It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Kia has entered the EV segment with a bang. The company recently revealed some images of its first fully battery-electric vehicle called the EV6 without accompanying it with any data. But, the company has now officially debuted the car and it seems very impressive.

For starters, the Kia EV6 will make 577 ponies and 546 pound-feet of torque. It takes just 3.5 seconds to sprint to 62 mph from rest, which makes it faster than some Tesla models and Taycan iterations, too. And, did I mention it looks pretty hot?

2022 KIA EV6

Specifications
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  • Model: 2022 KIA EV6

2022 Kia EV6

Specifications
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Kia EV6 Battery, Charging, and Range

It supports 800V and 400V charging capabilities without the need for any extra adapters or components. It can recuperate from 10- to 80-percent in 18 minutes flat. When you have the Long Range 77.4 kWh battery pack plus a two-wheel-drive system setup, you can add up to 62 miles of range in 4.5 minutes.

Kia hasn’t yet revealed all the range figures, but with the larger 77.4 kWh battery pack and a two-wheel-drive system, the EV6 can travel up to 316 miles before going kaput, as per the WLTP cycle. This is the best that Kia has to offer, which means the EV6 with the smaller battery pack and an all-wheel-drive system will be the worst performer. So, what are we looking at? 200 miles? Expect these ratings to further go down when rated according to the EPA cycle.

The battery also comes with an Integrated Charging Control Unit which enables the vehicle-to-load function. We saw this feature in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 as well. With the vehicle-to-load function, the battery can supply power of up to 3.6 kW. To put things into perspective, a 55-inch television and an air-conditioner can simultaneously run for more than 24 hours when connected to the EV. It even allows charging another EV.

The EV6 comes with a heat pump that can achieve 80-percent of the range at -7 degrees Celsius that it would at 25 degrees Celsius. In the case of regeneration, the EV6 will come with paddle shifters behind the steering wheel that can be adjusted in six different levels based on the system’s aggressiveness.

Kia EV6 Powertrain

The Kia EV6 is underpinned by an electric-global modular platform. It will be offered in three different trims – EV6, GT Line, and GT.

The EV6 trim will be offered with the Long Range 77.4 kWh battery pack and both, two-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive layouts. The all-wheel-drive system features a motor on each axle and combined, they generate 321 horses and 446 pound-feet of torque. In the case of the all-wheel-drive setup, the EV6 takes 5.2 seconds to sprint to 62 mph from a standstill.

Kia EV6 Long Range Specifications

Battery

77.4 kWh

77.4 kWh

Power

225 HP

321 HP (Front & Rear combined)

Torque

258 LB-FT

446 LB-FT (Front & Rear combined)

0 to 60 mph

TBA

5.2 seconds


The GT-Line will come with the Standard Range 58 kWh battery pack. The rear-wheel-drive setup dishes out 168 ponies and 258 pound-feet of torque. The all-wheel-drive model produces 232 horses and 446 pound-feet of twist. The 0-62 mph time in the case of the dual-motor setup is listed as 6.2 seconds.

Kia EV6 GT-Line Standard Range specifications

2WD

AWD

Battery

58 kWh

58 kWh

Power

168 HP

232 HP (Front & Rear combined)

Torque

258 LB-FT

446 LB-FT (Front & Rear combined)

0 to 60 mph

TBA

6.2 seconds


The GT is the performance model of the range and comes with the larger 77.4 kWh battery pack. It comes only with a dual-motor setup that powers both axles. Together, the motors churn out 577 ponies and 546 pound-feet of twist! The EV6 will take just 3.5 seconds to sprint to 62 mph from a standstill and will have a top speed of 162 mph. These are preliminary development targets, but you can expect the same in the production model too.

Kia EV6 GT specifications

AWD

Battery

77.4 kWh

Power

577 HP (Front & Rear combined)

Torque

546 LB-FT (Front & Rear combined)

0 to 60 mph

3.5 seconds

Top Speed

162 mph


Kia also noted that the towing capacity on the EV6 is rated at 3,527 pounds.

Kia EV6 Exterior

While looks are subjective, I for one loved the EV6’s design and styling. It is based on Kia’s new design philosophy called ‘Opposites United’. Kia has been using the ‘Tiger Nose’ grille on its models for a long time. The EV6’s face is inspired by the same but with looking at the future. So, the ‘Digital Tiger Face’ here comes with a sequential dynamic light pattern for the daytime running lights. We saw Hyundai dwell deep into the same aspect as well with the Ioniq 5.

The side profile is clean and it comes with flush door handles, too. The wheel design seen in the images looks smart, but we’ll have to see if there are any special aero wheels on offer. Things at the rear look a little contrasting, but it gels well with the overall design. The wing-type spoiler aids with the car’s aerodynamics. Since the production version is not ready yet, we don’t have the drag coefficient ratings yet. Anything in the low 0.20s would be very impressive.

This Kia car measures 184.2 inches in length in the EV6 trim and 0.6 inches longer in the case of GT and GT-Line. The electric car is 74 inches wide in the EV6 form and 74.4 wide in the GT and GT-Line trims. In terms of height, it measures 61 inches, but the top GT trim sits 0.2 inches lower. The wheelbase is 114.2 inches long in all the trims.

2022 Kia EV6 exterior dimensions

EV6

EV6 GT-line

EV6 GT

Wheelbase

114.2 inches

114.2 inches

114.2 inches

Length

184.2 inches

184.8 inches

184.8 inches

Width

74 inches

74.4 inches

74.4 inches

Height

61 inches

59.8 inches

59.8 inches


Kia EV6 Interior

The cabin looks good and spacious, too. The two-spoke flat-bottom steering wheel needs to be carried over to the production-spec EV6. The car follows the new cabin design staple wherein the digital instrument cluster and the touchscreen system come conjoined in a single, curved glass screen. These are two 12-inch screens that come with a variety of functions.

The touchscreen runs on the company’s latest UVO infotainment system. There’s no word yet, but it should support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A 14-speaker meridian surround sound system will be offered as optional. The EV6 will also come with an augmented reality head-up display system, perhaps similar to the Cadillac Escalade.

On the sustainability front, Kia has built the seats using recycled plastics, equivalent to 111 plastic bottles in every car. The EV6 offers 18.4 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats. Flip the second row down and you’ll have 45.9 cubic feet of space available at your disposal. The frunk offers 0.7 cubic feet of space.

Kia EV6 Safety and Driver-Assistance Features

Kia hasn’t jumped into detail here, but the EV6 will be available with features like:

-* Safe Exit Assist

-* Lane Following Assist

-* Highway Driving Assist 2

-* Remote Smart Parking Assist

Conclusion

Kia is yet to announce the pricing of the EV6. It will go on sale from the second-half of 2021 in select markets, with online reservations beginning from March 30 in some markets.