2022 Kia EV6 | Must-Watch for First-Time EV Buyers!

if there's one thing we know for certain it's that people hate change they view it as a disruption to their lives and it scares them even if it represents progress and that's where we are with electric cars right now now i know i've had a jump start on these because i've been test driving them for my job for about a decade now so i'm very comfortable with them i understand them and i know how they work and i hope that you've been watching my reviews of these cars through the years so that you too can gain that same understanding and learn about their pros and cons but unfortunately like many things in this country like all things it's become a political issue there's even some brain dead hillbilly politician down south who's looking to remove public chargers unless the equivalent of gas and diesel filler ups are installed next to them i mean welcome to america 2022 but my goal yet again today is to help you understand how the electrics like this awesome ev6 are nothing to be feared now it may not be the right car for you at the moment but for many an ev will fit into your lifestyle perfectly right now when someone shopping for their first electric car asks me where they should start i point them right to hyundai kia every time the korean automotive group has been selling some of the best and most affordable evs for years now and not oddball stuff like the mitsubishi eye but impressive electrics right out of the gate like their first the 2015 kia soul ev currently kia's all-electric offerings constitute two small station wagons or crossovers if you prefer the front wheel drive nero ev which has been redesigned for the 2023 model year and this all new rear or all-wheel drive eb6 a thoroughly modern breakthrough electric car that further extends their ev leadership available in three trim lines with a starting msrp of 42 695 before the full 7 500 federal tax credit my car is the range-topping all-wheel drive gt line optioned with the suede seat package raising the sticker price to 58 255. that includes an electric motor at each axle the most powerful battery 20 inch wheels and the full pantry of luxury features and driver assist technologies from its concept car-like award-winning styling to its super fast 800 volt charging architecture the ev6 is impressive no matter the criteria used officially the driving range is rated at 274 miles but in a typical ev that number can drop by as much as 40 percent in the cold winter months but kia says the eb6's heat pump will preserve most of that likewise that number can extend well beyond that in temperate conditions lithium-ion batteries are quite sensitive to ambient temperatures in runway red with black finished wheels the ev6 really pops its roller coaster like acceleration is every ev seductive byline and its long telluride like wheelbase and underfloor mounted battery creates maximum interior space with true three across rear seating there's even a small frunk for a little extra storage under the faux engine cover the cabin's motif is eco-friendly infused futuristic featuring recycled plastics and artificial leather a floating center console design and hyundai kia's familiar but updated touchscreen infotainment system previously known as uvo now renamed kia connect and there are cool features everywhere remote start and remote parking via the key fob perfect for times when it's a tight fit a hands-free hatch that opens just by standing next to it customizable driving sounds from racy to spacey an augmented reality head-up display that appears to hover over the hood of the car and the ability to use the ev6's on-board power generator to plug in items such as computers and tailgating paraphernalia either through the outlet under the rear seats or via the provided adapter that turns the charge port into another 110 volt outlet which is also capable of charging a fellow ev click the link up above to see more about that neat trick the entire package is emblematic of a company building upon its electric car experience and honing its ev craft it's clearly evident that this isn't kia's first rodeo i just returned from getting a fast charge at my local electrify america station where it took 37 minutes to take this car's battery from a 30 state of charge to 80 and that gave me 210 miles of driving range now it should have been faster than that if this particular charger had been operating at its advertised 350 kilowatt output but it was only doing about a quarter of that and that is a problem that occasionally affects these chargers but the electrify america app is a really good one so not only was i able to check the availability of the charger itself but also its throughput before i had even left the house so there were no surprises when i arrived on the scene kia does provide its owners three years of free charging at electrify america with this car but i'm not an owner so it did cost me 17 today which is the equivalent of 43 cents per kilowatt hour now if you were to think of this car's battery as a gas tank it can hold 77 kilowatt hours of electricity and that means if you were to fill this car's tank by method of fast charging and it wasn't free to you it would cost about dollars now for some comparison if you were to fill the tank of a stinger all-wheel drive it would cost almost three times as much and all of the tools are here to help boost your ev confidence and squash range anxiety such as quick access to a list of nearby chargers with navigation if necessary a visual depiction of the geographical driving range how that range is affected by the use of climate controls and the ability to schedule charging during times of reduced electricity rates and if that 350 kilowatt charger is operating as intended it will only take 18 minutes for this battery to go from 10 percent to 80 percent and then at a slower 50 kilowatt fast charger it would take 73 minutes but the chargers are generally labeled pretty clearly so that you know what you are getting but remember you don't have to fast charge at all as a matter of fact the only times you'll probably use a fast charger is when you are traveling so what you should do is get a level two charger installed at your home the wall boxes themselves aren't particularly expensive but the run of wire from the electrical box in your basement to your garage can be a little costly maybe a thousand dollars or more but at 240 volts this car will charge all the way to 100 percent in less than 12 hours in other words while you're sleeping overnight and then you wake up the next morning to 274 miles of range it's kind of like having a gas station in your garage but a lot less costly to operate now keeping with that stinger analogy if you were to drive the ev6 say 15 000 miles a year it would cost you six hundred dollars in electricity as opposed to forty three hundred in gas for that stinger oh and yes you can plug into a standard household outlet kia though does not provide this cable they do charge extra for it but you've also got to have some time on your hands that'll take 68 hours put it in sport and floor it and the ev6 uses its meaty rubber and all-wheel drive grip to dig in and shove you into your seat a mere 4.6 seconds later and 60 miles per hour is achieved through a combined 320 horsepower and 446 pound-feet of on-demand torque the low center of gravity makes it a blast to drive with handling attributes akin to a rear drive sport sedan though the weight of this 20-inch tire and wheel package is felt through the body when the road gets bumpy a more sophisticated suspension tune could take this gt line into rarefied air and perhaps that's in the works for the upcoming 576 horsepower 2023 ev6 gt it weighs about 4 600 pounds and the battery contributes a thousand of those which really isn't heavy for an eb like this and it can tow 2 300 pounds because of a technology called regenerative braking evs tend to drive in a much different manner than a regular gas powered car and that's because you can use these paddles here on the steering wheel to adjust the level of brake force that's applied as soon as you begin to let off the accelerator pedal from a level of zero which is much like the regular car you're driving now all the way to one pedal drive which is exactly how it sounds you don't really need to use the brake pedal at all as soon as you begin to let off the accelerator the car will begin to slow coming all the way to a stop it's very very cool otherwise the ev6 is quick it's quiet it's comforting it has all of the traits you would want in an excellent ev and this is yet another example of how hyundai and kia are so far out ahead of the rest of the pack some final tidbits as we're all well aware at this point there's no wireless phone projection with kia's best screen so you'll still need a cable though there is wire management and a wireless charge pad changing from climate controls to other features is accomplished by touching a finger here so if you forget which one it's on and it's not exactly easy to see from the driver's seat you'll be cranking up the cabin temperature when you intend to crank up the music and lastly when it comes to public charging companies like mercedes get it right in that all you have to do with their evs is plug and play no app or credit card needed kia should do the same here with this many features including highway driving assist 2 which isn't a true hands-free system but can take over some of the driving and assistant lane changes the price of this gt line seems like a bargain staying true to kia's power to surprise along with its corporate cousin the ioniq 5 it's a pair that puts other ev automakers on notice that hyundai kia isn't afraid of anyone for topspeed.com i'm steve hamas

Channel: Steve Hammes New Car Reviews

Views: 85,320

Keywords: Test Drive Now, Steve Hammes, Review, New, Car Reviews, Drive Time Steve Hammes, 2022 Kia EV6, Hyundai IONIQ 5, electric car, EV review, EV car expert, EV ownership, electric car explained, Electrify America, GT-Line, AWD, EV6, Soul EV, Niro EV, V2L, Kona Electric, DC charging, POV driving, how to charge an electric car, home charging, expert review, Top Speed

Id: MMcWL2FM3k8

Length: 11min 22sec (682 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 20 2022