The Fastest Kia!
The 2024 Kia EV6 GT is one of the best electric vehicles you can buy. It is a true driver’s car and one that will bring a big smile to your face every time you boot it up and silently hit the road. And yes, you boot-up, power-on and power-down an EV just like a computer, unless of course your computer is powered by a gasoline engine!
Kia’s Performance EV
Marketed as a performance crossover, the 2024 Kia EV6 GT is civil enough to handle all daily driving needs while at the same time being the fastest Kia ever.
The EV6 GT has four drive modes—Eco, Normal, Custom and Sport, with an additional kick-it GT setting that it will turn 0-60 times of 3.4 seconds, the 1/4 mile at 118 mph and, if daring enough, spin the dual electric motors to their maximum of 161 miles per hour. Wondering how this compares to other ‘fast’ cars? Check this out!
You won’t be driving this fast very often, so worrying about the all-electric driving range (AER) being reduced is well-worth the trade-off.
Going fast in itself is fun, but add-in a superb suspension and handling, and things get real interesting, real fast. The all-wheel drive (AWD) EV6 GT, weighing-in at 4,795 pounds, is planted solidly to the ground with the 1,052 pounds of batteries placed below the floorboard, delivering a low center of gravity. Ask any race car engineer how getting the weight low to the ground creates go-cart-like handling.
Kia says the EV6 GT is “optimized for performance” compared to the base EV6 AWD, which Clean Fleet Report tested and found to be fun, too. The performance pieces found on the EV6 GT versus the base EV6 make all difference.
The front motor has an increase of 115 horsepower
The rear motor has an increase of 140 horsepower
The torque goes from 446 to 545, an increase of 99 pound-feet of torque
Dedicated sports suspension with electronically controlled dampers
Performance front suspension
Electronic limited slip differential
Larger front brakes: 15.0” versus 12.8”
Larger rear brakes: 14.2” versus 12.8”
GT-only 255/40 Goodyear Eagle F1 high-performance tires on 21” alloy wheels
Drive Modes
The four drive modes are selected from a toggle on the left side of the steering wheel, while the GT toggle is all alone on the right side. The modes are self-explanatory—Eco, best when on long highway runs, Normal for everyday driving and Sport when a bit more accelerator pedal response is desired. But wait, there’s more, as the GT mode maximizes the motors for performance and activates the electronically controlled sports suspension.
For even more fun, the car can be placed into a drift mode by turning off the traction control and electronic stability control features, which will then send the power to the rear wheels. We don’t recommend doing this without professional instruction, practice and a wide-open place to slide around and erase the tread from your tires.
Power and Range
206 miles all-electric range (AER)
77.4 kWh lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese battery
Dual electric motors
576 horsepower and 545 pound-feet of torque
0-60 mph: 3.4 seconds
Electronically controlled top speed: 161 mph
On The Road
The front-to-rear torque vectoring seamlessly provided the needed power to whichever wheel had the most demand. There was a confident feel when cornering with the 2.3 cranks of the steering wheel (lock-to-lock) making for sharp and precise turning.
The EV6 GT has standard ABS and power assisted ventilated front and rear solid discs. Handling and driving confidence were aided by the standard electronic stability control, electronic brake-pressure distribution and brake assist.
Kia shines with its development of one pedal driving. With three pulls of the left side steering wheel paddle, the brake regeneration force reaches the maximum setting. Regenerative braking uses the motors to recharge the battery when slowing or coasting, converting kinetic energy into electric energy, which is stored in the battery.
Whether around town driving or seeking-out curves like we did, this is the most convenient, efficient and fun way to drive the EV6 GT. It will be hard for diehard manual transmission and internal combustion engine fans to accept that one-pedal driving in an EV is a smoother and faster experience. It isn’t necessarily better than a manual transmission, but different.
The EV6 GT also has the very handy Auto Hold feature where at a stop light, the brakes are automatically applied relieving the driver, and reducing fatigue in their right leg, from pressing on the brake pedal.
Smooth, Linear Acceleration
Carefully obeying the laws when driving on public streets and highways is advised, but there are times when a performance car needs to unwind. People always talk about how fast a car goes, but we at Clean Fleet Report, as well as the electric vehicle manufacturers, are more interested in how fast an EV accelerates. The old saying “a need for speed” needs to be updated to “a need for acceleration.”
From a stop to 60 miles per hour in 3.4 seconds is pin-you-back-in-your-seat fast. You want to experience faster than a Ferrari Roma and Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder RWD? Select the Sport drive mode and press the fluorescent yellow GT button, located on the lower right of the steering wheel, and the EV6 GT comes alive.
The dual-motor e-AWD sends the 576 hp and 546 lb.-ft. of torque to all four wheels enabling a smooth and linear acceleration that doesn’t wait for gear shifts because there are no gears! Such is the beauty of driving a performance EV.
Welcoming Interior
The EV6 GT is built on Kia’s all-new dedicated EV-only platform, which will see service on future EVs from Kia, plus on models from sibling brands Hyundai and Genesis. This design has a completely flat floor and provides ample leg, shoulder and head room for five occupants in a spacious interior.
The driver and passenger get manually adjustable heated seats that are covered in suede and vegan leather trim. The leather-covered steering wheel has switches for the cruise control, radio volume and channels, a button to activate voice recognition, and the Drive Mode and GT selectors.
Wide second row access leads to comfortable rear seats, with the outbound seats heated. The split 60/40 rear seat slides and reclines, producing 50.2 inches of cargo space when folded down. Without an engine up front there is a front trunk/frunk for stashing small items. The EV6 GT comes standard with a power sunroof and power lift gate.
The low slung dash has dual 12.3-inch horizontal color display screens that look like one piece. One screen is for the digital instruments and the other for the infotainment system. Sounds came from a 14-speaker (with a subwoofer and four tweeters) Meridian premium audio system with AM/FM/MP3/SiriusXM/HD Radio, with wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Bluetooth connection for up to two devices, wireless phone charging and a Wi-Fi hotspot complete the technology. The front occupants get a 12V power outlet, a USB-A data port and two USB-C charge ports. Rear passengers get two USB-C charge ports and air conditioning and heater vents.
Kia has a clever design to go between the dual-zone climate controls and infotainment controls. On the narrow horizontal screen below the main touch screen, there are capacitive touch points for the temperature and fan, and then the radio controls, which include volume and channel knobs. This space saver had a short learning curve, quickly showing its benefits.
The color head-up display included augmented reality where the driver can opt to project relevant information, such as turn-by-turn navigation, and advanced safety alerts of the EV6’s surroundings.
Kia Connect provides access to vehicle systems including remote start and remote charging, and connects to a smartphone app for Apple and Android operating systems. The electro-chromatic auto-dimming rear view mirror is Homelink equipped.
Safety
The Kia EV6 GT comes with an extensive list of standard safety features, beginning with seven airbags: front, side impact, side knee and side air curtain with rollover sensors. Kia’s Drive Wise safety tech is robust with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), including lane keeping assist, blind spot detection, forward collision avoidance and rear cross-traffic avoidance assist. Other safety features are hill start assist, surround and blind view monitor with parking sensors and a tire pressure monitoring system.
The Highway Driving Assist is activated when the navigation based adaptive cruise control is engaged. This technology, designed to aid in driving by reducing fatigue and stress, includes the ability to automatically change lanes on a highway by using the turn signal stalk.
Charging
The 10.9 kW onboard charger is part of a standard 800-volt system that, when used with a 350 kW charger, can deliver 70 miles of range in about five minutes—and 217 miles in under 18 minutes.
The EV6 GT can be plugged into a 120V common wall plug, but expect replenish times to be long and slow, as in 68 hours. The best bet for owners will be to install a Level 2/240V home charger that will take the battery from a 10-percent to 80-percent charge in seven hours.
The EV6 GT also has Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) where power can flow out of the battery and charge e-bikes, camping and outdoor equipment, or run your office while traveling. It can also be a home electricity source during a power outage.
Warranty
Powertrain – 10 years/100,000 miles
Battery – 10 years/100,000 miles
Basic – Five years/60,000 miles
Roadside Assistance – Five years/60,000 miles
Pricing
The 2024 Kia EV6 GT comes in three trim levels, with these base prices including the mandatory $1,295 destination fee.
GT-Line RWD – $54,195
GT-Line e-AWD – $58,895
GT AWD – $62,895
Clean Fleet Report drove a 2024 Kia EV6 GT AWD, outfitted with the carpeted floor mats at $170, for a total price of $63,065.
Observations: 2024 Kia EV6 GT
The 2024 Kia EV6 GT is a true driver’s car. Ours, painted in Runway Red, was equally impressive to the eye. Kia says the owner of an EV6 GT will be buying it for the experience and to make a statement. It does!
Sitting lower than its competitors it will make you do a double take trying to determine if it is a crossover or a sports sedan. It is a bit each. Performance-wise, it is a blast to drive.
So how does the EV6 GT stack-up against its competition? The Porsche Taycan GTS does 0-60 in 3.4 seconds and costs $140,950, versus the EV6 GT at 3.4 seconds and $62,695. It also bests the Tesla Model Y (4.7 seconds) and Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance (3.5 seconds) in performance.
The question may be asked: Do you really need a Kia EV6 GT or merely want one? We say yes to both!
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Story and photos by John Faulkner.
[See image gallery at cleanfleetreport.com]
Disclosure:
Clean Fleet Report is loaned free test vehicles from automakers to evaluate, typically for a week at a time. Our road tests are based on this one-week drive of a new vehicle. Because of this we don’t address issues such as long-term reliability or total cost of ownership. In addition, we are often invited to manufacturer events highlighting new vehicles or technology. As part of these events we may be offered free transportation, lodging or meals. We do our best to present our unvarnished evaluations of vehicles and news irrespective of these inducements.
Our focus is on vehicles that offer the best fuel economy in their class, which leads us to emphasize electric cars, plug-in hybrids, hybrids and diesels. We also feature those efficient gas-powered vehicles that are among the top mpg vehicles in their class. In addition, we aim to offer reviews and news on advanced technology and the alternative fuel vehicle market. We welcome any feedback from vehicle owners and are dedicated to providing a forum for alternative viewpoints. Please let us know your views at publisher@cleanfleetreport.com.
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