Kia EV6 review: range, battery & charging
The EV6 has impressive range figures – and comes impressively close to matching them in real-world driving, too
| Model | Range | Wallbox charge time | Rapid charge time |
|---|---|---|---|
| RWD | 328 miles | 12hrs 30mins (0-100%, 7.4kW) | 18mins (10-80%, 233kW) |
| AWD | 314 miles | 12hrs 30mins (0-100%, 7.4kW) | 18mins (10-80%, 233kW) |
| GT | 263 miles | 12hrs 30mins (0-100%, 7.4kW) | 18mins (10-80%, 233kW) |
Like the majority of electric Kias we've tested, the EV6 is very efficient – if not quite as economical as the smaller Niro EV. Regardless, the EV6 comes close to its claimed numbers in real-world driving, never over or under-promising how many miles you can cover on its dashboard display.
Maximising your range around town means making the most of the regenerative braking, and the EV6 has one of the most effective systems of any electric car we've tried. The strongest 'i-pedal' setting is sufficient for genuine one-pedal driving, and you can activate this mode momentarily at any time just by holding one of the steering-column paddles.
Kia EV6 range
In the UK, the only battery option for the EV6 is 77kWh. This gives the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive version an official range of 314 miles, and the 577bhp EV6 GT a range of 263 miles. Choosing the two-wheel-drive EV6 with the same battery slashes the power output (it gets a one motor as opposed to two) but doesn't actually get you that much more range – its official figure stands at 328 miles.
When we drove the rear-drive EV6 on a mixture of open country roads, fast motorways and slow urban traffic, using both Sport and Normal modes, but not Eco, the car returned efficiency of 4.2 miles per kWh, which works out at a real-world range of 325 miles – just three short of the official number. That means between 3.5 and 4.0mi/kWh should easily be achievable in daily driving.
The key thing to note, however, is that the all-wheel-drive version of the EV6 is £3,500 more expensive than the rear-drive car, and while some will be prepared to pay a premium for the extra performance, many will find the base car plenty quick enough. We reckon you’re better off with the rear-drive version, which is both cheaper and offers a slightly longer range.
Charge time
As the first of a new generation of electric cars from Kia, the EV6 benefits from 800-volt electrical architecture, which gives it a maximum charging speed of 233kW. It’s worth noting that Kia quotes 350kW charging in its marketing literature, but that’s because you’ll need to use a 350kW charger to get the fastest rates – not because it’s actually capable of such lofty speed. Regardless, those numbers are among the very best currently on the market; find a sufficiently powerful ultra-rapid charging point and you can top up from 10 to 80% capacity in less than 20 minutes – or to put it another way, add over 60 miles of range in five minutes.
Replenishing overnight from a home wallbox will take just under seven-and-a-half hours if you have the three-phase electrics needed to support an 11kW charger; otherwise, a conventional 7.4kW home wallbox will take 12-and-a-half hours to do the same job.
