First Korean domestic market drive reviews of the EV6 electric crossover

Kia’s EV6 launch is a little behind that of Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 — perhaps deliberately — with the latter vehicle already in the hands of customers in Korea, Europe and North America. Nevertheless, the first press cars are in the hands of motoring journalists and YouTubers in Korea, and we finally have an opportunity to see what this new model is like on the road.

In the first video, Asian Petrolhead is testing an EV6 GT Line in white, featuring the long-range 77.4 kWh battery with all wheel drive, dual motors with 239 kW (329 PS) and 605 Nm of torque. Kia is targeting an EPA range of 300 miles (482 km) with the variant. Comparing the vehicle to Hyundai’s IONIQ 5, he states that the driving experience is quite similar to the all wheel drive Hyundai, but he preference is for the Kia, based on exterior styling and interior appointments.

In this second video below, Car Scene Korea gets their hands on a Yacht Blue GT Line, and we have to say that viewing the car on the street is totally different to seeing it in a showroom or controlled environment. The EV6 looks purposeful, sporty, and muscular; a very different design language to Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 (which we love by the way).

While there are many similarities on the inside of the EV6 compared to the IONIQ 5, Kia appears to be positioning this car as an upmarket competitor to its sister vehicle, with softer touch materials, doors lined in Alcantara, and a very classy curved panel integrating the instrument cluster and the infotainment display. We quite like what Hyundai has done with its interior, but its nice to see two different characters for the two vehicles.

Kia has provided limited details on the worldwide release of the EV6, But European, North American, Australian and New Zealand customers can expect to see vehicles arrivng in their respective countries sometime in the first half of 2022.