The Kia EV6 2023 GT proves that Kia can. It could make a four-door sports car more convincing than the Kia Stinger. It can sell a 120hp entry-level sedan alongside a 576hp electric crossover. That EV can sprint up to 60 mph faster than the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT and Tesla Model Y Performance. Kia can hit the mark, and it feels like an evolutionary step for a brand that started selling questionably low-priced cars in the US about 30 years ago.
Not perfect but very exciting, the EV6 GT embodies this evolutionary performance potential.
It can do all this without making a huge leap over last year’s EV6. At $62,695 including destination, the EV6 GT is just $4,000 more than the EV6 GT-Line and nearly $10,000 less than the EV6 GT-Line. Performance Tesla Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E GT.
The most expensive Kia is also the most powerful. The 800-volt architecture and 77.4-kwh battery pack remained the same, but Kia essentially swapped the GT-Line’s rear engine and put it up front (160 kw/215 hp). ), then drops to a larger 270-kwh. kw/362-hp engine to power the rear wheels. They make a total of 576 horsepower and 545 pound-feet of torque, but the larger engines are the biggest contributing factor to the 4,795-pound curb weight, 293 more than the GT-Line equipped. be similar.
Kia EV6 GT 2023
As expected, efficiency hit the mark with a maximum range of 206 miles, down from 252 miles for the AWD GT-Line. The 21-inch wheels wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1 performance tires also lower the efficiency rating from 2.9 mph in the GT-Line AWD to 2.4 mph, but that’s a trade-off for the purpose. The goal for which the EV6 GT was created: go fast.
The EV6 Gt accelerates to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds and reaches a top speed of 161 mph. I didn’t test the top speed on the lead track adjacent to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but across the barren Lake Mead en route from the Vegas Strip, the acceleration was strong every time. Unlike the Porsche Taycan (the Taycan GTS hits 60 mph in 3.5 seconds), the EV6 GT doesn’t pin me to the seat and threaten my lunch at boot, but from around 20-60 mph, I don’t breathe or blink. It’s the kind of lightning-fast acceleration unique to an EV’s power delivery that the Kia Stinger GT can’t estimate.
Kia EV6 GT 2023
Kia EV6 GT 2023
Kia EV6 GT 2023
Kia adds three more driving modes, Eco, Normal, and Sport to the lower EV6 models. My Drive mode allows the driver to customize throttle response, steering, suspension, stability control, and an electronic limited-slip rear differential, but it’s buried in touch screen with as little as four button presses, so there’s nothing to adjust on the go.
GT mode is much easier to access. Press the lime green button on the steering wheel and it switches most settings to Sport+, so the pedals are firmer, the suspension stiffens and the stability control relaxes. It doesn’t feel much different from Sport mode, but the grip is clearer and weight is better controlled on long turns on the single-lane highway around Lake Mead, where the EV6 GT operates. the best.
Kia EV6 GT 2023
Kia EV6 GT 2023
Kia EV6 GT 2023
Kia EV6 GT 2023
Then there’s the hidden Drift mode, which requires a complicated sequence of steps: start in GT mode, hold the brake pedal, hold the control steady until the button goes off and the icon lights up in the cluster, then hold both brake levers. for about three seconds. It essentially becomes a rear-wheel drive car with all the torque at the rear wheels.
On the track, set up like a car track with twists, hairpins, a short and straight sweep up to 120 mph or so, we didn’t have Drift mode enabled. However, the primary driver may be present.
In the controlled pairing of two cars followed by an instructor, who would go as fast as the slowest car, he stepped out of the hairpin with the rear sliding out, the rubber fuming and the front wheel pointing straight to where he needs to go. I tracked in GT mode, feeling the rear slide to the rear with a differential that helps maintain speed through what is perhaps a slight tweaking over its feel. With most of the torque at the rear wheels, getting out of the bend is a treat and is where the EV6 GT proves its performance the most.
Kia EV6 GT 2023
Entering a turn is not a grin or awe-inspiring confidence. The sport-tuned suspension and adjustable dampers don’t spare the hefty weight, even though the EV6 is lower than other electric crossovers (it’s 6.1 inches of ground clearance and approx. average height about 3 inches lower than competitors). There were some squishes in turn, and the underling posed the initial challenge on that very hairpin that I never fully envisioned in two and three rounds. Partly it was the light steering that caused me to hit my header too early, but that was like the golfer blaming the hitter. More weight on wheels and more feedback would be welcome for this Duffer.
I also felt that there could have been more initial bite from the lime green monolithic calipers that clamped the larger 15.0-inch rotors at the front and the 14.2-inch rotors at the rear. I didn’t detect enough initial pedal feel in single-pedal driving or without regenerative braking. But getting off that turn is an absolute pleasure every time.
Kia EV6 GT 2023
Kia allows the EV6 to perform well on two planes, be a quiet and comfortable vehicle with Kia’s best features, or glide through deserted spaces like on a race track. I’m not sure how many EV6 GTs will hit the track — Kia estimates production will be limited to between 2,000 and 2,500 units — but the EV6 GT has proven it can, better than any Kia. any other and better than rival electric cars.
Kia paid for travel, accommodation, and follow-up time for the Automotive Authority to bring you this live report.
