Kia has been making waves in the Indian market ever since they launched the Kia Seltos. Their MUV, the Kia Carnival as well as their compact SUV, the Sonet have already established footholds in our market and the company seems to want to push forward with now electrifying their range. The Korean car company’s first electric car, the EV6, is all set to make its way to India on June 2. Bookings for the car have already begun and will be available in two variants- GT Line and GT Line AWD. (Image: Kia)
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Starting with design, the Kia EV6 is essentially a crossover. This means that while in essence it is a hatchback, styling more closely resembles that of an SUV. With the EV6, however, the dimensions as well fall more towards the SUV side tether than a conventional hatchback. The EV6 is designed using the brand’s new ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy. This means sharp lines and curves all melding together to form a very futuristic looking vehicle. (Image: Kia)
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The front of the car features a clamshell bonnet, and a very slim grille that is flanked by sharp angular headlamps. The DRLs within the headlamp clusters form what Kia is calling a digital tiger nose grille. The front windshield is raked enough to allow for sportier look while the bumper also acts as an intake to channel air under the car allowing for better cooling for the batteries. (Image: Kia)
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The EV6 is wide and this can best be seen from the rear. It is also where the rear light bar runs the width of the car ending in the tail lights. Also, there are two spoilers – one which is positioned just above the tail lights forming a sort of boot lip and a more conventional roof mounted spoiler. Looking at the car from the side, you can see the crossover design more clearly with large alloy rims, a raked floating roofline and body cladding along the wheel arches. In terms of dimensions, the EV6 measures 4,695 mm in length, 1,890 mm in width and 1,550 mm in height with a wheelbase measuring 2,900 mm. (Image: Kia)
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Moving on to what powers the car. Now internationally, Kia offers the EV6 in a total of five variants. As we mentioned, the EV6 will be available in two variants. Both variants are powered by the same 77.4 kWh battery pack, but the difference is in the motor set up. The GT Line is a rear-wheel-drive unit with the motor set obviously at the rear wheels. This motor produces 229 PS of maximum power and 350 Nm of peak torque. The GT Line AWD is an all-wheel-drive vehicle with two motors; one at each axle. These motors in combination churn out 325 Ps of maximum power and 605 Nm of peak torque. (Image: Kia)
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As for charging, the EV6 comes equipped with a 800 Volt rapid charging system which allows for a charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in just 18 minutes when connected to a 350 kW DC fast charger. Of course, it also comes equipped with the more standard 7 kW charging system which allows for a full charge in 11 hours. (Image: Kia)
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The steering wheel is a neat two spoke design that features all of the buttons you would normally see on a top-end car. The climate control buttons are haptic and sit below the infotainment screen and the centre console houses a rotary knob that functions as the gear selector, and the start/stop button. The seats are made from a lightweight material and the fabrics have been created using recycled plastic. (Image: Kia)
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Now, the EV6 is an electric car and anything short of futuristic just won’t do. As such, the EV6 comes with a full suite of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems). This helps monitor and assist with driving functions and includes emergency brakes, front collision warning, blind spot monitoring and assistance, lane keep monitoring and assistance, cruise control and so much more. (Image: Kia)
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The Kia EV6 has been designed on the dedicated e-GMP architecture that also underpins the Hyundai Ioniq 5. As such there are a lot of similarities on the internals of the car, but are very different. Hyundai is also planning on bringing the Ioniq 5 to India and it should happen sometime this year as well. (Image: Kia)
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And finally, pricing. Considering the CBU import route, we could see a retail sticker of somewhere around the Rs 60 lakh mark but June 2 is just around the corner, so we’ll wait and see. Bookings for the EV6 have already begun and you can reserve yours for a token amount of Rs 3 lakh. At this price, there is not a lot that the Kia EV6 will compete against except for the Volvo XC40 Recharge which was launched just recently. However, there should be more competition once Hyundai also brings its Ioniq 5 to India. (Image: Kia)
Stanford Masters Journalist who writes on automobiles
