Kia EV6: Battery range, horsepower, price for futuristic all-electric vehicle

The EV6 is simultaneously a futuristic and contemporary electric car. From one angle it seems like it could be a prop in a Tom Cruise sci-fi flick, but it also looks entirely at home on the streets of today’s San Francisco.

Based on Kia and Hyundai’s E-GMP platform (the same one used by the Hyundai Ioniq 5), the EV6 is available in rear-wheel-drive or a faster, more powerful dual-motor all-wheel-drive.

Thanks to the new flat-floor design, the inside is spacious and the 114.2-inch wheelbase is equivalent to the enormous three-row Kia Telluride SUV. It’s more traditionally designed on the inside than the Ioniq 5, showcasing significant differences between the Ioniq 5 and the EV6 even though they’re built on the same platform.

Even more exciting is the 576-horsepower GT trim that’ll rocket the EV6 from 0-60 MPH faster than you can say “wait, are Kias good now?” It should be a solid competitor to the Tesla Model Y Performance, and priced similarly, too.

Here’s everything you need to know about the EV6, from price and specs to range and charging time — that last one is the killer app for this particular EV, by the way.

How fast can I charge the Kia EV6?

This is where the EV6, like its Hyundai Ioniq sibling, really shines. Kia seems laser-focused on increasing charging speeds, which could — if the public charging networks can keep up — make EV ownership far, far less onerous:

• The car supports both 800-volt and 400-volt charging.
• On an ultra-fast 350-kilowatt charger, the EV6 can charge its 77.4 kWh battery pack from 10 to 80 percent in just 18 minutes. That’s a gain of nearly 210 miles.
• It can pick up as much as 68 miles of range in five minutes if you only have time for a top-up.
• The 11 kW onboard charger can fill the larger battery on a residential Level 2 charger in a little under 7 hours with a 240V, 40-amp charger.

You can also uncharge the EV6 with an adapter that lets the charge port run in reverse. It can provide up to 1.9 kW of juice via a standard 120-volt power outlet. One can use the EV6's two-way port for camping or tailgating, or it can even provide an emergency charge to another stranded electric car.

From a full charge, the EV6 can draw power for more than 36 hours. (It charges another car at 1.1kW.) That’s not fast, but it could be enough to get your stranded buddy back on the road.

What’s the battery range of the Kia EV6?

Range varies across trim levels depending on the number of motors and battery size:

• 232 miles — The Light trim is equipped with a 58kWh battery and a single RWD motor.
• 310 miles — The single-motor RWD Wind and GT-Line trims come with a 77.4 kWh battery.
• 274 miles — The dual-motor AWD Wind and GT-Line trims come with a 77.4 kWh battery, but offer significantly faster performance traded off with slightly lower mileage. The First Edition EV6 offers the same range.

How much horsepower and torque does the Kia EV6 have?

There are four different versions of the EV6, each with different specs:

• RWD: 58.0 kWh battery with a 160kW rear motor yields 167 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque.
• RWD: 77.4 kWh battery with a 160kW rear motor yields 225 hp and 258 lb-ft.
• AWD: 77.4 kWh battery with a 70kW front motor and a 160kW rear motor yields 320 total hp and 446 lb-ft.
• The forthcoming GT trim with AWD: 77.4 kWh battery with a 160kW front motor and a 270kW rear motor yields 576 total hp.

What’s the 0-60 time of the Kia EV6?

There are three currently available EV6 specs here:

• 58.0 kWh and RWD: 8.0 seconds
• 77.4 kWh and RWD: 7.2 seconds
• 77.4 kWh and AWD: 5.1 seconds

Is the Kia EV6 self-driving?

It’s not self-driving, but it has many active and passive features to keep you safe.

It has 21 standard safety features, according to Kia, including a litany of different acronyms.

The company’s press release lists them all out, but here are the big ones:

• Blindspot avoidance assist: The car can detect vehicles in the lane next to you and can brake the car’s outer wheel to pull the EV6 away from it if a collision might be imminent.
• Automatic emergency braking: If you’re about to crash into something (a wall, pedestrians, other cars), the car will try to brake to avoid the crash entirely or at least lessen the severity of the impact.
• Automatic high beams

It’s equipped with the next generation of Kia’s Highway Driving Assist II technology that combines adaptive cruise control with active lane centering to reduce the stress of driving. It’s not permanently hands-free like GM’s Super Cruise or Ford’s BlueCruise, but it will significantly reduce the amount of work a driver needs to do.

In its review of the EV6, Newsweek wrote that the Kia’s driver-assist tech “seems more dialed in than its Hyundai competitor.”

It uses rear-facing radar to make sure that vehicles aren’t coming up on the vehicle from behind when it’s parked, and it will proactively lock the doors and prevent kids (or parents) from flinging open the rear doors if a car or bicycle is about to pass.

What’s the price of the Kia EV6?

There are five different versions of the EV6 currently available:

• EV6 Light starts at $42,115 with RWD and it’s the only version available with the smaller battery option.
• EV6 Wind starts at $48,215 with RWD and $52,115 with AWD.
• EV6 GT-Line is $52,415 with RWD and $57,115 with AWD.

The Kia EV6 is competitive with similar EVs like the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Volkswagen ID.4. All prices here are before the $7,500 federal EV tax credit and any state incentives are applied.

How can I buy the Kia EV6?

Contact your local Kia dealer to check on inventory or place an order. It’s not possible to buy the Kia EV6 online.