As indirect replacements go, Kia transferring flagship status from the Stinger GTS to the EV6 GT was certainly one of the more audacious. Out went the turbocharged V6 fastback, a car with more than a hint of old school BMW to its demeanour (thanks very much, Mr Biermann), in came an electric family SUV with four wheel-drive and four very green brake calipers. It wasn’t so much a changing of the guard as firing the guards and replacing them with facial recognition.
That being said, there were a few common attributes shared between Stinger and 6. They both looked like nothing else on the road, which is quite the achievement in the modern age - especially when creating an electric SUV in a world full of them. Both boasted tech laden, comfortable interiors as well, and drove with sufficient panache to elevate them above the norm. They weren’t related by much, sure, but there were some commonalities between roguish twin-turbo throwback and battery powered lodestar.
Performance is what really separated the Kia GTs though, as well as where that performance was sourced from. The Stinger was pleasingly brisk, 370hp rasping it along nicely; the EV6, though, could boast more than another 200hp, at 585hp. Even with (inevitably) more weight to carry, it was leagues faster. Autocar timed an EV6 GT to 100mph in eight seconds flat (!); not so long ago, that was acceleration reserved only for exotics.
And yet there’s never been a huge amount of focus on the GT. The standard cars were a better overall offering for the average buyer, and it wasn’t long after the Kia’s arrival that an Ioniq 5 N (built from similar architecture) was announced. Where the EV6 was good, the 5N was better, rounding off the rough edges of the driving experience and offering up never-before-seen levels of engagement in an electric car. Even the latest GT, with its Virtual Gear Shift technology, isn’t quite as likeable as its Hyundai stablemate.
But they’re £60k still; an Ioniq 5N remains a £50k prospect. This GT is for sale at £28,999, the first one we’ve seen at less than £30k. Now, of course, it is possible to buy the best part of 600hp with petrol power for less than £30k, though surely not with just 35,000 miles and years of warranty remaining.There are probably Teslas that can offer comparable performance, albeit with the specifically Tesla reasons for not wanting one. At the moment, the EV6 GT looks like a unique offering; the similarly priced and pitched alternatives just can’t offer this sort of performance. We’re familiar with EVs being limited on top speed these days - Kia decided that wouldn’t be the case for the GT, so it goes all the way to 162mph…
Add that to a genuinely massive interior and 200kW-plus charging, and it’s easy to see how an EV6 GT could work as a fast family bus. Clearly it’s not going to replicate the thrills of a V8, or get down to France in the holidays quite as easily as a diesel, but this much power for (relatively speaking) so little is quite hard to argue with. A used EV6 GT is clearly going to depreciate some more from here, though this one can’t lose almost £35,000 again. Which a new one - and an Ioniq 5N - most certainly still could.
SPECIFICATION | KIA EV6 GT
Engine: Lithium-ion battery, 77.4kWh capacity, twin AC synchronous electric motors
Transmission: Single-speed, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 585
Torque (lb ft): 546
0-62mph: 3.5 secs
Top speed: 162mph
Range: 263 miles (WLTP)
MPG: 3.02mi/kWh claimed, 235kW max charge
Year registered: 2023
Recorded mileage: 34,931
Price new: £62,675
Yours for: £28,999
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