This is the fully electric Kia EV6, a brand new model that is a very important one for Kia. The EV6 is the first Kia to feature on the E-GMP platform, developed entirely for electric cars, and the brand’s first model to showcase Kia’s new design language.
The Kia EV6 will make its public debut in its entirety this month, but Kia is already showing the exterior and interior of its new electric car. The Kia EV6 promises to be a very interesting EV. The EV6 is the first car from Kia developed completely as an electric model and is also designed in an extremely special way. Kia’s new design philosophy ‘Opposites United’ debuts on this electric EV6. That this is more than just a nice-sounding term, the electric EV6 proves from all sides.
Design
To put it somewhat bluntly, you should see the Kia EV6 as the brother of the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Just like that electric Hyundai, this EV6 is also on a variant of the brand new E-GMP platform specifically intended for EVs. There is another similarity with the Ioniq 5, the EV6 also has a very distinct design. However, the two differ as day and night from each other. While the body of the Ioniq 5 is interspersed with straight lines, the design of the EV6 incorporates both angular and round shapes. The EV6 has sharply cut headlights with segmented LED daytime running lights both below and above. It Digital Tiger Face, Kia calls it. An evolution of it Tiger Nose-front that Kia used in recent years. In between is the new Kia logo, but there is more striking about the EV6.
Kia EV6
For example, the electric Kia has a sloping roofline that ends in a strikingly flat rear window. The optical attraction of the Kia EV6 is the rear lighting. A LED strip runs across the entire width of the tailgate, which on both sides ends in diagonal LED rear lights, which appear to be made up of stripes. The rear lights optically extend to the plastic wheel arch edges. The actual units also flow downwards into the reversing lights, which in turn flow into a chrome strip that runs over the entire width of the butt. It looks original in any case.
Kia EV6
Interior
Kia has also made work of the interior of the EV6, although the workplace of the electric crossover looks less unconventional than its exterior. Behind the stubbornly designed two-spoke steering wheel is an enormous display, a curved screen that incorporates the infotainment screen in addition to the digital instruments. The center console looks quite tidy. We do not find more than the ventilation grilles, which optically run across the entire width of the dashboard, and a panel with touch-sensitive buttons with haptic feedback for, among other things, the climate control. In the center tunnel there are of course cup holders, but also a rotary knob to choose the desired direction of travel, an induction charger and the start button.
Technic
Kia does not yet share technical specifications of the electric EV6. These will follow later this month when the car is presented in its entirety. The already mentioned Hyundai Ioniq 5 does give a good indication of what you can expect from the Kia EV6, also in terms of dimensions. The Ioniq 5 has a wheelbase of no less than three meters and that will hardly be any different with this Kia EV6. That is really huge. In comparison, Kia’s largest European SUV, the Sorento, has a wheelbase of 2.82 meters. Even Kia’s largest SUV in American showrooms, the 5-meter-long Kia Telluride, has a wheelbase that is less than 10 centimeters at 2.9 meters. We are aiming for the time being that the Kia EV6 is roughly 4.65 meters long and that the luggage compartment has a capacity of about 530 liters.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 to which the Kia EV6 is strongly associated
Kia will undoubtedly deliver the EV6 in various flavors. Just like the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Kia EV6 is basically a rear-wheel drive that also gets four-wheel drive versions. The Ioniq 5 is available with a 58 kWh and with a 72.6 kWh battery pack. Count on similar packages for the EV6. The entry-level Ioniq 5 has a 170 hp and 350 Nm strong electric motor on the rear axle and has the 58 kWh battery. If you combine this battery pack with four-wheel drive, you also get an 88 hp and 350 Nm strong electric motor on the front axle that brings the system power to 235 hp and 605 Nm. The versions with the 72.6 kWh battery pack are stronger. The Ioniq 5 72.6 kWh with rear-wheel drive is 218 hp and 350 Nm strong, the four-wheel drive variant no less than 306 hp and 605 Nm. That top version buzzes in about 5 seconds to a speed of 100 km / h. For the Kia EV6, just like the Ioniq 5, you can count on a range of up to about 480 kilometers.
Naming
Model name EV6 of course indicates that Kia is using a new naming strategy for its upcoming electric models. All new EVs from the brand will have ‘EV’ in their name, followed by a number indicating their placement in the Kia range.
More later this month! Here you can read more about the technically strong Hyundai Ioniq 5 related to this Kia EV6.