2025 Kia EV6 GT | PH Review

More powerful with 650hp, rangier and cheaper than its impressive predecessor - is there a catch?

It isn’t often that we’re covering both news story and review in one, but such is the case this time around with the new Kia EV6 GT. You haven’t heard much about it because there’s been nothing to share, Kia keeping its new performance flagship mostly under wraps until now.

Which isn’t to say that nothing has changed. While the new ‘Modern Contrast’ look is reasonably familiar from the rest of the updated EV6 range, albeit with the trademark green GT accents and the option of Yacht Matt Blue now, more has been altered under the skin. There’s a larger, lighter battery pack, for starters, now rated at 84kWh rather than 77.4kWh, meaning the range climbs a smidge to 279 miles. Nothing remarkable in 2025 perhaps, though the new battery can be charged at 258kW (against 239kW before), which still feels like a useful advantage against a lot of sub-200kW opposition. There’s the small matter of 650hp to think of as well, or 65hp more than previously; with the performance potential that’s on offer - 3.5 seconds to 62mph, 161mph top speed - the range becomes easier to understand. Or excuse, at least.

There are also a few detailed changes to mark out this new GT. A development aim was to ‘retain the quiet and serene experience of EV driving whilst injecting greater driver engagement and vehicle performance.’ So there’s less motor noise and more sound deadening (including quieter tyres even), plus a reduced spring rate alongside adjusted damper tuning. The steering is said to be more responsive, and the traction control is now ‘directly controlled within the dual electric motors’. All sound like worthwhile changes - and perhaps a minor admission that the first GT wasn’t quite the best fast EV6 it could be.

Certainly, the big Kia is a better cruiser than ever. The seats are great, the enormous cabin very hushed, the ride decently isolated, and the performance apparently boundless. If ever there was a car to sit in for hour after hour at a generous cruising speed, the EV6 GT would be it, because it feels so commanding. There’s a certain cruel irony that a car so capable would need rejuicing every couple of hours or so, but don’t forget about that charge rate - you wouldn’t need to stop for long. As a car for de-stressing family adventures or flitting between meetings, the Kia remains a strong option. The ride on the 21s is more accommodating than the 5N on 22s, for instance. And the new three-spoke wheel is much nicer than the old gurning one, even if the dash behind it now seems a bit plain.

As is always the case for fast Hyundais and Kias - doesn’t matter if it’s i30 N or EV6 GT - there’s plenty to configure in the new model. And it remains fiddlier than it should be to adjust the behaviour of the eLSD, the powertrain, the dampers, the steering, and so on, meaning you end up adjusting less. Having to come to a stop (because that’s what feels safest) does take the impetus out of proceedings somewhat. The GT mode is like so many settings of this ilk, overegging every pudding from powertrain to suspension and making for jittery progress. As for the ‘MyDrive’ individual setting, it felt best to have the eLSD at its most serious, then powertrain in the middle (Sport+ is overly reactive), same for the suspension (Sport+ is harsh), and again for the steering, with an appropriate amount of weight for the newfound eagerness. Between that and the Normal mode, there’s an EV6 GT for damn near every situation.

Even when one of those situations is the A93, the Old Military Road that takes in the Glenshee Ski Centre - also known as one of the best roads in Britain. A dream route for your dream car, and probably not the first place you’d think to take an electric SUV. But it’s to the GT’s credit that it was a real pleasure to drive on such a testing stretch of tarmac, composed of big undulations, accurate despite its size, engaging and always fast as heck.

It’s undoubtedly improved on before, less scrappy and more game when asking more serious questions of the chassis. If, indeed, anyone ever does that with an EV6 GT. The eLSD can be felt powering the car out of a bend, the steering is more precise on the way in, and the combination of both four regen settings plus the Virtual Gearshift means there’s always something to keep idle hands busy. That updated traction control intervenes with more tact than previously. When it’s eventually required, the brake pedal is fine.

Despite the noticeable improvements, however, this still isn’t a car to drive by the scruff of the neck. You might convincingly argue it doesn’t need to be. But there are moments, like when the brake pedal goes a bit longer or the front pushes wide under power, that cracks begin to appear in the EV6 facade. (The eLSD doesn’t seem to work as effectively on the front axle.) It’s certainly a better-resolved performance car than it was previously, if still a little way off what has been achieved with the Ioniq 5 N. You can feel where the steering rack isn’t as securely located, where the damping isn’t as sophisticated, that sort of thing. It says a lot about how good the EV6 is - certainly a lot more enjoyable than any of the GTX VWs, or the battery-powered Mustang - that these are even considerations.

The Virtual Gear Shift is a disappointment in the Kia. While it ultimately works as seamlessly as in the 5N (here assigned to the star button on the steering wheel), shifting smartly and with useful ‘ratios’, it’s just not as much fun. There are only six gears to flit up and down, the ‘revs’ only go to 6,500rpm (it’s eight in the Hyundai), and the noise is plain. Sufficiently so, in fact, to sometimes run into the artificial limiter because pitch and volume haven’t really changed much. It feels like this is the original installation of the tech that the Hyundai then improved on significantly, rather than the other way around.

Again though, the fact that there are gripes with a nicely integrated piece of driver-focused technology indicates the level the EV6 is operating at. It’s a mid-life facelift that’s achieved exactly what this sort of tweak ought to: retained the good bits, improved the not-so-good bits, smartly reworked the styling and dropped the price. This is Audi Q4 money for a 650hp rocket that’s nicer to drive than ever. Probably a back-to-back with the old GT would make this one seem even better.

Nevertheless, for us - and somewhat inevitably given the difference in its targeted audience - an Ioniq 5 N is still the car on this platform to go for. It’s more expensive, won’t go as far (though the 2.2mi/kWh recorded in the Kia is about comparable), and rides more firmly, yet it remains the more rewarding driving experience. Little details like brake and steering feel, plus its appetite for pushing harder, add an extra layer of desirability. It feels more than worth the extra if you care about driving, put it that way. But Hyundai-Kia should be commended for achieving noticeably different personalities (take note, VW), particularly when they’re both of such high quality. Kia suggests that the update ‘brings a range of new technologies to the party, transforming the car from a point-and-shoot drag race dominator into a bona fide high-performance grand tourer’, and we wouldn’t contest that sentiment one bit. Don’t buy any EV around this price point - up to and including the Porsche Taycan - without trying an EV6 GT first.

SPECIFICATION | 2025 KIA EV6 GT

Engine: Lithium-ion polymer battery, 84.0 kWh capacity, twin AC synchronous electric motors
Transmission: Single-speed, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 650 @ 4,600-10,400 rpm
Torque (lb ft): 568 @ 0-7,200 rpm
0-62 mph: 3.5 secs
Top speed: 162 mph
Weight: 2,200kg
Range: 279 miles (WLTP), 3.0mi/kWh claimed, 258kW max charge rate
Price: £59,985

OP Posts Only

Prev 2 3...9 10 Next

OP Posts Only

Author

Discussion

PistonTim

Original Poster

614 posts

153 months