The EV6 GT is a fitting flagship for Kia. Jonathan Crouch straps himself in.
Ten Second Review
Kia continues to push the boundaries of its perceived position in the market. Here for instance, in the EV6 GT is a 577bhp Grand Tourer with all the stats, performance and luxury to embarrass a six-figure-priced premium German rival.
Background
By some margin, the EV6 GT is the most expensive model Kia has ever sold. Yet looked at in class perspective, you might also consider it to be amongst the best value cars the brand has ever offered. Just look at the numbers of this Gran Turismo-style upper mid-sized EV: 577bhp and rest to 62mph in just 3.5s. There's also 4WD, adaptive damping and an active electronically-controlled limited slip differential that can shift torque across the axle through the corners. To match that kind of CV, you'd need a Porsche Taycan 4S costing a cool £33,000 more.
The EV6 GT is the model taking over from the car that, more than any other, proved that Kia could be more than just another mainstream brand. Launched in 2018, the Stinger sold modestly but its halo effect on the brand was considerable. Kia it seemed, really could make a proper Gran Turismo-style luxury car to rival the German premium brands. And the EV6 GT is an even better one. Despite the numbers, it's not all about performance (its close cousin the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N is more track-tamed). There are slightly different priorities here: but still very fast ones.
Driving Experience
There's a very serious powertrain in play here, as the 577bhp output suggests. That's 256bhp above the standard EV6 AWD model that shares its 77.4kWh battery with this GT - but not that battery's so-called 'internal output', defined as the amount of power it can supply to the motors at peak demand; that has almost doubled over an ordinary EV6. Unfortunately though, there's a price to pay for this in terms of driving range, which falls to 263 miles here - a full 51 miles less than you'd get from an ordinary AWD version of this Kia.
Still, there are plenty of compensations from the heavier hardware responsible. Two permanent-magnet synchronous motors feature, the main one at the back producing 362bhp thanks to a dual-stage inverter using silicon-carbide semi-conductors. This drives an electronically-controlled limited-slip differential able to shift torque across the back axle - up to 100% of motor power to either rear wheel. A further smaller motor up-front adds up to 215bhp but gets de-coupled under gentle throttle use to aid efficiency. Kia's also developed a new variable-ratio steering rack and a new front axle specifically for this GT. Plus the ride height's been lowered by 5mm and rear anti-roll bar stiffness has been increased by 15%.
For ordinary driving, you get the usual three EV6 drive modes - 'Eco' (where power is limited to 288bhp), 'Normal' (where it raises to 460bhp), then 'Sport'. But with this top model, there's an extra setting for when the road opens up - a full-fat 'GT' mode. Engage that and 62mph is just 3.5s away (though you might hope for better given that a Tesla Model Y Performance achieves the same figure with 94bhp less and a Polestar 2 Dual-Motor AWD Performance Pack is only half a second slower with 160bhp less). This Kia's prodigious 2,125kg kerb weight no doubt plays a part in that and it's that weight that inevitably stops this Kia from feeling truly agile on the twisty stuff - in the way its Stinger predecessor managed so often to do. The fairly uncommunicative steering rack doesn't help here either. As you'd expect with an EV, the forward thrust drops off a little after 60mph, but this GT still continues on to a very un-EV-like top speed of 161mph. To scrub off all that speed, there's a very powerful set of green-calipered brakes aided by a brake regeneration system you can control via the steering wheel paddles.
As you might hope, adaptive dampers have been added to this GT's spec, one of the parameters you can tailor via a 'My Mode' option on the centre screen. The damping set-up's 9% softer at the front and 11% stiffer at the rear than standard EV6. Big 380/360mm front/rear brake discs deliver prodigious stopping power. And traction is assured not only by the AWD system but also by a grippy set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres wrapped around the big 21-inch wheels. For the times when you don't want traction, there's even the option of a selectable 'Drift mode' for tyre-smoking circuit slides.
Design and Build
You'd have to know your EV6s to recognise this GT version, but the cues are there if you look for them. Big bespoke 21-inch wheels with Neon green calipers, redesigned bumpers and a sharper body kit with an aerodynamic spoiler element at the rear. This car's close cousin, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N, is rather more overt.
Inside, green detailing marks out GT's cabin, that colour used for the special stitching on the unique soft black suede bucket seats and for the GT button that's been added to the steering wheel. As in an ordinary EV6, one of the most striking cabin elements is the wide, seamless high-tech curved infotainment screen, which gives the interior an open feel. Thanks to a relatively long 2,900mm wheelbase, cabin space is similar to many mid-size SUVs.
There's comfortable space for two adults on the rear bench and out back, there's a decently-sized 480-litre boot, extendable to 1,300-litres with the rear backrest folded. This is supplanted by a front trunk beneath the bonnet which provides up to an additional 20-litres of stowage space. Just enough for a set of charging leads.
Market and Model
At the time of our test in Spring 2024, Kia was asking just under £63,000 for this EV6 GT, which makes it one of the priciest cars the brand has sold in this country. But the extra premium of £6,400 over an ordinary EV6 AWD GT Line S variant seems a reasonable ask given the extra performance on offer here and the additional features - like adaptive damping and sports bucket seats. It's also worth noting that the GT variant gets a standard heat pump for more efficient cabin temperature regulation in colder months: that's a £900 option on an ordinary EV6.
As for rivals, well the asking price is around £3,000 more than perhaps the most obvious class alternative, the Tesla Model Y Performance, though that car has 94bhp less. It's £5,000 more than the other obvious rival that might spring to mind, the Polestar 2 Dual-Motor AWD Performance Pack. But both feel slightly smaller cars than this Kia (and are). A Ford Mustang Mach-E GT is perhaps closer in terms of size, but one of those costs over £12,000 more and is a second and a half slower to 62mph. To sit in and to drive, an EV6 GT feels more like the size of, say, an Audi e-tron GT quattro (which costs around £24,000 more); or a Porsche Taycan 4S (which costs around £33,000 more).
EV6 GT equipment includes intelligent LED headlights, which turn with the bends. Plus through the spokes of the larger 21-inch wheels (shod with stickier Michelin Pilot Sport 4S performance tyres), you'll glimpse neon green brake calipers. Sporty trim features around the fascia, you get a unique sports steering wheel and there's a 14-speaker Meridian premium audio system upgrade. Along with a Head-up display, alloy pedals, a smart powered tailgate, a 360-degree Around view monitor and remote smart park assist (which will allow you to stand outside the car and park it with your smartphone).
Cost of Ownership
You'll want to know about range capability and the answer is that this EV6 GT's 77.4kWh battery takes it only 263 miles between charges - which is well down on the 314 mile figure that same battery delivers in an ordinary EV6 AWD model. As with all EV6s, this car's E-GMP platform allows for 800-volt capability and this Kia accepts DC rapid charging at up to 220kW. If you're able to charge in this fashion, your EV6 GT will be able to accept a 10-80% charge in just 18 minutes and 62 miles of extra range can be added in only four and a half minutes. At home, using a typical 7.4kW garage wallbox, a full charge would take 12 hours and 30 minutes. The EV6 GT is also able to distribute charge to other vehicles at up to 3.6kW using its Type 2 socket, as part of an incorporated 'vehicle-to-load V2L' function. We're not quite sure why you'd ever want to do that, but it might conceivably be useful to charge large appliances using the car's battery 'on an outdoor adventure' according to Kia.
The EV6 GT is fitted with energy-recuperation technologies to maximise driving range. This includes Kia's latest-generation energy-efficient heat pump, which scavenges waste heat from the car's coolant system. This ensures that at minus 7 degrees Celsius, the car can achieve 80% of the range that would be possible at 25 degrees Celsius. Also featured is the latest generation of Kia's smart regenerative braking system, which is operated by paddle shifters behind the steering wheel so drivers can quickly and easily slow the car and recuperate kinetic energy to maximise driving range and efficiency. Insurance is group 45A.
Summary
it's not the very fastest EV of its kind; and point-to-point, it's not that much more rapid than less technically-sophisticated class alternatives from Tesla and Polestar. But we can't really imagine why you'd want to go any quicker than is possible here in a car of this sort. Logically, it's a much better all-round proposition than the vastly more expensive rivals that the size of this Kia makes you want to compare it to - cars like the Porsche Taycan 4S or the Audi e-tron GT quattro. But despite that, we can't imagine too much cross-shopping taking place with cars like those.
Which is a pity because in some ways, this Kia matches the Taycan and the e-tron blow for blow, even throwing in a few extra dynamic features of its own (like the Drift mode). And of course offering a far higher standard of spec for the money. It's probably the car in this class you ought to choose, but it probably won't be. And perhaps that doesn't matter. The EV6 GT, like the Stinger before it, is there primarily to prove what Kia is capable of. Quite a lot, as it turns out.
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