Kia EV6 GT-Line: Fast charging, fast moving, fun handling, long lasting

2023 Kia EV6 GT-Line RWD: As fun as it looks?

Price: $53,405 as tested. Gray paint added $695, and the GT-Line Suede Seat Package, $295.

Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes the “cool exterior design, zippy on-road personality, spacious and nicely styled cabin,” but not the “limited front-trunk space, infotainment system is more retro than futuristic.”

Marketer’s pitch: “The innovative Kia EV6 is the 5-passenger sports crossover that is exciting to drive and easy to own,” according to Kia promo materials.

Reality: Beauty that’s more than skin deep but with one cautionary tale.

What’s new: The whole thing for 2022. Kia went more space-age than Hyundai did with the Ioniq 5, and the vehicle is much more pleasing to look at.

Competition: Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Volkswagen ID.4.

Plug it in: So we’ve come to the end of the road for this round of electric vehicle tests, having been through eight over the course of the last few months. There’s much to love about them; hopefully the prices will drop and charging abilities will rise.

Cordless? A funny thing happened on the way to testing the Kia EV6: It didn’t arrive with a charging cord. No mistake, either.

So Kia inspired me to investigate a backup plan, and I found a 120/240-volt convertible cord that you can take anywhere. The $200 price put me off for a minute until I realized that’s the price of three tanks of gas (or was, at peak gasoline prices).

Up to speed: Ho hum, another EV, another sub-5-second zero-to-60 time. Car and Driver says the 320 horses in this version took the EV6 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds.

But keep your GTs and GT-Lines straight. The former is a real rocket ship, the fastest production Kia ever, and not the test vehicle. Kia says the 576-horsepower EV6 GT gets to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds.

On the road: Handling is a dream. Country roads are way fun, and cornering is exotic car-esque.

In the rain: One major downside to the EV6 came during a rainstorm. I pulled out on a left turn at a red light in the same manner as always, and on the slick surface the EV6 came unglued in a hurry, and I nearly spun out.

Hold down the drive mode button to switch into snow mode, even in the rain. It keeps the wheels from spinning by dialing back the torque. After that, I had no more wet-surface issues. Don’t buy this (or any car, really) without a wet-weather test, if you can help it.

Presumably the all-wheel-drive version handles the weather better. (It’s also faster.)

Driver’s Seat: I put more than 300 miles on the EV6 and found it to be a comfortable companion. The GT-Line suede seat provides good support and softness; vegan leather is standard.

One complaint would be the gauges; the most important information sits in the upper corners and could be blocked by the steering wheel.

Friends and stuff: I thought the rear-seat space appeared fairly generous. The seat sits fairly high, the legroom is long, and there’s no console to interfere for passenger No. 3. But Sturgis Kid 4.0 grimaced when asked about the legroom after a 150-mile round trip for Sturgis Grandma 1.0′s 88th birthday, saying, “There’s no place for your feet under the seat.”

Cargo space is 24.4 cubic feet behind the rear seat, 50.2 with the seat folded. This is on the small side, smaller than a Kia Soul.

Sound and fury: I recalled never being able to find the volume control in the Kia Sportage, but this time the fleet delivery guy pointed out how some journalists were displeased with the media/fan switch. I looked puzzled, so he explained.

Press the arrow button, and the knob and buttons underneath the large 12.3-inch touchscreen offer volume and tuning, plus infotainment choices. Press the fan button, and it shows temperature dials and fan speed and air source buttons.

Kind of a neat trick, but I still prefer the Genesis GV60 crystal sphere. Plus, ask me how many times I cranked the temperature trying to change the volume. I think I was happier being stupid in the Sportage, when it was already set to heating (and now I think “Stupid in the Sportage” really sounds like a movie title).

Because the EV6 switches back and forth, so will I, mentioning that otherwise the infotainment touchscreen is easy to operate, and Meridian Premium stereo sound is very good, about an A-. Operating the stereo without having to resort to the switchy controller is fine; you can always slip through the touchscreen to choose map and radio easily, and that way only the driver controls the volume, as nature intended.

Range: The EV6 gave me 300 miles of range. Kia boasts it adds 180 miles of charge in 15 minutes at fast chargers. The AWD is expected to have a 282-mile range.

Now that we’re in the cold weather, it’s worth thinking about how EV range diminishes in cold weather, something I’ve experienced in other tests but haven’t focused on this time around. Kia boasts it has reduced range degradation by half (from about 30% to 16.7%), thanks to a spiffy new HVAC system that doesn’t draw so much juice.

Power up: The EV6 offers an onboard power generator. Should the electricity fail at home, a fully charged EV6 can power a refrigerator or window AC unit for more than 10 days, Kia claims.

Where it’s built: Hwaseong, South Korea

How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the EV6 reliability to be a 5 out of 5. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen one of these and usually it’s for a Lexus.

In the end: Of all the EVs tested, the EV6 and the Genesis GV60 are on the Mr. Driver’s Seat short list, although I’d opt for the all-wheel-drive EV6. That would mean no GT-Line version, but I think I could live without that.

Coming soon: Watch for a review of the Tesla Model Y in February.