[This article was first published on www.topgear.com.sg]
Jewel Changi Airport, Singapore - Kia’s electric crossover has been lurking about in Singapore for quite some time now, but at long last, the Kia EV6 is finally upon us.
It’s finally been homologated and we’ve now seen the EV6 in both the Standard (Single Motor Standard Range) and GT-Line (Dual Motor Long Range) variants.
The EV6 shares a platform with the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (which was present at this year’s instalment of EV Weekend), but the Kia is longer and lower than its sister car. Where the Ioniq 5 adopts a retro-futuristic design approach, the EV6 looks to be the more conventionally styled vehicle.
Kia EV6 GT-Line Side Profile
It certainly looks like the sportier vehicle of the two with its tapered front end, wide rear haunches, sloping C-Pillar and steeply raked rear end. The headlights are conjoined with a narrow grille that forms the car’s “digital tiger face”. The rear deck lid is level with the car’s flared hindquarters and sports a light bar that runs along the contours of the boot lid. The EV6 also has retractable door handles that stay flush with the car’s contours while locked or on the move.
From a visual standpoint, there are minor differences between the two. The more powerful GT-Line variant gets you body-coloured garnishes on the doors, matrix beam IFS (Intelligent Front Lighting) headlamps and slightly flashier dual-tone 19-inch rims. Though the Standard model has 19s as well)
Kia EV6 Cabin
In the cabin, the EV6 shares a similar dash layout with the latest Kia Niro crossover, but the EV gets the newer bells and whistles. The EV6 uses the same two-spoke steering wheel as the Niro, and it shares the same touch panel that doubles as both the HVAC controls and infotainment function buttons.
The instrument cluster and infotainment screen are housed within a single panoramic curved panel, like in the Niro. But both screens are larger at 12.3-inches.
The floating centre console houses the On/Off start button, a rotary gear selector (the same one you’d find in the Niro), a touch panel for the seat heating and ventilation buttons, a wireless charging pad and cupholders. Because there’s no transmission tunnel to speak of, there’s also a sizeable storage cubby under the console for some added storage room.
It’s a relatively minimalist interior for a Kia, but one that feels considerably more upmarket than the rest of the offerings from Kia. There are ambient lighting elements in several of the interior panel contours and air conditioning vents, and there’s a mix of vegan leather and recycled fabrics which do feel rather posh.
The Kia EV6 rear
Prices for the EV6 start at S$253,999 for the Standard and S$288,999 for the GT-Line variants for the EV6. That’s before options, but as it stands, you could have an EV6 on the road for a smidge over a quarter of a million bucks (Prices accurate at the time of writing).
The EV6 Standard model gets a 58kWh battery pack and a single motor that sends 170 horsepower and 350Nm of torque to the rear wheels. On the other hand, the dual-motor GT-Line gets a 77.4 kWh battery pack and a motor on each axle for a combined output of 325 horsepower and 605Nm of torque. The lack of the front motor provides 50 litres of cargo space under the trunk, compared to 20 litres in the DMLR, but both models share the same 490-litre boot.
Both cars have 800V battery packs that support DC ultra-fast charging or 10.9kW with AC charging. According to Kia Singapore, the EV6 can be charged from 10-80% in just 18 minutes with ultra-fast charging, but real-world charging times may differ from charger to charger. Besides, Singapore’s fastest DC chargers only manage up to 150kW DC.
Kia has stated that EV6 maxes out at 350kW, while several sources have indicated that the EV6 tops out at 233kW with DC fast charging. Confused? So are we, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated as we go along.
The Kia EV6 Standard in Runway Red
The Standard model has a 0-100km/h time of 8.5 seconds, and it’ll have a combined efficiency figure of 16.5kWh/100km with a quoted range of 395 kilometres. The GT-Line is quicker to 100km/h, hitting triple digits in just 5.2 seconds. The GT-Line’s consumption figure is a tad higher at 17.2kWh/100km, but the larger battery pack endows it with 506km of range.
So you might be asking, will the 585hp/740Nm EV6 GT come to Singapore? The short answer: Yes, it will. As for the “when”, we don’t have an exact date yet. Currently, the EV6 GT hasn’t been made available for the Asian market yet, so it may be some time before we see it in Singapore.
[Source article: topgear.com.sg/news/the-kia-ev6-is-finally-upon-us]
