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My Kia EV6: 21 likes & 10 dislikes after a month of ownership

19th December 2022, 14:54 by Rahul Nagaraj

I used to think the G20 330i is a head-turner, but my god, this car has almost caused several bikers to lose balance and rear-end someone!

BHPian CarbonFume recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi all,

Posting after a really long to help out everyone know more about the EV6. I will try to make this as detailed as I can. Apologies in advance for any mistakes made or wrong facts posted.

The decision to get the EV6 was made after owning the ZS EV for a year and driving that for about 30K km. The decision was not easy. It was between the Kodiaq Sportline Nardo Grey vs the EV6. Having booked both, the decision was going to be whichever car was delivered first. But I drove neither of them before booking. Ended up getting a call in the first week of November about the black EV6 being available and now in the middle of December, with still no news on the Kodiaq (both cars booked in July).

Coming to EV6, I have named her Kaalia because of no good reason. I used to think the G20 330i is a head-turner, but my God, this car has almost caused several bikers to lose balance and rear-end someone!

The build quality of this car is simply phenomenal for a Kia. From the sound deadening to the tech features, I think this car is definitely worth it, but maybe for a price tag of 55-60 lakhs instead of 70. After driving it for 2000 km in a month, here are my views on the car.

To begin with, the bad/missing features:

Music system - The Meridian music system is pathetic. They are all too hyped up at Kia about the "3D Meridian surround sound system", but for a 70 lakh car, it makes me want to cry. Compared to the G05 X5 and the '21 A6, I used to feel the G20 330i has a comparatively much inferior sound system. But compared to this Kia, the 330i music system feels incredible. The vocals are extremely high and the bass is the missing factor. It is, somehow, decent after reducing the treble in the car system as well as on the iPhone settings (treble reducer). I feel they could have done a much better job and I would consider putting in an additional subwoofer to make it better, but this is a very poor move by Kia. Hope a software update down the line makes this issue better.
No spare wheel - Thank you Kia for a 500 km plus range and no spare wheel. Not even a space saver. To top it off, there is not even the option to buy a space saver separately. As I type this, I am not happy about spending 70 lakhs for this.
The front collision warning - Yes, the car has a lot of techs, but the front collision warning is horrible. It stops the car so hard and sometimes doesn't just stop. With a hard brake, it will bring you to a full stop (almost a stall-type feeling with the throttle). Yes, it can be turned off fully, but every time you start the car, it is back on again. It is annoying that all other assists can be shut off completely and permanently such as the Blind spot monitor and others, but not this one. I am constantly worried that my mother and sister may take the car out, not shut it because they can't figure out how and will get rear-ended for going too close to an auto or a bike.
Missing panoramic sunroof - Not a big issue, but hate not having it at this price.
Electric adjusting steering - Kia has given us heated and cooled ventilated seats, even a premium head-up display, and heated steering. Why did they not add the electrically adjusting steering?
Rear seat under-thigh support is as good as not being there despite impressive legroom thanks to its design. But there is a hack around it covered in the "good" section about this car.
The ride - Something I should have covered earlier, but here it is. I agree the ride is supposed to be sporty, but it feels a bit more sporty than I had expected. The car is silent and smooth but it rides stiffer than usual and I wish it was more sublime like the A6 with bumps and bad roads.
"Floating seat" or whatever they call it - I never see myself using that feature. Easier to just recline normally, but I guess it's a cool gimmick.
Window blinds for the rear seats - Missing on the car like the 330i and I wish it was standard.
ABS kicking at minor bumps - I may not be describing this right but the ABS kicks in very easily on slightly bumpy roads. I am more confident driving aggressively when braking is set to sporty from normal and regen at level 2, but not a fan of the random ABS-type feeling. I don't think I am hitting the brakes wrong, but not sure what is going on. If any readers got any ideas, please do let me know what I can do about it.

Good:

Build quality - This car has a very superior build quality and does not feel like a Kia. From the sound deadening to the premium materials used, I absolutely love it. The seats feel like a unique blend of Alcantara and cloth *not sure*, but feel extremely premium and welcoming.
The look - From the curves on the rear of this beauty to the sharp edges on the front, this car is a stunner. I cannot take my eyes off it. To make it better, the KIA and GT badge at the rear has been removed, the rear tailgate chrome strip has been blacked out and the two tiny chrome lines on the front blacked out as well along with the front Kia badge. Wheels are to be blacked out next. This would be a good EV batmobile with its blacked-out looks.
The rearview mirror does not offer a lot of visibility, but does the job okay. To help out, Kia has given the option to turn on the rear camera regardless of the speed you are at. Typically I have seen cars shut off the camera as you drive and not activate it at a higher speed, but this works at any speed and in short, can be kept on all the time.
The 360 camera is amazing - The camera, in my view, with Kia EV6 and the Seltos, is way better in terms of quality and usability compared to what the X5 / 740i and even Audi give. Haven't tested others. I am not talking about the front and rear cameras. That's somewhere BMW, Audi, and all have done a good job except MG ZS EV. I mean the side cameras that enable 360 views. It's simply nonsense in the X5 and I never use it. But Kia killed it with the side camera activation on turn indicators and activation of the left and right view cameras in close proximity to vehicles in traffic (the sound level being adjustable is the cherry on top as it activates without the annoying beeping).
Brake / rear fog light - I love this one. The rear has 3 LEDs in the centre of the rear diffuser/bumper. The top 3 LEDs are red for fog lights,
the bottom 2 for rear reverse lights. It's quite a lovely F1 vibe-giving feature.
Regen modes / ipedal - The regen has 5 levels - 0 being no regen. Kona and ZS EV did not have this. I love having this free-flowing no pulling you back feeling EV. 1-2-3 being 3 levels of regen. 4 - AKA - pedal. Seems to be a one-pedal (use only the accelerator) driving mode. Not a fan, but seems cool to have it. The regen becomes extremely strong and the concept of coasting does not exist. It's the car saying FULL REGEN and to hell with your neck in just 13 km. The high level 3 regen in Eco mode with A/C on and with respectful calm driving actually reduced my range by only 4 km on a 13 km journey. It's capable of doing way more than 500 km, but the full charge range on this AWD only shows about 470 km. The RWD version naturally offers more range. Also noticed the ECO mode sends power only to the rear in this AWD.
Boot space/frunk - Huge boot with a removable partition similar to the one in the X5. Has 2 placements and placement option 2 helps you recline the rear seats (more of that below). Having a powered tailgate is cool, but the option to completely open and close it using the key is a teary happy moment. The frunk is cool too except. The AWD version has a smaller one, but can still hold the onboard charger/adapter in a nice case and still have a bit of space left over.
Vehicle to load - Never once used this feature, but cool to know the car can power a fridge or a microwave or even charge another EV using its charging port with a cool adaptor that comes along with the car (easy to store with onboard charger in the front tiny frunk.)
Island interior plus insane storage space - will attach a picture for this, but the storage in this car is wow! Massive glove compartments, pretty big storage under the armrest, floating control centre layout with 2 cupholder slots / one charging bed and below a very deep open storage space that can house your wallet, glasses and a full-size tissue box. I have never seen a car hold a tissue box so well and neatly concealed without some adhesive use involved.
Blacked out roof liner - helps a lot. It's just black. Forget the heat it will absorb, it looks the best and will never look dirty.
Rear seats recline - Yes, this is fun and helps with the poor under-thigh support. The partition in the boot can be shifted and the seats can be reclined a serious amount, which will help tall people and just overall rear passenger comfort.
Childish yet amazing interior driving sounds - You have 3 sound modes to select from. This will change the interior sound, which is best kept shut, but cool to have a sound named cyber sort of blasting on as you accelerate.
Padded door bins - Average quality material used to cover the inside of the door bins. It's nice to have things not rattle about.
Interior lighting/touch lights - The reading lights are touch operated - no buttons, like the A6, and I love that feature. Interior lights are placed very well and will literally even make your water bottle glow at night.
Augmented reality HUD and ADAS - Unlike the Seltos which has a screen that pops in and out, Kia has gone full premium and the HUD shows you a lot more than just speed.
All ADAS controls (speed, distance, lane assist). Speed limit signs and other traffic signs such as 'school zone', ' speedbumps ahead', and many more. Works using GPS. Directions on maps. Blind spot monitor details, front collision warning, and 'lead car departure warning'. The last one is very cool, vibrates the steering, and shows blue arrows on the HUD while playing a sound asking you to drive as the car ahead of you has started moving.
Charging ports - This car has 8 charging points inside the car. One regular USB (used for android auto and car play), one wireless charging pad. 5 USB C ports. Yes, FIVE!! 3 in the front, two in the front seats (very unique placement), and finally one proper plug point under the rear seats that can charge a 16-inch laptop or even a hairdryer or a Dyson purifier even.
Other features that are a great touch for the overall premium feel. Comfort access for the driver seat, sequential front turn indicators and concealed-ish rear indicators. Auto high beam assists with traffic and pedestrian dimming thing going on and it works way better than the X5 but not as well as the Audi matrix (not talking about light strength here, BMW and Audi probably do that better).
Kia connect - Forgot about this until now. The mobile app, which connects to your car, can record/capture a live view of your car. No matter where it is parked, it will capture images from all 4 cameras plus a 360 view. It is supposed to record videos, but I have not figured out how. Sort of a Tesla sentry-mode vibe to this.
The massive screen - I do not care much for one huge screen for speedo and infotainment but the fact that just the infotainment screen is massive and amazing. Carplay looks amazing with such a clear big sized screen. I also love the white and black theme for the speedo and infotainment and could not decide which one to use, so it is set to black for the night and white for the day.
Active Aero (not really) - The front bumper has flaps that open and close (recently discovered). Not sure when, why and how the car decides to do this, but I will attach a photo/video.

TLDR: It's a great car and you should get it if you can. The white and black, in my opinion, look the best and the rest (red, matte grey and blue) are beautiful.

It's a unique and striking car. An extremely capable, practical, and fast daily driver. This car has made me drive the 330i a lot less and I did not think that would ever happen. The green EV plates look really good on this blacked-out beauty.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Congrats CarbonFume! The EV6 is one heck of an EV and a true showcase of the capability + ambition of Kia. I absolutely love it. Would any day buy it even over the BMW i4. The styling, quality & EV powertrain are beautiful.
You should absolutely buy an additional wheel & tyre, whether from Kia or an aftermarket alloy wheel with the same PCD. Impossible to travel long distances in India without one. But it will chew up your boot space. Am guessing there is no wheel well?
How about some more details on the driving experience, acceleration, handling etc.?
Congrats again and wishing you a minimum of 100,000 happy km with your EV6.

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