2023 Kia EV6 GT First Drive Review: White Smoke, Green Cred

There’s no denying the enchantment of the Kia EV6, with a most vary of 310 miles and a 240-kilowatt cost fee. However with a good quantity of understeer and a suspension that’s tuned for city streets as an alternative of canyons, the EV6 backs up its aggressive styling with mere adequacy within the efficiency division – it’s fast, however not notably sporty.

That adjustments with the arrival of the 2023 Kia EV6 GT, the brand new flagship of a mannequin household that’s carefully associated to our Star Award–profitable Hyundai Ioniq 5. The EV6 GT will get a handful of updates befitting its standing on the prime quality, together with extra {powerful} entrance and rear electrical motors, added chassis bracing, and revised styling. The online result’s a extra aggressive, sportier EV that makes 576 horsepower and 545 pound-feet – up a wholesome 256 ponies and 99 torques over the next-most-powerful EV6.

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It appears the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT and Tesla Mannequin Y Efficiency have some new competitors, particularly given the EV6 undercuts them with a beginning value of $62,695 together with $1,295 vacation spot. And that’s earlier than we even get into the long-rumored, all-but-confirmed Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.

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Writing Checks…

The alterations for the GT are comparatively restrained, maintaining the already sporty design of the common EV6. Which means a wedge-shaped facet profile with a low nostril, upward-arcing beltline, and a neat little spoiler with funky winglets that reach past the width of the roof. The glowering headlights and straked taillights carry over as nicely. For my part, the EV6 is far more overtly sporty-looking than its Ioniq 5 platform-mate, though it’s additionally extra nameless than the retro-tinged Hyundai.

On the GT, the entrance fascia is a little more aggressive than the bottom EV6 Wind, however it’s shared with the equally named, however much less {powerful}, EV6 GT-Line. The rear bumper has been reshaped a bit with vertical strakes within the diffuser styling component, however the total design is like that of its child siblings. Essentially the most conclusive proof of the efficiency below the pores and skin is the GT-specific set of 21-inch wheels wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1 tires – up an inch over the GT-Line – in addition to the 15.0-inch entrance and 14.2-inch rear brakes with neon inexperienced calipers.

That acidic shade carries into the cabin through an applique on the middle console and dashboard. The thick-rimmed steering wheel and microfiber suede bucket seats additionally get some brilliant inexperienced accents, serving to brighten up the in any other case all-black cabin. Between the closely bolstered sport seats and the neon-colored “GT” button on the steering wheel, it’s clear from the second your butt hits the material that this EV is not any shirking violet.

…That The Efficiency Can Money

That GT button prompts a driving mode that’s unique to the flagship EV6 trim. Whereas the Eco, Regular, and Sport modes restrain the electrical motors’ output barely, GT mode unleashes their full, 576-hp power, uncorking probably the most {powerful} and quickest-accelerating Kia ever constructed. The EV6 GT sprints to 60 miles per hour in 3.4 seconds – four-tenths faster than the usual Ford Mustang Mach-E GT and one-tenth sooner than the Tesla Mannequin Y Efficiency – and it carries on to a prime pace of 161 mph. The Kia shoves off the road with authority courtesy of four-wheel grip and instantaneous torque.

However that doesn’t imply the EV6 GT is a unfastened cannon. Even because the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster shows larger and better speeds, Kia’s sportiest EV feels planted and steady, with not one of the front-end wander that plagues lesser EV6s. That mentioned, with a curb weight of 4,795 kilos, the GT is not any bantam fighter, and it typically struggles to hide that mass in tight corners, particularly if there are any bumps alongside the best way. The dampers could possibly be stiffer to quell physique motions, and fast transitions don’t at all times encourage confidence (not least as a result of the steering is numb-numb-numb). The Mach-E GT feels extra steady in such circumstances.

On actually technical sections of highway, it’s finest to dial the tempo again from aggressive to brisk, braking a bit earlier for nook entry after which accelerating out with impartial stability. And with the multi-mode power recuperation set to the utmost “i-Pedal” mode, the upsized brakes really feel greater than as much as the duty of hauling the EV6 down from pace.

The place the GT feels most at house is on lengthy, arcing sweepers, the place the suspension has an opportunity to take a set earlier than the G-forces load up. Carrying shocking pace by way of such corners is enjoyable, comfy, and drama-free, giving the oft-overused abbreviation for “grand touring” some actual that means within the EV6.

For those who actually need to hoon the Kia EV6 GT, there’s a Drift mode that progressively reduces energy to the entrance axle, with the rear finally taking up utterly. On this setting, the EV6 turns into very simple to slip round in, with progressive slip angles that make it a really perfect classroom for a novice drifter. And in the event you insist on being fun-loving and ham-fisted, doing electrified pirouettes in a cloud of acrid tire smoke turns into the order of the day.

Calming Down

The 2023 Kia EV6 GT has a determined Dr. Jekyll facet to go together with its drift-happy Mr. Hyde. Slot the drive selector into Eco or Regular and the accelerator pedal turns into much less responsive, however there’s nonetheless loads of torque to get the Kia occurring a easy, genteel wave of torque. The adaptive dampers soften up as nicely – on the expense of physique management however to the credit score of trip consolation. And the cabin is hushed and serene at any pace, with the one noise being some wind dashing over the A-pillars and the selectable propulsion sound (which may be switched off in the event you like).

The supportive, manually adjustable bucket seats are additionally fairly good on lengthy journeys, with one massive exception. There simply isn’t sufficient help by way of your shoulders, so my higher again felt a bit fatigued after a number of hours within the saddle. I’ve had the identical drawback with the Hyundai Veloster N’s very comparable sport seats, so perhaps it’s a me factor. On the very least, the heated buckets present loads of thigh, lumbar, and lateral help, they usually give the EV6 GT a pleasantly low seating place.

The usual EV6’s inside attributes carry over unscathed into the GT, together with a flat ground in again, an ethereal front-row footwell, a spacious heart console, and a V2L 120-volt outlet within the rear seat. The cabin is laid out nicely too, with the digital instrument cluster pairing with an identical 12.3-inch touchscreen that’s simple to make use of, although wi-fi CarPlay and Android Auto are unavailable – convey your USB twine.

There are 24.4 cubic ft of cargo house behind the second row and 50.2 cubes with the seat folded. That’s down a bit on its Ford rival, which does 29.7 and 59.7 cubic ft, respectively, however the EV6 GT can nonetheless take a good quantity of stuff alongside for a highway journey.

Charging Up

Talking of, distance is the Kia’s largest downfall relative to its siblings and aggressive set. Though the rear-drive GT-Line drives 310 miles and the all-wheel-drive model can go 252 miles, the EV6 GT solely goes an EPA-rated 206 miles with its 77.4-kilowatt-hour battery absolutely charged. What’s extra, the Mustang Mach-E GT travels 270 miles per cost, whereas the long-legged Tesla Mannequin Y Efficiency can go 303 miles.

To its credit score, the EV6 GT nonetheless advantages from the identical 800-volt structure as the remainder of the mannequin household, which implies it has a most charging fee of 240 kilowatts and may go from 10 to 80 p.c cost in 18 minutes utilizing a 350-kW quick charger. And the EV6’s excessive charging consistency implies that even utilizing a 150-kW charger, it might probably go from 10 to 80 p.c in 21 minutes. The Mustang Mach-E takes about 45 minutes to hit the identical metric on account of a 150-kW peak cost fee, though once more, the Tesla is the champ right here with a 250-kW max.

You Can Pay My Payments

In fact, each of these vehicles price greater than the $62,855 Kia EV6 GT I drove, whose sole choice was a $170 set of ground mats. The Mach-E GT begins at $71,195 with vacation spot and the Tesla is a minimal $69,990 proposition. Whereas that further 7 or 8 grand might be a big consideration for a lot of consumers, it does convey alongside some added worth through longer-range EPA estimates and extra options – the Mustang Mach-E’s BlueCruise hands-free driver help has a bit extra gee-whiz issue than the EV6’s admittedly glorious Freeway Drive Help II hands-on tech, and Tesla’s ballyhooed Autopilot is darned spectacular, although it does price further.

However then once more, the EV6 is noticeably sooner than the Ford, and it trades a little bit of limit-handling composure for extra gentility round city and pleasing inside ergonomics. And in comparison with the Tesla, Kia’s providing has much better match and end, together with a extra planted feeling in corners. If it have been my very own private money, there’s one thing interesting in regards to the electrified, SUV-ified pony automotive, however I nonetheless wouldn’t rely out the trendy EV6 GT, whose easy driving dynamics and hilarious drift mode give it the very best sort of cut up persona.