New Kia EV6: Five things we love – and don’t

Kia is almost ready to launch its first dedicated electric in Australia’s burgeoning EV market, where the all-new Kia EV6 will arrive in January.

Promisingly, the South Korean car-maker’s flagship EV is based on the same bespoke EV platform as the carsales Car of the Year-winning Hyundai IONIQ 5, but let’s have a closer look at the pros and cons of the 2022 Kia EV6.

Love

Long range

The entry-level rear-wheel drive Kia EV6 will come with an impressive electric driving range of up to 528km (WLTP) when optioned with the most powerful 77.4kWh battery. Hopefully that figure translates to decent real-world range too.

It’s almost here

We’ve already spotted a 2022 Kia EV6 sneaking around the streets that surround Kia’s Sydney head office, in readiness for an official launch at Melbourne’s Kia-sponsored Australian Open tennis tournament in late January.

So expect Kia to announce pricing soon, before it opens the order book for the EV6, with deliveries to early-adopters likely to occur soon after the tennis.

V2L feature

Like the Hyundai IONIQ 5 on which it’s based, the Kia EV6 will offer a handy vehicle-to-load (V2L) function.

That means it can be used to supply up to 3.6kW of power to electrical appliances like a laptop, kettle or small fridge.

Multiple charging options

Again, like its Hyundai-badged sibling, the 2022 Kia EV6 also offers both 400-volt and 800-volt fast-charging options, without requiring a converter.

Kia claims you’ll be able to charge its battery from 10 to 80 per cent of capacity in less than 20 minutes when using a 350kW DC fast-charger.

Hot GT grade coming

Even though it won’t lob until later in the piece (see below), the top-spec Kia EV6 GT, which pumps out a huge 430kW/740Nm, will almost certainly be worth the wait.

The top-shelf EV6 boasts a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 3.4 seconds but a slightly shorter driving range of 410km – a compromise performance-hungry EV buyers will surely be willing to make.

Don’t love

Expensive

We’re still waiting on official pricing, but expect the 2022 Kia EV6 to start at around $72,000.

That means it won’t undercut the IONIQ 5’s $71,900 entry price as previously expected and will be positioned well north of the brand’s Niro EV small SUV (from $62,590).

Might not get overseas tech

Although local specs are still yet to be announced, Australian-delivered examples of the Kia EV6 could miss out on some tech offered overseas.

As with other global Kia models, the EV6’s cool augmented reality (AR) head-up display may not make it to Aussie EV6s.

Hotter GT unavailable from launch

Those pining after the high-performance Kia EV6 GT may have to wait longer than originally expected.

First examples of the flagship all-wheel drive EV are not due to arrive here until at least the end of 2022, but more likely into 2023.

(Very) limited stock

Not all early adopters are guaranteed of getting their hands on a Kia EV6 of any kind in 2022, with Kia set to import just 500 examples next year (none of them GTs).

And, with around 14,000 expressions of interest, more than a few people are set to miss out on the first batch.

Styling

Having now seen the 2022 Kia EV6 on the road in the metal – albeit briefly and in oncoming traffic – our first impression is that it doesn’t make as big a statement IRL (in real life) as it does on screen.

Hopefully a better look changes this writer’s mind.