Overview

The Kia EV6 is a great all-round package. It’s one of the very best electric cars that blends striking looks with impressive battery and motor technology, giving it a maximum range of more than 300 miles and some seriously eye-widening performance.

Unlike Kia’s other electric cars (the Niro EV and Soul EV), the EV6 is built on a dedicated electric platform rather than an adapted version of a combustion-engined chassis. The underpinnings are shared with Hyundai, which makes the Kia’s closest equivalent the Ioniq 5. It’s Kia’s flagship EV family car – and it’s so good, we handed it the Best Large Family Car in the Parkers New Car Awards 2024.

The electric car market is really starting to heat up, which means the EV6 has no shortage of rivals. Kia calls it an SUV, but its low-slung bodywork and swoopy roofline don’t really fit the traditional mould. We reckon it’ll offer a stern challenge to sportier electric cars like the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2, as well as traditional-looking SUVs such as the Skoda Enyaq iV and Audi Q4 E-Tron.

The EV6 comes in three trim levels: standard, GT Line and GT. For the standard and GT Line versions, you can choose from either a standard or long-range battery and a choice of two electric motor configurations.

The most basic rear-wheel drive version produces 230hp from a single e-motor, which is capable of pushing the car from 0–62mph in 6.2 seconds. The dual-motor, all-wheel drive version has an output of 325hp and a 0–62mph time of 5.2 seconds. But the GT is the exciting one – it packs 580hp and supercar-slaying acceleration.

Over the next few pages we’ll score the Kia EV6 in 10 key areas to give it an overall score out of five. Our assessment will take into account the driving experience, how pleasant the interior is, the practicality on offer and what it’ll cost you to run.