Test Car Specifications
Model: 2023 Kia EV6 GT
Price: From £62,645
Engine: two electric motors
Battery: 74kWh (net) lithium-ion
Transmission: single-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Power: 585hp
Torque: 740Nm
Emissions: 0g/km
Range: 263 miles
0-62mph: 3.5 seconds
Top speed: 162mph
Boot space: 480 litres
Styling
In many ways, the EV6 GT looks much the same as the stock EV6 electric hatchback, but it does come with a handful of choice upgrades. Huge 21-inch alloy wheels mask bright green brake callipers, while the range-topping model gets its own bespoke bumper design. But other than that, it’s business as usual. Not that we’re complaining about that – the EV6 is a good-looking beast, although it somehow manages to look smaller than it really is in pictures. It’s quite a chunky thing up close.
Interior
As with the exterior, differences between the EV6 hatch and the GT are few and far between. The dashboard is much the same, dominated by two screens and a touch-sensitive panel that switches between climate and audio controls at the tap of an icon. The system isn’t perfect, but it does at least incorporate some physical knobs that make life easier than it otherwise would be – as long as the panel is in the mode you want, which it never seems to be.
That said, the touchscreen infotainment system is a little better, even if it’s hardly the most visually appealing system on the market. But it looks smart enough, and it’s logically laid out and easy to use, which immediately puts it ahead of the system found in a VW ID.3.
But all this is still true of the other EV6 models, which remain well equipped and well built, even if the glossy black plastic is a magnet for grubby fingerprints. If you want to split the GT from its siblings, you’ll have to take a close look at the dash, where there’s some green trim and a bright green GT button on the steering wheel, supplementing the existing drive mode switch. There are spectacular GT seats, too.
Practicality
Thankfully, because the EV6 GT is almost the same as the EV6 AWD inside, it has similar practicality credentials. There's bags of rear legroom and headroom is sufficient for adults, even those over six feet tall. Boot space is plentiful, too, with the 480-litre load space making the GT almost as roomy as a BMW 3 Series Touring. And if you need more room, you can always fold down the back seats to free up an even more capacious luggage bay.
Performance
Like other all-wheel-drive EV6s, the GT comes with two electric motors: one at each end. Unlike other all-wheel-drive EV6s, however, the two motors in the GT combine to send a whopping 585hp to all four wheels. And although the car weighs well over two tonnes, that system permits a 0-62mph time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 162mph.
The straight-line speed is blistering, then, but when you're in the hot seat it doesn't feel or sound significantly more dramatic than the EV6 AWD, which takes around five seconds to get from 0-62mph. In fact, it doesn't make very much sound at all, even if you press that big green GT button on the steering wheel.
Anyway, in the world of electric cars, range is everything, and there the GT falls short when compared with its siblings. With all that extra power, the GT is unsurprisingly less efficient than its stablemates, and that means the battery, which has 74kWh of usable capacity, will take you 263 miles on the official efficiency test. In the real world, you probably won't manage that, but if you can exercise some restraint you might top 200 miles between trips to the plug.
Ride & Handling
The EV6 was already a fine car to drive, but it was definitely geared up for comfort rather than handling. With the GT model, Kia has tried to redress the balance, giving the go-faster EV6 a little more handling prowess.
As a result, the EV6 feels very stable, with loads of body control despite its plentiful weight, and it's surprisingly agile for such a big car. But there's no hiding that weight and size, which prevents the EV6 from feeling quite as flea-like as conventional sports cars. And before you email to complain that the EV6 isn't a sports car, let's just remember the performance figures suggest otherwise.
The trade-off for the EV6 GT's body roll, however, is a sharp drop-off in ride comfort. Whereas a conventional EV6 irons out the bumps quite well, the GT model thumps into them and jiggles its occupants around, which makes life somewhat less pleasant than it otherwise would be.
Value
With prices starting at well over £60,000, the EV6 is not a cheap car. But electric cars still aren't cheap in general, and the GT is less than £20,000 more expensive than the cheapest EV6. Compared with a high-end GT-Line S AWD model, the difference is about £6,000. In that context, the EV6 GT isn't badly priced, but in a sector where range is still king, it still struggles to justify its price tag.
Verdict
The EV6 GT is too big and too heavy to qualify as a proper sports car, and it's too stiff and too compromised to be an appealing grand tourer. But that shouldn't detract from what is a miraculously rapid family car with sharper handling than anything else in the EV6 range. For most electric car buyers, however, it'll be a difficult thing to justify.
