for more potential performance you get less WLTP range - the GT will only manage 252 miles. 

Is it a sports car, then?

You soon realise that although the EV6 is sportish, it’s not really supposed to be a Lotus Elise. It’s more about acceleration confidence. It really is excellent at dealing with those junction pull-aways and gap-threading. It’s also quiet, calm and relaxing. Not a bad set of skills, all told.