We have tested the range of the Kia EV6 RWD with 77.4 kWh battery in practice, on the Dutch highway at 100 and 130 km/h. Does the Kia EV6 with one electric motor on the rear axle achieve the official driving range of 528 kilometers?
Kia will bring the EV6 to the Netherlands in the winter. Not the ideal season for a range test, because electric cars use more power when it’s cold. The heating is on and they have to overcome more friction.
Our Kia EV6 RWD is also mounted on 20-inch wheels (19-inch is standard), which means that, according to Kia, the power consumption is almost 5 percent higher. So we are not going to reach 528 kilometers anyway, 500 kilometers is the aim.
During the test drives it is cold: about 5 degrees Celsius. During the day it is dry and we drive 100 km/h with the traffic. In the evening after 7 p.m. the EV6 comfortably plows at 130 km/h through wind and rain. We drive in comfort mode, the heating is at 21 degrees and we start and end at the same point.
Kia EV6: range at 100 km/h
At 100 km/h, the Kia EV6 RWD has an average power consumption of 19.3 kWh/100 km. If you would completely empty a full battery of 77.4 kWh, you would come 401 kilometers far.
In the menu of the Kia EV6 we see that 11 percent of the energy consumption goes to ‘luxury businesses’ such as heating and electronics (such as seat and steering wheel heating). If you turn it off (brrrrr!), you’ll be about 40 kilometers further.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 was more economical (17.2 kWh/100 km), but it was all right: 22 degrees, little wind and a lick of sunscreen on his nose. We are hopeful that the Kia EV6 can at least match this low power consumption in the summer. Then the range would be 450 kilometers.
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Kia EV6: range at 130 km/h
The Kia EV6 has a power consumption of 28.0 kWh/100 km at 130 km/h. That equates to a 130 km/h range of 276 kilometers. Is that good? Is that bad? If we look at the competition and the weather conditions (5 degrees, wind, rain), Kia can be satisfied. The Ioniq 5 did 27.0 kWh/100 km (in summer), while the Volkswagen ID.4 came home on a cold autumn day with 29.8 kWh/100 km.
Conclusion
In winter, electric cars perform less than in summer. That is a fact that Kia cannot ignore. Yet we are not shocked by the EV6 consumption figures at 5 degrees Celsius. At 100 km/h you get 401 kilometers and at 130 km/h the battery is empty after 276 kilometers. Those numbers will only go up in the spring.