Kia EV 6 Long-Term Test - Part 1: Sustained High Charging Performance

The EV 6, with just over 10,000 kilometers, is not even fully broken in yet – it offers plenty of space, quiet cruising, and an astonishingly confident charging performance: Even at 70 percent battery level, it still pulls with 93 kW, and even at 87 percent, it still takes in 47 kW at the DC charger. We can confirm the flat, never extremely rising but always comparatively high charging curve that numerous colleagues have determined – which pleasantly shortens the overall charging time.

Plenty of space for everyone – and the cable always goes in the frunk, thank you!

Moreover, space, trunk, and frunk are always a source of joy – even for four tall adults. They can also enjoy an effective seat and steering wheel heater.

However, some points do stand out negatively during continuous operation: For example, switching the climate control to the audio function: Even after thousands of kilometers, a small bump is enough to make your finger slide away and instead of adjusting the volume, you turn up the temperature and reduce the range. Thus, when operating it through the console, the system always requires an extra glance away from the road. On the other hand, navigating the central screen is super easy – Kia has laid out the menu structures very well. This also applies to adding charging points afterward on the trip, although it sometimes struggles here.

Sometimes your own gut feeling is better than the intelligent navigation

Shortly before Stuttgart, we wanted to quickly recharge at a DC station – where the EV6 differentiates between DC (which can end at 50 kW) and HPC. Very commendable. But instead of offering us the Denkendorf exit, it laboriously (unfortunately, construction was once again happening at Stuttgart airport) directed us to the OMV gas station in Ostfildern. Reentering the A8 directly was not possible, making us late for our appointment despite a buffer. Note: Local knowledge and gut feeling are still helpful. It's also a shame that voice commands are rarely accepted and need to match exactly what the EV 6 suggests, otherwise, it tends to play dumb.

And since we are already complaining: We still haven't figured out why the EV6 creaks so terribly from the front door pockets on the highway. This is all the more noticeable since it is otherwise a smart, quiet long-distance companion. And sometimes the trunk lid closes immediately after it has opened and "eats" the loader – but not always, just sometimes...

Consumption can hardly be pushed below 23 kWh/100 km on fairly brisk long-distance passages. If you content yourself with around 100 km/h on the highway, it dramatically drops to values around 19 kWh/100 km gross. On average, in mixed operation, we are currently at values around 22 kWh/100 km, which is somewhat better than many drivers before – the EV6 reported an average of 23.8 kWh/100 km net upon arrival.

Despite the small inconveniences, we are now looking forward to the next long-distance drive and are curious to see how the EV6's electricity consumption will develop. And how long it will keep turning heads or make drivers in traffic jams on the A8 near Stuttgart lower their windows to ask what brand it is. Because the rear is still the spacey chicest side of the EV6.

What does this mean?

The EV6 is a generous long-distance cruiser. Unfortunately, it is by no means as economical as the E-Niro and it also has a few peculiarities in detail. With a good 300 kilometers of real range and long-lasting strong charging performance, it is also suitable for longer distances.