The Kia EV6 Might Be The Car That Convinces You To Finally Go Electric - Men's Health Magazine Australia

The Kia EV6 Might Be The Car That Convinces You To Finally Go Electric

The EV6 is available in Australia from this month.

It’s safe to say that 2022 Kia isn’t the Kia we once knew. And sure, you’ve probably heard something similar in a few different areas of your life (*cough* relationships), so we can understand why you’d take it with a grain of salt.

But when we say that the new Kia is a whole lot different. We mean it, and it’s a good thing.

Thanks to a slew of new hires and a major design overhaul, the vehicles that the South Korean brand has been putting out over the last few years have been nothing short of neck-breaking (for lack of a better term). Take the Kia Sportage, for example, bringing substantially increased exterior dimensions, bolder styling, and an enlarged equipment list across the range it is a huge leap from the 2019 version – and a whole lot sexier, too.

But the best part about the newest member of the Kia family, one that we had the pleasure of driving around Canberra’s wide, open roads, is that no one could figure out that we were in a Kia.

Meet the Kia EV6.

The new fully-electric vehicle is a huge step forward for the automaker. It’s not just the first standalone Kia EV (there won’t be a gas-powered or hybrid version of this car), but the start of a new aesthetic.

As we drove in our entourage of EV6s down the curvy roads of Mount Ainslie, you couldn’t help but notice the double takes, and looks of confusion.

From behind, the EV6 looks like no other Kia thanks to its sharp lines and upturned back hatch. It has less of a nerdy EV vibe than earlier Kia EVs like the Niro or Soul but still fits in with other new EVs from Audi, BMW, and upcoming cars like the Cadillac Lyriq.

Behind the wheel, it’s no different. There’s an engine start/stop button with smart entry, all-round electric windows,  an automatic windscreen defog system and a 14 Speaker Meridian Sound System. Drving down Batron Highway, you could really feel the open, spacious interior (thanks in part to the battery lying on the base of the car). Add that to the comforting silence of an electric vehicle, and the perfectly-cushioned seats, and it made for an incredibly-smoothe drive.

The RWD single motor EV6 entry-level Air that we drove was capable of going 0-100 in 7.3 seconds (the GT-Line range gets there in 5.2 seconds), and is sharp enough to handle the curvy mountain roads, and let us zoom past the slower drivers of ACT.

After more than 45km driving on suburban roads, highways, and mountain passes, safe tp say I was impressed with everything the EV6 had to offer.

Pining for a sports car you’ll never be able to afford is now a pointless pursuit because there is, at last, a vehicle out there that will deliver all the fun for far less than stupid money.

The Kia EV6 starts at $67,990. Find out more at Kia.com.

By Nikolina Ilic

Nikolina is the former Digital Editor at Men's Health Australia, responsible for all things social media and .com. A lover of boxing, she has written for Women's Health, esquire, GQ and Vogue magazine.

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