Back in the ‘60s Gerry Anderson created the puppet phenomena Thunderbirds.
The puppets or marionettes later grew into real life actors in shows like UFO and Space: 1999, complete with space-age clothing, architecture and futuristic cars that made a buzzing, turbine-like sound.
I suspect many car designers have spent too much time watching sci-fi shows because most seem to think EVs should come in a futuristic package, with form taking precedence over functionality.
Kia’s first dedicated, fully electric vehicle, EV6, is an example. It looks and feels more like a statement of what is possible rather than a real car, one ready to take on the demands of the weekly grind or occasional trip to the tip on Saturday with a back full of crap.
EV6 may be Wheels’ Car of the Year and there are certainly many things to like about the car, but it’s not the most practical thing we’ve driven — not by a long shot.
ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS
Air is the more range focused of the trio, with 168kW of power and 350Nm of torque and a range of 528km, while RWD GT-Line with the same powertrain is good for 504km.
GT-Line with AWD adds a second electric motor and produces a combined output of 239kW and 605Nm, along with a range of 484km.
All are powered by the same 77.4kWh battery pack, which is located under the floor and weighs 477kg, with a single speed reduction gear transmission.
Moving through the grades, energy consumption ranges from 16.5 to 17.2 to 18.0 kWh/100km.
SAFETY
Five-star safety starts with seven airbags, a rear-view camera with dynamic guidelines, plus Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) with car, pedestrian, cyclist detection (and junction turn assist).
There’s also Blind Spot (including rear cross traffic assist), Intelligent Speed Limit Assist (ISLA), Lane Follow Assist (LFA), Lane Keep Assist (LKA), Driver Attention Warning with lead vehicle departure alert (DAW+), Multi-Collision Braking (MCB) and Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).
EV6 provides three top tether and two ISOFIX child seat anchors.
DRIVING
There are four selectable drive modes: Eco, Normal, Sport and Snow which also change the look of the instruments.
Adding some drama to the drive experience is Active Sound Design (ASD) with a choice of artificial engine sounds and custom setting.
They’re unique electronica rather than engine noise emulations.
With this much power and torque under foot and all that torque available in a flash, EV6 has plenty of get up and go, with 0-100km/h in the AWD taking a rapid 5.2 seconds.
With a burst of speed, overtaking can be accomplished virtually at will, but it’s a weighty device and wants to run wide in corners. Steering is heavy and uncommunicative.
EV6 has powerful braking too, perhaps too strong at times, or more specifically — irritatingly abrupt. It pulls up with a jerk and releases with a lurch, and can be difficult to control in close manoeuvring.
One way to avoid this happening is one-pedal driving, using the regenerative brake system that is controlled by the steering wheel paddles normally devoted to gears.
In this way, the car slows when you lift off the accelerator — to a complete stop if necessary.
An electric parking brake is provided, but instead of being located close to hand in the centre console, it’s relegated to a position to the right and below the dash.
More jerkiness follows. Try releasing the brake and moving off in reverse if you’re parked on a slope. A dab on the accelerator pedal is required and is liable to result in an intake of breath as the car shoots backwards.
EV6’s space-age look is polarising. Some people love it, others hate it.
Most annoying was the location of the charge port. In Niro it is sensibly located at the front, but in EV6 it is cleverly concealed near the driver side tail light. The location necessitates backing the car in to access power.
Charging can take a looong time with a standard powerpoint, down to as little as 18 minutes for 80 per cent with a 350kW DC commercial charger.
Even fully charged the system reported a distance to empty range of 412km — some 70km less than claimed.
Stranger still, after travelling a few kilometres to do some shopping, the range actually went up a few kilometres rather than down, even though the battery dropped to 97 per cent.
At the end of the day, we were getting 17.0kWh/100km after about 400km of mixed driving.
After all the EV6 hype, it’s a mixed bag and something of a let-down.
Until now Kia’s ergonomics have been a shining example of simplicity. Who let the nerds out?
SUMMING UP
It’s a halo model for the brand, pure and simple. Cashed up nerds will want one. Lesser so, user-choosers, who will be drawn to the usual line-up of Euro suspects.
Who then does that leave? It’s a fairly short, exclusive list at $90K by the time you put it on the road.
Just over 500 EV6s have found homes in Australia this year. Over the same period, Kia has sold four times as many Stingers (and they reckon its days are numbered).
No doubt, the arrival of the EV6 GT will give the figures a bit of a bump — but after that, who knows?
