The first time I drove the Kia EV6 GT-Line AWD I was impressed, so I knew driving this more powerful EV6 GT AWD was going to be an experience. The EV6 GT goes like a rocket ship and looks extra spacey in this optional Moonscape matte paint with alien-like fluorescent green highlights.
The Kia EV6 GT has the same dual motor infrastructure as the GT-Line, a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor front and rear with 1 speed automatic transmission (Reduction Gear) and all-wheel drive with a 77.4kWh Lithium-ion battery. The difference being is the combined system power of the GT is almost double that of the GT-Line, 430kW compared to 239kW and maximum torque is up from 605Nm to 740Nm.
In addition to the three standard drive modes, Eco, Normal, and Sport, the EV6 GT also gets a dedicated GT mode. This is activated by pressing the bright green GT button on the steering wheel and it turns everything up to 11 with the ESC off. Even with the ESC off there was still plenty of grip on hand, but you could definitely feel that the ride was firmer.
If you press the GT button a second time you will engage My Drive Mode, which allows the driver to configure a number settings. These include the Motor, Steering, Suspension, e-LSD, and ESC. There is also another option to choose the type of engine sound you would like, Stylish, Dynamic, Cyber or Custom sound. I did not explore how you upload a custom sound, but one that would be appropriate is rocket blasting off from Cape Canaveral. But as one of the pleasures of driving an electric vehicle is the lack of an engine sound, I preferred to have this option turned off.
The increased power and torque of the EV6 GT has a two-fold impact on the performance, on the plus side this Kia will go from 0-100km/h in a claimed 3.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 260km/h. And yes particularly in GT mode, when you press the accelerator, which amusingly has a positive symbol on it, the EV6 GT will firmly plant you back in the bucket seats.
On the minus side is what this does to the range you can expect to get from the EV6 GT. The official claimed WLTP Range is 424km or a usage of 206Wh/km. For my week driving the EV6 GT, on the highest regenerative braking setting and not being too excitable on the positive pedal I used 237Wh/km, or 23.67kW/100km, with a maximum range 327km. By comparison I used 18.94kWh/100km in the Kia EV6 GT-Line.
The other noticeable difference between the GT-Line and the GT was the rate that it charged at using the portable AC charger that comes with the EV6 GT. I used this charger for my week and I found that the GT charged at an indicated 1.3kW compared to 2.2KW for the GT-Line. This meant I was only getting around 18-20% of charge for the 12 hours the GT was plugged in overnight. Owners of the Kia EV6 GT would need to consider installing a 11KW home charger that Kia estimates will charge from 10-100% in approximately 7h 20m (at 230V / 16A).
When you plug the cord into the charge port, which is located on the driver’s side at the rear tail light it makes a locking sound and the EV6 GT says “Start Charging” so that you can be in no doubt that you have correctly connected the charger. There are also lights adjacent to the charge port that light up and indicates the progress of the charging and a display on the dash
For DC (charging station) charging the EV6 has a CCS Type 2 port that supports 400V and 800V charging infrastructure without the need for additional adaptors. Kia estimates that a DC Fast Charge from 10-80% using a 50kW Charger would take approximately 73 minutes and going from 10-80% using a 350kW Charger would take approximately 18 minutes. The EV6 also comes with an external Vehicle to Load Exterior Adaptor (Type 2) enabling you to power items with an AUS/NZ Type Socket.
Often electric vehicles are said to be ‘emissions free’, but this is not the case even though they do not have any tailpipe emissions. A Life Cycle Analysis for Greenhouse Gases enables consumers better understand the impact of the product they are purchasing by calculating the gases produced during manufacturing, use, and disposal stages. Kia have published the Life Cycle Analysis data for an EV6 (with a battery capacity of 58kWh and max Motor power of 125kW) in their 2022 Sustainability Magazine. This indicated over a functional lifespan of 200,000km or 10 years that particular EV6 will produce 33.32 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Much of the interior of the EV6 GT is similar to the GT-Line, the only really noticeable difference is the grippy GT bucket seats made from Artificial Suede/Artificial Leather with Green Stitching and Piping with the GT design dashboard garnish. These front seats are heated and have manual recline and forward/back adjustment only.
The curved display incorporates a 12.3″ digital driver’s cluster, which changes depending on the drive mode selected, and a 12.3″ touch screen infotainment system. The satellite navigation system comes with 10 years traffic information and map updates, handy so you will always know where the nearest charger is located. When the nearby charge stations are displayed the EV6 includes Chargefox, NRMA and True station, so you have multiple options to choose from. The sat nav indicates if these are AC or DC chargers, but does not have live information to know if they are available for use. When you select the EV display on the infotainment system is gives you the percentage the battery is at, your projected range and the distance to your nearest charger.
Wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay come as standard and include voice recognition, which only works when these are connected to the EV6, and is activated by pressing the button on the steering wheel with the masculine looking silhouette on it. Other media sources available include DAB/FM, AM, Bluetooth, USB music, USB video, and Sounds of Nature, The Lively Forest selection sounds particularly lovely on the 14 Speaker Meridian Premium Sound System.
I still really like the two-way display below the central air vents, which has the climate control information and with the touch of a button, displays your infotainment menu so you can select from map, radio, media, etc. And disliked the gloss black surrounding the rotary gear selector and near the start button as it quickly gets dusty and finger marks on it.
Cabin storage is the same as the EV6 GT-Line, with a large storage cubby under the arm rest and another large cubby below the floating centre console that would fit a handbag. Here there is one USB-C port and a 12V outlet and at the front of the firewall there is another USB-C port and a USB-A port. Adjacent to the two cup holders in the centre console, which are at different heights, have grippy sides and a removable rubber mat for easy cleaning, there is a wireless charge pad for compatible devices. The front door cubbies would fit large drink bottles and the rear door cubbies would fit a slimmer drink bottle.
The rear seat feels spacious thanks to the lack of a transmission tunnel and I liked that there was a single floor mat that covered the entire rear footwell to make cleaning easier and traversing by children easier. The outer rear seats are heated and you can manually adjust recline. There is ample head and leg room for two adults, but there is a lack of under thigh support from the seats and it felt like my knees were sitting up high.
The EV6 has two ISOFIX/three rear tether child seat restraint points, but most likely you would only fit two car seats in. The centre seat can be folded down as an arm rest with two rigid cup holders in it or you can slide the cup holder slot back and up to give you one rectangular shaped area. The air vents are located on the B-pillars with manual open/close and direction control. Under the rear seat at the centre is an internal Vehicle to Load Adaptor with an AUS/NZ Type Socket and there two USB-C ports located between the two front seats.
At the front of the EV6 under the bonnet there is a small storage trunk, while the rear boot is a reasonable size and would fit the weekly shop or a pram and a small shop. If more space is required the rear seats have a 60:40 split fold mechanism with a manual release lever located in the boot. The boot has a power operated tailgate that can be open/closed from the button under the tailgate, on the key fob or the button in the cabin. There are four plastic tie down points, no hooks, one 12V outlet and a light in the boot and the portable AC charger and tyre repair kit are neatly stored in bags. Under the boot floor is another shallow storage space for the Vehicle to Load Adaptor plug and cargo net.
The Kia EV6 GT is unrated by ANCAP, but does have dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags. Active safety measures on the EV6 GT include Autonomous Emergency Braking – Car, Pedestrian, Cyclist & Junction Turning, Lane Keeping Assist, Lane Following Assist, Blind Spot Collision Warning and Avoidance Assist with Rear Cross Traffic Collision Warning, Parking Collision Avoidance Assist – Reverse, Surround View Monitor with 3D Mode and front and rear sensors, and Blind Spot View Monitor, which displays a camera image on the driver’s dash when you indicate left and right. Plus, for convenience you get High Beam Assist, Dusk-Sensing Automatic Head Lights, and Rain Sensing Wipers. There is a quiet bong emitted from the EV6 when you are reversing to alert nearby pedestrians that the vehicle is moving.
Kia Australia provides a seven year/150,000km (whichever occurs first) against defects arising in materials or manufacture for High Voltage Electrical Vehicle Systems Components which include but are not limited to: On Board Charger, Traction Motor, Electric Power Control Unit (EPCU & HPCU), High Voltage (HV) Battery System. The HV Lithium-Ion Polymer Battery is warranted for capacity loss below 70% of the original battery capacity.
There are three pre-paid service plans available for three years, five years or seven years, which currently cost $733, $1,371 and $2,013 respectively or you can still opt for pay as you go servicing with the service interval being 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first. Each time you service your Kia at an authorised dealer you are automatically signed up for 12 months road side assistance as well.
The Kia EV6 GT’s speed and spacey features make this one of the most entertaining electric vehicles I have driven to date. Prices for the Kia EV6 GT AWD start at $99,590 excluding on-road costs and as tested with Moonscape Matte Paint (with Kia Car Care Paint Protection) $3,295 the EV6 GT I drove was $102,885 excluding on-road costs. Visit the Kia Australia website to Build & Price an EV6 GT or your preferred Kia dealer for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| It’s a very quick EV | Real-world battery range is impacted by performance |
| The GT interior highlights | Slow charging speed at home |
| Kia publishing the GHG Life Cycle Analysis data | The gloss black centre console/arm rests |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.