Tuesday 14th May

Revised Kia EV6 gets fresh look

Bigger battery and Over The Air updates coming as well. Also, have you seen the price of a used one?

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With Hyundai hogging all the limelight for E-GMP-platformed cars right now with the Ioniq 5 N, Kia has decided it’s time for a light EV6 facelift. Only made official in Korea for now, we can expect the update on sale in the UK later in 2024, a little over three years since the first. 

A larger battery is probably the most interesting talking point, an increase from 77kWh to 84kWh likely to nudge the range up a few points. On the Korean test another 12 miles is claimed, which seems modest from another seven kilowatt hours (even at 2mi/kWh, which would be a terrible return, that’s another 14 miles), but using that number would boost a 229hp single motor car to 340 miles. Let’s hope for something like 350 on WLTP. Adding 12 to the 326hp dual motor would, neatly, make for 326 miles of range. For the GT it would eke the best number out to 275. 

The new look is evidently inspired by the larger EV9, and ties the ‘6 in with the EV3 and EV5 that are set to join the electric Kia family soon. It’s the headlights that make the biggest change, with new wheel designs and reprofiled rear end also contributing. Certainly an EV6 remains a car for those that like to stand out. The blue on show here looks new as well. 

Inside the cabin benefits from a neater-looking touchscreen, redesigned wheel and what’s claimed to be improved quality. Tan leather can’t have been on the options list before, either. Over-the-air updates mean the infotainment will be kept fresh without the need to visit a dealer. 

For now, frustratingly, there’s no info on a revised EV6 GT, which will surely be due a shot in the arm with the Hyundai having stolen its thunder. It seems unlikely to go full 650hp Nordschleife killer, though don’t be surprised if it benefits from a few more horsepower and chassis tweaks soon. Expect Kia to get the sensible EV3 and EV5 SUVs out the way first before thinking about how to better improve Drift Mode. 

For UK customers, spec and pricing for the updated EV6 is to be confirmed soon - it seems that the range will continue as was however, with the same power for the single- and dual-motor variants. Which, yes, means it’s probably a very good time to think about a deal on the current car; it’s already possible to get into a rear-wheel drive ‘6 for less than £25k, and the all-wheel drive for just under £28,000. Up the budget to £35k and GT-Line versions of both outputs, with negligible miles, are available. A little bit more than that gets you into a 160mph GT - yes, really. 

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• Ford Mustang Mach-E GT vs. Kia EV6 GT-Line
• Polestar 2 Long Range vs. Kia EV6 RWD

[Darinz]

Nice to see a non-black interior option for the car, it was one of the things that put me off it a lot when I was shopping around.

[redroadster]

These are very big cars loads of room ,for a leccy car these are value what do you compare these with size wise in combustion engined models as competition ? .

[Darnoc95]

I get the need to show a common theme running through the model line up but to me the original looks way better than this refresh.

[Skaben]

These seem to be good looking cars compared to what else is out there, am thinking of mustang and mg options

[ahenners]

Darnoc95 said:

I get the need to show a common theme running through the model line up but to me the original looks way better than this refresh.

The almost continuous but not quite DRLs on the original looked naff. New ones are sleeker, even if they look nicked from a MK3 Seat Leon. Everything else looks pretty much as it was.

[greggy50]

£37.5k for a nigh on 600bhp GT does seem a good deal given it will still have nearly 6 years warranty left.

If its dropped that much in 18 months, at 3 years old and circa. £25k with 3-4 years warranty still remaining it will be bargain.

[ex-devonpaul]

greggy50 said:

£37.5k for a nigh on 600bhp GT does seem a good deal given it will still have nearly 6 years warranty left.

If its dropped that much in 18 months, at 3 years old and circa. £25k with 3-4 years warranty still remaining it will be bargain.

Helluva bargain.

But it sure puts me off me buying a new one.

[BrownEaredDog]

redroadster said:

These are very big cars loads of room ,for a leccy car these are value what do you compare these with size wise in combustion engined models as competition ? .

We're starting to get a few of these in the paint shop. They're just a little bit bigger than they should be to these eyes I'd say they're comparable in size to an Audi Q5, slightly smaller than an RRS, but up close they look rather clumsy and slab-sided due to the underfloor battery. I think the Ioniq 5 is better resolved, but I'd have an Ioniq 6 over either of them.

[J4CKO]

ex-devonpaul said:

greggy50 said:

£37.5k for a nigh on 600bhp GT does seem a good deal given it will still have nearly 6 years warranty left.

If its dropped that much in 18 months, at 3 years old and circa. £25k with 3-4 years warranty still remaining it will be bargain.

Helluva bargain.

But it sure puts me off me buying a new one.

Going to be commonplace as we go over to electric, cheap cars with mega power outputs.

[Escort3500]

Darnoc95 said:

I get the need to show a common theme running through the model line up but to me the original looks way better than this refresh.

[Luke.]

BrownEaredDog said:

We're starting to get a few of these in the paint shop. They're just a little bit bigger than they should be to these eyes I'd say they're comparable in size to an Audi Q5, slightly smaller than an RRS, but up close they look rather clumsy and slab-sided due to the underfloor battery. I think the Ioniq 5 is better resolved, but I'd have an Ioniq 6 over either of them.

I honestly don't get the appeal of the Ioniq 6. To my eyes, it looks beyond st.

[12lee]

The frequency and type of failures reported on the owner Facebook groups are terrible.

[kambites]

12lee said:

The frequency and type of failures reported on the owner Facebook groups are terrible.

One could argue that that's probably because the kind of people who buy Kias are generally the kind of people who only sign up to facebook groups about cars if they go wrong.

[12lee]

OK - forget where the problems are posted and by whom. The repeated instances of 12v drain; ‘zombie mode’; ICCU failure; canbus attack theft make it seem like a product that hasn’t completed qa.

[CG2020UK]

I think the old version was a nice looking car.

The rear looks a bit strange but don’t mind it.

Looks a great daily driver car with plenty of space, cheap to run and a good turn of speed for over taking.

Usually not a fan of silver but suits the revised version. Definitely a good job just making a nicer looking car with subtle changes.

[BrownEaredDog]

Luke. said:

I honestly don't get the appeal of the Ioniq 6. To my eyes, it looks beyond st.

Fair enough, each to their own. Thanks for letting me know.

Edited by BrownEaredDog on Tuesday 14th May 21:27

[Mouse Rat]

There are a number of EV6's local to me. I think they look great especially in the Matt colours or dark blue.
Facelift version looks ok in the pics.

[BrownEaredDog]

ahenners said:

The almost continuous but not quite DRLs on the original looked naff.

Ha, so it's not just me then

I think the first gen EV6 will end up here in the near future, a little like late-2000s Audis with their rubbish LED strips under the lights.

[Th3 D0n]

BrownEaredDog said:

We're starting to get a few of these in the paint shop. They're just a little bit bigger than they should be to these eyes I'd say they're comparable in size to an Audi Q5, slightly smaller than an RRS, but up close they look rather clumsy and slab-sided due to the underfloor battery. I think the Ioniq 5 is better resolved, but I'd have an Ioniq 6 over either of them.

The paint quality (or lack of it) is a common complaint on the fb group.
Had mine just under 6 months and it’s got 2 bad chips on it already. It’s not standing up well to car park dings, which is an issue as it’s fkin huge and mine spends its life in hospital car parks.
Are you repairing accident damage mainly or touching up parking scrapes etc?

[Pontus88]

Definitely another (and not uncommon) facelift which looks worse than the original. Not quite Mk2 fiat Punto levels of butchery but still think they should have left the neat design as it was.