Kia details EV6 range, including GT flagship

KIA Corporation has detailed its upcoming EV6 line-up with the new-generation electric vehicle (EV) portfolio set to crowned by a 430kW/720Nm GT flagship.

Riding on the Hyundai Motor Group’s E-GMP platform, the EV6 will be offered globally in nine different guises across three trim levels –  EV6, GT-Line and GT – with production of the Australia-bound vehicles set to start in the fourth quarter of this year.

In classic Kia form, the GT-Line will brandish a sportier appearance and disposition as the standard EV6 but feature all of the same drivetrain configurations while the GT will sit head and shoulders above them, blending the GT-Line’s sporty theme with genuine supercar performance.

At the bottom of the range, the base driveline is centred around a 58kWh battery and a rear axle-mounted electric motor developing 125kW of power and 350Nm of torque.

By comparison, the all-wheel-drive (AWD) versions develop 173kW/604Nm thanks to the inclusion of another electric motor mounted to the front axle.

Kia says the ‘standard range’ AWDs will go from 0-100km/h in 6.2 seconds, however an official range has not yet been confirmed.

Moving up the range, the EV6 and GT-Line trim levels are also available with a 77.4kWh ‘long range’ battery pack which boosts power in the two-wheel-drive versions to 168kW/350Nm while the AWDs predictably up the ante again to 239kW/605Nm.

These two-wheel-drive versions will reportedly cover “more than” 510km on a single charge while the AWDs will go from 0-100km/h in a claimed 5.2 seconds.

Finally at the top of the range, the flagship GT is available exclusively with the long range battery and AWD, however its electric motors combine to produce a monstrous 430kW/740Nm.

The result of this firepower is a claimed 0-100km/h time of 3.5 seconds, a top speed of 260km/h and an effective range of around 405km, meaning Kia will have a genuine Tesla Model 3 rival in its arsenal capable of mixing it with some of the world’s most potent performance cars.

To try and match the GT’s straight-line ability in the bends, Kia has also fitted the flagship with an electronic limited slip differential as standard, further building on the already promised dynamics of the other AWDs.

All EV6s offer 400V and 800V charging capabilities and can be charged from 10-80 per cent battery capacity in just 18 minutes with the long range two-wheel-drives able to have 100km of range added in “less than four and a half minutes” when hooked up to a fast charger.

According to Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) research and development boss Albert Biermann, the GT variant in particular demonstrates HMG’s “technological leadership” through its “combination of outstanding high-speed charging and acceleration performance like a super sportscar”.

“With our dedicated EV platform, there is no need for compromise between inspiring

spaciousness and performance,” he said Albert Biermann.

During an international media preview, questions were raised as to exactly what segment and style of vehicle the EV6 would be marketed as, with Kia president and CEO Ho Sung Song definitively answering the C-segment.

Less clear cut however was which style of vehicle the EV6 belongs to, a dilemma Kia design centre boss Karim Habib said was actually part of the process.

“You can think of it as a crossover, but the crossover between what is less clear and that’s a little bit the point,” he said.

“We really wanted to create a typology that seems familiar but at the same time is something new.

“So you have the presence of something closer to a crossover, but on the other hand you have the gesture of something more akin to a sportscar … we believe it’s something in between.”

When all is said and done, the EV6 measures between 4680-4695mm in length, 1880-1890mm wide and 1545-1550mm tall – depending on the variant – with all versions riding on a 2900mm wheelbase.

Boot space is pegged at a healthy 520 litres with the rear seats in place, a figure that expands to 1300L in the EV6 and GT-Line when the rear seats are folded down.

An extra 52L of storage is available in the ‘frunk’ of the two-wheel-drives while AWDs offer up 20L.

According to the head of Kia’s global brand and customer experience division Artur Martins, the EV6 will be the first global product launched since Kia’s rebranding.

“This car will help us to reposition Kia and really support our direction of becoming a sustainable mobility solution provider,” he said.

“We believe that this product will be a halo car all over the globe to really help us reposition as an EV brand.”

Given the fourth quarter production allocation, punters can expect the EV6 to arrive Down Under sometime in the first half of 2022 with a Kia Australia spokesperson confirming local timing, pricing and specification would all be “confirmed at a later date”.