Kia EV6 GT 2023 Review

Electric cars are not cheap and neither is Kia’s new flagship high-performance wagon, the 2023 Kia EV6 GT, which starts at $99,590 plus on-road costs and requires at outlay of well over $100K in order to drive it out of the showroom.

The GT expands the Kia EV6 line-up to four models, joining the single-motor/rear-drive Air (from $72,590) and GT-Line (from $79,590) and the dual-motor/all-wheel drive GT-Line (from $87,590).

Rivals? Well, looking at body style and size you could nominate its sister vehicle, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 AWD (from $79,500), but based on performance it’s a closer match to EVs such as the Porsche Taycan (from $158,100) and Audi e-tron GT (from $181,700).

The standard equipment list for the 2023 Kia EV6 GT is comprehensive and, for starters, includes pretty much everything from the Kia EV6 GT-Line.

Headline features on the GT include twin 12.3-inch digital screens mounted behind a single pane of curved glass, a thumping 14-speaker Meridian sound system, a large sunroof, wireless phone charger, dual-zone automatic climate control, impressively integrated 64-colour ambient LED cabin lighting, a remote parking system, a hands-free powered tailgate and pop-out door handles.

Above and beyond the GT-Line, the EV6 GT gets bigger 21-inch alloy wheels, better Michelin Pilot Sport tyres and bigger brakes (with striking neon green brake callipers), Matrix LED headlights, strobing LED indicators and, crucially, lightweight body-hugging sports seats with faux leather and suede upholstery and neon green piping.

The sports seats are more suited to enthusiastic driving and are better for taller drivers too, because they can be lowered into the car further. The flipside is that they’re only heated, not cooled, like in the GT-Line, and are manually adjustable.

Five colours are available including Runway Red at no extra cost and Yacht Blue, Snow White pearl and Aurora Black pearl adding $520. The EV6 GT in the photos gets the Moonscape matte hero colour, which adds a hefty $3295 to the price.

Like all Kia cars, the tyre-shredding road rocket is backed by a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, which is better than most rivals, but the battery warranty of seven years/150,000km is curiously worse than its main competitors.

Three pre-paid service plans are available spanning three years ($733), five years ($1371) and seven years ($2013), all of which are slightly more expensive than other EV6 maintenance packages chiefly due to the bigger brakes.

Intervals are set at 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

Every Kia EV6 model has a five-star ANCAP safety rating – except this one. So why is the rip-snorting 2023 Kia EV6 GT unrated?

Kia Australia’s general manager of product planning, Roland Rivero, told carsales it was due to the new sports seats.

“Fundamentally, the sports bucket seats prevent the five-star ANCAP rating,” he said. “The design of the seat and contour of the headrest to allow a race helmet adjusts the dynamic whiplash score. It would be a four-star rating otherwise.

“The only way around that is to have it unrated, as this doesn’t downgrade the range. It would downgrade the whole range otherwise.”

The same issue affected the Ford Focus RS last decade, also due to racy seats.

Despite the reduction in dynamic whiplash protection, the EV6 should perform well in the event of a crash – as shown by the earlier EV6 testing – and it’s fitted with a broad array of safety features.

There are eight airbags covering front and rear occupants, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with junction assist, blind spot detection and semi-autonomous steering, braking and acceleration via adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality, and rather impressive active lane keep assistance that makes long highway drives an absolute doddle.

There are also blind spot cameras on the left and right side of the car, a 360-degree surround-view camera, power child locks, front and rear parking sensors and a tyre pressure monitoring system – but no spare tyre.

The 2023 Kia EV6 GT has a good blend of intuitive tech, most of which is nicely integrated and easy to access.

The main event is undoubtedly the big 12.3-inch curved dual screens that house the digital driver’s display and central touch-screen.

Both offer fairly crisp, high-resolution visuals, and while there’s no wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, the lethargy and delay of the wireless systems is not missed.

You also get one of the best head-up displays (HUD) available today, delivering clear and timely blind spot alerts and excellent navigation prompts.

The fitment of twin V2L (vehicle-to-load) ports, recognisable as three-pin household power points inside and outside the vehicle, means you can plug in and run appliances, laptops, TVs, projectors, various camping equipment, even another EV – you name it.

These plugs add a level of versatility (and power output) that few other cars offer today.

This is not the first EV6 with a dual-motor powertrain, but the 2023 Kia EV6 GT is the first with an oil-cooled rear motor that belts out more mumbo (270kW/390Nm) than any other model.

All up, the EV6 GT generates a gob-smacking 430kW and 740Nm when the front motor’s output (160kW/350Nm) is combined.

The upgraded rear motor can also operate in isolation and the driver can force it to do so via drift mode, which is unique to the GT model.

Its use is not recommended on the road, but on the track it’s pretty wild (for an electric wagon), and you can see the video above or on YouTube for evidence.

Kia claims the GT will sprint from 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds, and while we could only manage 3.7sec on multiple runs using a satellite-based Vbox system, we didn’t get a chance to improve performance via the battery optimisation feature, which requires 80 per cent charge or more.

We’re informed this should slice another tenth of a second off the acceleration time.

Either way, it’s a ludicrously rapid vehicle that punches you in the chops every time you launch it in GT mode, which enables full power and torque.

And having had the chance to compare it back-to-back with the AWD GT-Line (5.2sec 0-100km/h), the GT is in another league.

Another feature unique to the EV6 GT is the fitment of an E-diff (electronic limited-slip differential) designed to maximise power delivery and grip while cornering under throttle.

The battery in the 2023 Kia EV6 GT is the same 77.4kWh lithium-ion pack used in other EV6 models, but the higher-output powertrain reduces the driving range to 424km (WLTP).

Entry-level rear-drive Air variants with the same battery can achieve a claimed 528km, for example.

After tyre-melting hot laps on the racetrack, cruising range dropped like a stone, but the drive between Haunted Hills and Melbourne – a 144km cruise that took around two hours – showed energy usage of around 20kWh/100km, which suggests its 424km range is achievable.

Recharging the almost 500kg battery pack from 10 to 100 per cent takes just under 33 hours with a (roughly 2kW) regular household power point. This drops to around seven hours with a 7kW wallbox.

Topping up the EV6 GT’s battery from 10 to 80 per cent using a 50kW public fast-charger takes a claimed 73 minutes – enough time to argue with a barista about scorching the milk.

If you come across an ultra-fast 350kW charger it should replenish the battery by the same 70 per cent in 18 minutes. Most of the 350kW ultra-fast chargers we’ve used with EV6s have only managed 220kW, but that’s still pretty rapid.

Making an electric car go fast in a straight line is easy. A quick Google search for “Tesla ludicrous launch mode” will prove this point.

The real challenge has always been making an EV go around corners elegantly, which they generally don’t excel at given their inherent obesity via big battery packs. It’s something that has only really been achieved by the Porsche Taycan.

Until now.

The 2023 Kia EV6 GT is fun to drive and has a level of handling dynamism and mid-corner composure not yet experienced in a mainstream EV that won’t break the bank (relatively speaking, of course).

While all Kia vehicles, EV or otherwise, get an Aussie chassis tune – including this one – with unique shock absorber and steering calibration, two major changes over the garden-variety Kia EV6 models make this GT version special: adaptive dampers and ultra-sticky 21-inch Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres (255/40).

The adaptive dampers have three modes: Normal, Sport and GT, with the latter being rather firm.

Combine stoic suspension with very grippy French tyres and you’re looking at a very capable racetrack warrior.

After a handful of laps, it’s manifestly clear that Kia has developed a very capable sports car, one that will leave you grinning like a Cheshire cat, mostly.

Sure, it’s heavy (2185kg tare) and will understeer if you head into a corner too hot, scrubbing the chunky front tyres as the nose pushes wide, but driver engagement levels are pretty good – for an EV.

The Kia EV6 GT is very playful and doesn’t mind wagging the tail in GT mode when you mash the throttle early exiting corners, thanks to the potent rear-axle e-motor. It’s no surprise the man behind the previous-generation BMW M3, Albert Biermann, oversaw the development of this car.

The tight and twisty Haunted Hills racetrack requires drivers to have their wits about them – it can be scary in a hot hatch let alone a 2.2-tonne techno-weapon – and in some ways felt more enjoyable and satisfying to drive hard across some of Gippsland’s finest country roads.

Even in plain old ‘Sport’ mode, which dials back the shock absorber firmness and power output, the Korean scorcher is still astonishingly rapid point-to-point.

I found myself laughing like a giddy little kid on several occasions, and I reckon any sports car that can make you do that is good for the soul.

For all that, the missing piece of the puzzle is acoustic involvement. The GT makes a subtle hum but lacks the satisfying visceral snarl of a highly-strung combustion engine.

I reckon a loud and primal synthesised thrum would make the driving experience more rewarding. Instead, you just hear the wheels (and passengers) squealing in full attack mode.

But I’m nit-picking here and the EV6 GT is a beautifully engineered machine whose Aussie localisation makes the suspension a bit softer and compliant, which is important for our crummy country road surfaces.

The big brakes – 380/360mm front/rear (versus 325mm all-round in lesser EV6s) – inspire plenty of confidence to push the chubby Korean deep into corners before hitting the anchors.

And then when it’s time to cruise home on the freeway, flick it into Eco mode and the suspension softens even further, resulting in a surprisingly comfortable and astonishingly versatile EV.

There’s no doubt that this vehicle sets a new benchmark for driving dynamics in the EV arena from a mass-market mainstream brand like Kia.

We tested the GT and GT-Line versions of the 2023 Kia EV6 back-to-back, which gives us a unique take on the interior and comfort levels.

For starters, at 183cm tall, I found the top-spec EV6 GT more comfortable on longer trips as a result, despite the lack of power adjustability on the seats.

Indeed, the new sports seats are very supportive, even after several hours in the saddle.

Save for the fancy bucket seats, the improved front occupant headroom and neon green highlights, the GT interior is largely the same as regular models, which is a good thing.

All the controls are easy to use, and despite the familiarity with other Kia vehicles, the cabin has an ultra-modern look and feel, along with very good storage space.

It’s a bit lame that the rear windows don’t have auto up/down functionality, but apart from that it’s a rather spacious and relaxing place to spend time.

Boot space is reasonably good, and although there’s a bit of extra storage under the bonnet it’s only 20 litres, or enough for a couple of bottles or a laptop bag, compared with 52 litres found in lesser EV6 models.

Is the 2023 Kia EV6 GT worth paying an extra $12,000 over the dual-motor all-wheel drive Kia EV6 GT-Line? Heck yes.

There’s already a 12-month waiting list that will probably double overnight once the Australian reviews go live, and rightly so – it’s hard to fault and easy to praise.

Indeed, the EV6 GT represents a paradigm shift not only in the way high-performance cars, well, perform, but also in the way it changes the value-for-money equation.

Up until now, to experience this sort of breathtaking acceleration backed up by impressive cornering balance and high grip levels for genuine racetrack capability, you either had to have wealth or wealthy friends and family who had predilections for exotic cars.

Not anymore.

The Kia EV6 GT is a triumph of engineering in its ability to offer extreme performance at one end of the spectrum and relaxed, comfortable cruising at the other end.

It really is a wolf in nerds’ clothing and will cook your synapses if you disrespect its capability.

2023 Kia EV6 GT at a glance:
Price: $99,590 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Two permanent magnet synchronous motors
Output: 430kW/740Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 77.4kWh lithium-ion
Range: 424km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 20.6kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested