Kia EV6 GT-Line RWD 2026 Review

Seoul, we have a problem. There are some very good things about the Kia EV6 GT-Line, but the price is not one of them. The EV6 was one of the early entrants into Australia’s EV market, when it was expected that battery-powered cars would carry a large price premium.

Kicking off the range is the Air at $72,660, then there’s the GT-Line RWD tested here at $79,660, the dual-motor GT-Line AWD is $87,660 and the performance GT sits at the top at $99,660, all prices exclusive of on-road costs. It’s laudable that this is a mere $70 increase over its predecessor, but the rapid evolution of the EV market has seen prices tumble.

If you take the GT-Line RWD as an example, it offers 168kW/350Nm and 560km of range at that $79,660. For $69,990 you can have a 280kW/537Nm Toyota bZ4X Touring with all-wheel drive and 488km of range; $59,990 buys you a Skoda Enyaq 85 Sportline with 210kW/545Nm and 547km of range; then there’s the ubiquitous Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD, with 378kW/493Nm and 600km of range for $68,900 (all prices quoted are exclusive of on-road costs).

And this is without taking into account the ever-growing number of Chinese rivals like the XPeng G6, MG IM6 and Zeekr 7X. Simply put, pretty much all of the competition offers more performance and similar range for less money – sometimes significantly less.

Kia would rightly point to the GT-Line’s loaded specification, which we’ll cover in a moment, but all those competitors have that gear, too.

Anyhow, let’s move on to some positives, including the Kia EV6 GT-Line’s bulging standard equipment list. Paint is the only option, with red standard and white, black and grey another $700.

Externally, there are 20-inch alloy wheels, LED lighting, a power tailgate, a tilt-and-slide sunroof and body-coloured wheel-arch mouldings, while on the inside you’ll find eight-way power-adjustable front seats (the driver’s with memory) with heating and ventilation, artificial suede/vegan leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel, auto lights and wipers, a head-up display, ambient mood lighting and dual-zone climate control.

Other manufacturers have caught or even surpassed Kia’s seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, but it remains a very strong offering, especially when teamed with up to eight years of roadside assistance if you service with an authorised Kia dealer.

Speaking of which, Kia offers prepaid servicing plans of three ($728), five ($1391) or seven ($2055) years, with intervals of 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

The Kia EV6 GT-Line wears a five-star ANCAP rating, but it’s one with an asterisk. As the rating is from 2022, it wasn’t tested under the latest regulations and wouldn’t wear a five-star rating if it were.

In general, this is not a cause for concern as the EV6 scored an exceptional 90 per cent for adult occupant protection, 87 per cent for child occupant protection and 88 per cent for safety assist, but the 64 per cent score for vulnerable road user protection falls below the 70 per cent threshold now required for five stars.

However, as those scores illustrate, the EV6 is fundamentally a very safe vehicle for its occupants. In addition to front, front-side, front-centre and curtain airbags, there is every imaginable active safety assist feature, a 360-degree camera and the ability to remotely park the car with the key fob, which is much more useful than you might give it credit for.

Kia’s speed-limit warning, lane assist and driver-monitoring features are still irritating enough to want to deactivate them, but doing so is now at least relatively quick and easy (albeit required on every drive).

While it doesn’t look massively different, the facelifted Kia EV6 adopts the dual 12.3-inch screen arrangement from its EV9 big brother, the two screens Siamese-twinned together to look like one giant display.

Wireless smartphone mirroring and charging are now standard across the range, as well as the inclusion of Kia Connect for app connectivity, a faster processor for the infotainment, over-the-air update compatibility and fingerprint recognition to automatically load your driver profile.

Tunes play through a 14-speaker Meridian sound system and there are five USB-C ports – three in the front centre console and two in the front seat backs for rear passengers – for device charging.

There’s an interior socket beneath the rear bench to power small appliances and the GT-Line also comes with an exterior adapter to enhance its vehicle-to-load capabilities.

A single rear electric motor provides a relatively modest 168kW/350Nm, which results in a 0-100km/h claim of 7.7 seconds. While those outputs look reasonable, remember the EV6 GT-Line weighs 2065kg, so its power-to-weight ratio is little better than a base Seltos.

Upgrading to the GT-Line AWD adds a 74kW/255Nm front motor for totals of 239kW/605Nm. Combine this with all-wheel drive and the 0-100km/h time drops to 5.1sec, while the ludicrous GT offers 478kW/770Nm and can hit 100km/h in 3.5sec with launch control.

One of the biggest upgrades for the facelifted Kia EV6 is a larger 84kWh battery pack, up from 77.4kWh. This increases maximum range to 582km for the Air, while the GT-Line’s larger wheels reduce this to a still-impressive 560km.

The increased performance and weight of the AWD reduce this further to 522km, while the flagship GT only manages 450km. A 10-100 per cent charge at the maximum 11kW AC rate takes 7h35min, while a 10-80 per cent fill on a typical 50kW DC charger takes 81 minutes.

Thanks to the EV6’s 800-volt architecture, however, find a 350kW charger and you’ll zap from 10-80 per cent in just 18 minutes.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the dynamic excellence of the Kia EV6 GT-Line. Kia’s local ride and handling team waved their wands over the car and it was clearly superior to its Hyundai IONIQ 5 sibling in their initial configurations.

The EV6 GT-Line remains a lovely car to drive, with a fantastic balance between comfort and cornering capability. Whether it’s the daily grind, long highway drives or sweeping through the countryside, it’s a relaxing and enjoyable experience.

In some ways it’s actually preferable to the EV6 GT performance flagship, which can feel quite ragged when driven quickly. The GT-Line RWD doesn’t have the same firepower, but it’s a more cohesive proposition.

It could use more firepower, however, as it feels as though the motor is quite limited in its initial acceleration. This makes sense in terms of improving traction, especially in slippery conditions, but it does mean the single-motor EV6 lacks the instant zip that makes many electric vehicles both appealing and feel faster than they are.

The upside of this relatively leisurely acceleration is that you have no real incentive to floor the throttle for a thrill, which means achieving 500km or more from a charge is no hardship.

Another benefit of the Kia EV6 GT-Line using a dedicated electric vehicle platform is the space advantages this provides. At 4695mm long, 1880mm wide and 1550mm tall, the EV6 isn’t a particularly large car, though it is classed as such, being only 55mm longer, 15mm wider but 115mm shorter in height than a mid-size Tucson.

However, the 2900mm wheelbase – 145mm longer than said Tucson – results in a lot of interior space, something the flat floor only exacerbates, so there’s room in every direction and plenty of storage, especially in the front under the floating centre console.

The 480-litre boot isn’t massive, but the hatch-style body means you could fit plenty in there if you needed to by loading it to the ceiling. There’s also another 52 litres of space under the bonnet, more than you’ll find in the all-wheel-drive variants as there’s no front motor taking up real estate.

Folding the 60:40-split rear backrests down is the work of a second and they fold flat enough to allow the EV6 to do a reasonable impersonation of a small van. With the backrests up, they can also recline slightly for greater comfort.

Everything that made the Kia EV6 a worthy Car of the Year winner remains present and correct. This is a spacious, well-equipped EV with excellent driving manners, plenty of range and a long warranty.

However, four years is a lifetime in the Australian electric car market and while at the time the EV6’s only real competition was the closely related Hyundai IONIQ 5, there are now dozens of options. Few are as dynamically accomplished, but most are substantially cheaper.

If you love the idea of a Kia EV6 then there is very little wrong with the car, though we’d perhaps suggest the GT-Line AWD as its dual motors give it the performance its chassis deserves, but you’re then entering the territory of the premium European manufacturers, which makes it a tough sell.

2026 Kia EV6 GT-Line RWD at a glance:
Price: $79,660 plus on-road costs
Available: Now
Powertrain: Rear-mounted permanent-magnet synchronous motor
Output: 168kW/350Nm
Transmission: Direct-drive
Battery: 84kWh lithium-ion
Range: 560km (WLTP claim)
Energy consumption: 16.9kWh/100km (WLTP claim)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2022)

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