hello everyone and welcome to this very exciting and very electric kia ev6 it's yet another premium
ev for the uk market and it promises to be kier's most high-tech and luxurious model yet
the ev6 is based on the same dedicated electrical vehicle platform as its sister model the hyundai
ioniq 5 with both cars benefiting from an impressive 800 volt architecture that means
they're right up there with the likes of tesla and polestar when it comes to electrical hardware
what i really want to find out though is whether the kia ev6 can match up to its more prestigious
rivals when it comes round to the all-round electric car package we know from the e nero
and the soul ev that kia have got experience of creating models outside of conventional petrol
and diesel and the 2018 stinger showed promise as a halo product but can the south korean brand
combine these two together my name's hope ellen and in this parker's review i'm going to give you
the definitive verdict don't forget to subscribe to the parker's cars channel
and turn your notifications on so you get a reminder every time we publish a new video
four kia ev6s sold in the uk it's a chunky 77.4 kilowatt battery pack however you can choose
between a cheaper single motor rear wheel drive version or a pricier dual motor all-wheel drive
model it's worth noting that while the latter is more powerful with 326 horsepower it does offer a
slightly lower range than the cheaper rear-wheel drive model in real terms that's 314 miles
versus 328 miles now if you've been lucky enough to go behind the wheel of a recent clear model
you will know the interior is well built and everything is logically laid out but this is a
step forward now it might not be up there in terms of overall material quality like pole star and
audi but it does have enough design flare and quality to ensure you don't feel shortchanged
impressive seats ensure you're kept in place whilst providing plenty of support
you also feel nicely elevated without feeling too high up however over the shoulder view is
compromised due to those thick c pillars and the rear window is also a little bit restricted in
terms of your view due to that high window line however not a problem when you're parking this car
because all ev6 models come with rear sensors and reversing camera as standard
at the time of filming the ev6 is available with three trim levels there's base level air
gt line which is the car we've got here and gt line s a flagship 584 horsepower gt version is
also due all models get a broad spread of standard equipment including led headlights heated front
seats and a heated steering wheel vegan leather seat upholstery adaptive smart cruise control
a ton of active safety technology including lane keep assist with driver attention warning
and a driver's seat that folds completely flat for impromptu naps whilst charging
it's safe to say these 12.3 dual screens dominate the ev6's cabin and rightly so
because they control and display all of the cars major functions the central screen is
controlled by touch and is the exact same system as what you would find in the hyundai
ioniq 5. there's huge amounts of functionality and though maybe it's not as fast or graphically
impressive as what you would find in a bmw or audi system it does do the job that it needs to do
the digital display replaces the traditional dials and is extremely clear and gives you all
the information that's needed i especially like that when you indicate a view looking backwards
shows on the dash to show if it's clear it's really really helpful but you will
need to pay for the top spec gtline s version if you want that feature
something else that's caught my attention is the haptic feedback that you get from the buttons now
rather than bury a lot of the things inside the infotainment system like a lot of manufacturers
do here has come up with this great way of maximizing the physical buttons and dials
available see for example i can one minute be controlling the volume on the radio station
and then the switch of a button i can then change to climate control settings which i
think is something that more manufacturers need to do more of when it comes to space in the car
you've got plenty of room for your regular cabin clutter you've got a lot of room in this central
armrest just there you've also got a large glove box with plenty of room there for yourself the
doors have got generous pockets in there and this is the coolest thing this floating central console
affords lots of room underneath it and here which is something that you simply would not get in a
petrol or diesel car the advantage of not having a central tunnel continues in the back of the car
there is plenty of room for free passengers to sit here comfortably without squabbling over foot
or knee room because there is so much space in this car the headroom is a little bit restricted
due to the sloping roof line but that would only be a problem if you're significantly over six foot
i'm just a little five foot three lady it's not a problem for me something else i really like is
the ambient lighting that you can see here in the doors and the usb ports that you can see here as
well so you can plug in your phone and charge it on the go or your tablet whatever you've also got
a free pin charging port there as well so you can plug in your straighteners your hair dryer
your laptop if you're doing some work maybe even take a kettle with you if you're fancy
the ev6 is a deceptively large car yet the boot isn't as capacious as you might imagine lagging
behind the vw id4 and skoda enyak still with 490 litres of cargo capacity with the seats in place
it's enough for plenty of luggage plus there's also a small amount of additional underfloor
storage all ev6 models get a front boot or frunk but this is only really usable on rear-wheel drive
versions that don't have to accommodate an extra motor under the bonnet now before we take the ev6
out for a spin we're going to do a really quick usability test to see how easy it is to operate
so against the clock i've got to fold down the rear seats so they're flat
tuning the radio to absolute fm and set the sat nav to take me to buckingham palace wish me luck
look a little door's already open my i took a bit of a wide berth
at the top so i'm checking the side and boom round round round i can't run in these shoes
now i know where it is i'm hoping it just does both of them and it does they're both flat
bingo into the front of the passenger seat very spacious a nice one then i'm going to press on
radio um station list we're on kit at the moment we're going to go all the way up to
absolute which is at the top boom i'm out of breath and then we're gonna go to maps
to [ __ ] palaces search b-u-c-k i love how this is laid out there ah no bugger
come on come on kia come on and we're there it's going to take us 1 hour and 53 minutes
right i'm out of breath i'm a little bit stressed but i'm going to blame
the clock because this car is so easy to use let's now see how it is on the road
i've been driving the kia ev6 for a while now and i'm still so impressed with how smooth and how
instant the power is if you're hopping from a petrol car into the ev6 you're going to be blown
away by how razor sharp the responses and power delivery are this is only the rear wheel drive
version with the single motor yet it still gives you 229 horsepower and 350 newton meters of torque
that gets you from zero to 62 miles an hour in just 7.3 seconds which is plenty fast enough
you can also change the amount of regenerative braking using the paddles behind the wheel
and that includes an option for a single pedal mode takes a little bit of getting used to but it
is very satisfying when you get it right i'm also a big fan of how accurate the range readout is
in the ev6 that's because a lot of electric cars their range readout will fluctuate quite a lot
depending on a few different factors whereas the ev6 is remaining pretty consistent which is
fantastic for that range anxiety that you might feel and when you do need to stop for power the
kia ev6 is really impressive on paper providing you can find a powerful enough charger that is
it can go from 10 to 80 percent in just 18 minutes meanwhile if you're charging
at home with say a 7 kilowatt charger it will take around 7 hours and 20 minutes to be fully charged
when it comes to comfort kia have deliberately made the suspension
in the ev6 a little bit firmer than that in its sister car the hyundai ioniq 5. and that's
because they want it to feel more sporty and more agile and there's no doubt that despite its
chunky size it is a really enjoyable car to drive it's got a lot of grip
to the road plenty of stability and you really learn to trust it on the corners
on the flip side it might not feel as smooth a ride as the hyundai and that's because it can pick
up the harsher bumps in the road but it always feels controlled it doesn't feel floaty which is
fantastic if you've got passengers who get car seat by the way it's passive suspension only in
the ev6 at the moment but the flagship gt version that's coming in 2022 will have adaptive springs
so if you're looking to purchase an ev6 here are my top three recommendations for which version you
should get if you want the cheapest model then go for the airspec model with rear-wheel drive
if you're looking to use the ev6 as your company car
then also go for the airspec model with rear wheel drive as that will attract the
smallest tax payments now if you're like me you like a bit of speed and excitement
in your life then wait till 2022 that's when the gt version will be available it promises
584 horsepower and will get you from zero to 62 miles an hour in just 3.5 seconds which is fast
the kia ev6 is a big step forward for the south korean car maker and one that brings in front
of a whole new section of car buyers it's got the range technology and charging power
to mix it with the best that rivals can offer plus there's little doubt over quality thanks
to the standard seven-year warranty if you're currently in the market for an electric car
there is so much more choice than there was two or three years ago we know that
kid they're towing early with the sole v and the e nero but this is their best attempt
yet and it's more than capable of competing with those more premium brands why i want to pick one
for myself i think the gt live spec with rear wheel drive is all the electric car you will
ever need and it hits the sweet spot between performance equipment range and value for money
you