Kia EV6 GT review – a family crossover with Ferrari power

The task of creating a genuinely engaging performance variant of an electric car is not an easy one. While performance is easy to cultivate thanks to the wonders of electric motors, it’s the dynamic and sensational subtext that defines the very greatest driver’s cars. Stuff that tends to be compromised in cars weighing over two tons. 

It’s that sense of interaction which has been so sorely missing in almost all EVs with ambitions of appealing to enthusiasts. A Porsche Taycan Turbo GT is a mightily impressive car but there’s just nothing like the emotional resonance and sense of engagement – the feeling that you’re part of the process, not just a passenger –  you get in, say, a 911. This was true of the outgoing Kia EV6 GT, with its respectable 577bhp, hardcore GT mode and electronic limited-slip diff. Next to a BMW M3 Touring it didn’t move the emotional dial. In its latest form though, Kia believes it's cracked the performance car code. 

> Tesla Model Y Performance review – a Porsche Macan on a budget?

No longer just a top-spec EV6, the GT is now the sharper-suited, better-mannered cousin of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, benefitting from a few of the toys which make that car as impressive, but also as special and desirable, as it is. The hot EV6 has also dropped in price compared to the 2021 original, down to £59,985. You’d need a Porsche Macan Turbo at almost £100,000 to match its potency, so on appearances, the new EV6 GT is a lot of car for the money. Does it live up to that promise?

Motors, powertrain and technical highlights

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• More power and performance
• Virtual gears and noise
• New configurable MyDrive mode

On the outside it’s the Kia EV6 we’ve come to know, combining the new ‘star map’ signature lighting with a bit more aggression in the bumpers and 21-inch wheels shielding neon green brake calipers. There's no doubt this is the most purposeful EV6 on sale in terms of design, but there's still no ignoring its slightly awkward aero-led looks.

A lot more has changed underneath. The battery is 8.5 per cent up on capacity at 84kWh, allowing for a 279-mile WLTP range. It charges 8 per cent quicker at a max of 258kW and is a nominal 1kg lighter, in spite of its larger size. That doesn't make it any more efficient though, with our test car achieving around 2.7mi/kWh on a mixed run to give us a realistic average range of around 200 miles – thankfully the range estimate is accurate enough to give you some confidence in the minimal range you have.

There’s still one electric motor on each axle, though total system outputs are bumped to 641bhp and 568lb ft, with 406bhp at the rear wheels and 235bhp at the fronts. What’s most important though are the changes to how that power can be accessed. The latest EV6 GT has a virtual gear shift function, giving you six virtual gears with power bands that rise and fall through the ‘revs’ up to a limiter, just like a combustion car. Accompanying that is an active sound design with three volume levels that gives you a synthesized soundtrack to go along with the gears.c

Dynamically, you get an eLSD as before, adaptive dampers and adaptive steering. Overall spring rates are down compared to before, with new damper tuning for better control, balance and refinement. The new MyDrive driving mode allows you to customise individual parameters, from damping stiffness to steering weight. Reduction of noise, vibration and harshness has been a key goal of Kia too, with motor noise reduced by 10db using AI and road noise reduced with new sound-deadening materials. The existing (and potent) braking package remains, with 380/360mm front and rear disks.

Performance, ride and handling

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• Control and ride are manageable through the driving modes
• As fast as you could want on the road
• ‘Gears’ and ‘sound’ do make it more engaging

That the Kia EV6 GT was getting the ‘gears’ and ‘sound’ tech from the Ioniq 5 N was reason enough to bet it would represent a significant improvement in terms of driver engagement. That Kia chose the Old Military Road snaking across the Cairngorms National Park as the route on which to test it was a clue as to the Korean marque’s confidence. Stepping into the EV6 GT at Aberdeen International Airport, I made a beeline for the new features. 

Virtual gear shift can be selected either via the myriad menus in the infotainment system, or via the star button on the steering wheel. MyDrive meanwhile is selected with two presses of the GT button, with setup of the suspension stiffness, steering weight and powertrain response possible through the screen. Some buttons for quick adjustment of these parameters wouldn’t go amiss. Finally, the star button on the so-called ‘smart panel’ takes you to the driver assistance systems – lane departure warning and speed warning off. And you’re ready to go.

Immediately, the EV6 GT comes to you more naturally. The need to work the ‘revs’ via the ‘gears’ and the fake acoustics adding to the sense of familiarity usually alien in fast EVs. The sound is much quieter than in the Ioniq 5 N though. Almost too quiet. Kia says this reflects the less frenetic, grand touring character of the EV6 GT, but the lack of sound makes it very hard to judge when you next need to shift, often resulting in you running into the artificial redline. A lower 'redline' and only six 'gears' here compared to the 5 N's eight only exaggerates matters – I often find myself turning the system off entirely for a more fluid driving experience, whereas it's the opposite in the Hyundai.

There’s less busyness to the ride than the Hyundai, but still great control through heaves and compressions. The best compromise was the second of three settings, maintaining secondary ride quality and resistance to high frequency bumps but still with decent body control and composure. 

For a 2.2-ton bus it was mightily impressive – enjoyable even. The best compliment I can pay really is to say that you stop thinking about whether it’ll bottom out or over-roll. You just get into a flow and drive it, with the unlikeliest of smiles for someone behind the wheel of an electric SUV. That’s not to say it’s perfect. As you add speed your awareness of the weight increases. You end up falling back to a solid seven or eight tenths and get back into the flow where the car is happiest – a flow and pace that the likes of a Tesla Model Y would feel entirely out of its depth.

The brakes too are well up to the job of winding down the speedo numbers to avoid smearing oneself across a national park vista, while also charging the battery at up to 320kW if you’re really anchoring on. Worth noting, configurable regen, which you’d otherwise control with the paddles, disappears with the gears. It’s no great loss though as the setting it’s ‘stuck’ in when using the virtual gear shift feels like natural engine braking. 

The steering isn’t feelsome in the traditional sense but they’ve judged the weight settings well. Ratio too, with the front end super positive in all weather. The balance is also good, the rear-bias obviously present as you cut neutral stances on corner exit. Traction control will frequently spoil the fun in its standard modes, but enable 'GT' and it'll give you a good level of slip when you ask for it. 

The rest of the time the EV6 GT does what all EV6s are good at – sweeps you along in refinement and comfort, albeit not for the longest of distances, which was always the previous EV6 GT’s main problem, too.

Driver’s note:

‘Between the new-found configurability and the added points of interaction - however fake they may be - the new EV6 GT is something approaching a genuinely engaging electric car to drive with verve.’  – Ethan Jupp, evo web editor, who tested the EV6 GT on the road in the UK.

Charging, efficiency and range

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• Range is improved nominally compared to before
• 200-250 miles in careful mixed driving shouldn’t be an issue
• Charges are quicker, and they were quick before

Our time with the EV6 GT wasn’t necessarily representative of what they’ll be capable of in the hands of real owners. It got a proper drubbing, westwards across Scotland and actually stood up well. 

A proper 96-mile drive used 56 per cent of its charge from 100 percent, implying a c/180-mile range when you’re really going some. The drive back across the same route with a bit of motorway thrown in, taken no more sympathetically, saw us parked up with 44 per cent remaining again and 89 miles of indicated range left.

The EV6 GT consistently delivered 2.2m/kWh. Driven normally, 2.8 miles per kWh and up to 235 miles of real world range, shouldn’t be too difficult, in fair conditions at least. Then when it comes to juicing up again, at 258kW, you’ll go from 10 to 80 per cent in 18 minutes.

Nonetheless range is where the EV6 GT falls down compared to rivals. Even accounting for what’s possible in the real world, the Porsche Macan Turbo (comparable in terms of power and performance, if nowhere near on price) is good for over 300 miles in the real world. That makes the EV6 GT difficult to reconcile as a proper grand tourer, which Kia continues to insist it is.

Interior and tech

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• Great seats – supportive and comfortable
• Reasonably intuitive UI
• Still a fresh design with good quality

The interior of the EV6 GT hasn’t changed much compared to before. It’s still very spacious with a good view out, nice materials and intuitive interfaces for the two screens. There’s still not as much configurability of the driver’s display as you’d hope, given that pixels present endless opportunities, but it’s a pleasant enough look.

There’s good use of colour and nice materials – the seats are suede and there’s plenty of neon green stitching and highlights to remind you this is the special one. Most prominently on the steering wheel, which is new for this facelift and takes influence from the EV9. The button layout remains the same, however. This isn't a luxurious cabin by any stretch, but it's undoubtedly premium, with everything you touch well considered.

The i30 N-style bucket seats themselves are great, just as before, only now they have electrical adjustability. The driving position is as good as is possible in a lifted pseudo-SUV with a chunky battery under the floor.

Price and rivals

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The Kia EV6 GT is priced from £59,985, which is £2690 less compared to the car it replaces – that’s not to be sniffed at, given how most cars have gotten more and more expensive. When it first launched the EV6 GT represented good value in terms of available performance if not outright dynamic polish and driver engagement, and this latest car only improves on the formula.

There's strong competition from Stuttgart in the Porsche Macan EV, with more polish and added engagement over the Kia, with the updated Tesla Model Y Performance and Ford Mustang Mach-E GT also alternatives to consider. While the Porsche is closest on paper, it'll set you back £97,500, putting it in another league in terms of pricing. The Tesla costs from £61,990 and while its range and design are more palatable, its dynamic package can't come close to the Kia. It's quick, but the Mustang Mach-E GT has a fair few rough edges that make its £66,050 starting price especially hard to stomach.

Kia EV6 GT specs