$65K start price firming for Kia EV6 electric crossover

UK pricing shows the upcoming Kia EV6 should start from about $65,000 – or less – in Australia when it arrives late in 2021 or early 2022.

That should put it close to the starting price of its twin-under-the-skin, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 that is due within months.

Both should be able to benefit from the Victorian government’s recently announced $3000 subsidy for zero emissions vehicles such as EVs and FCEVs. It will also benefit from the NSW government’s more generous EV incentives that include the elimination of stamp duty and a $3000 subsidy.

Kia has launched a Register Your Interest page that contains plenty of need-to-knows about the brand’s new EV, including range expectations, specification guides and the ability to stay in the loop on new developments.

Kia in the UK announced the upcoming electric crossover would start from £40,895 for the entry-level rear-wheel drive model.

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Crucially, the UK is only offering the larger 77.4kWh battery pack that can provide 510km of range.

The EV6 will also be offered in other markets with a 58kWh battery that should make the car cheaper but significantly reduce the range.

That puts the EV6 roughly on par with the top-end diesel-powered Kia Sorento (£41,520 in the UK) that in Australia sells for $64,070 plus on-road costs.

Part of a broader family of Kia EV models built on a bespoke E-GMP electric car architecture developed in conjunction with parent company Hyundai, the EV6 will be available in rear- and all-wheel drive variants covering a broad spectrum of equipment levels and performance.

The flagship EV6 GT model makes a hefty 430kW and 740Nm between its two electric motors, which is claimed to properly the five-seater to 100km/h in 3.6 seconds. Kia likens the EV6 GT to “the Stinger of the EV”.

Kia has likened the EV6 GT to the Stinger of the EV world, referencing the Stinger high-performance sedan that uses a 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6.

The EV6 is also available as a single motor RWD with as little as 125kW/350Nm. That model uses the smaller 58kWh battery.

The UK’s most affordable model utilises the 77.4kWh battery which steps up the power of that rear-drive model to 168kW and 350Nm.

In the UK the EV6 will be offered with a “vegan leather” interior (otherwise known as fake leather), ambient lighting, LED headlights, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, 19-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone ventilation and navigation-based smart cruise control.

More powerful and better equipped GT-Line models – including the regular GT-Line and a GT-Line S – sell for between £43,895 and £51,895. They include additional features such as wireless phone charging, tinted windows, blind spot monitoring and memory functions for the electric seats. There’s also a powerpoint to allow camping equipment or devices to be charged from the car.

No word yet on how much the top-of-the-range EV6 GT model will cost, with Kia saying it won’t go on sale until 2022.

Hyundai was surprised by early demand for its Ioniq 5, which uses many of the same mechanical components of the EV6.

Kia Australia hasn’t announced which models will be offered in Australia when the EV6 arrives here later this year or early in 2022.

However, sister brand Hyundai has to date only offered that larger battery options on its EVs, including the Kona Electric.

If Kia followed suit, that would mean a 168kW/350Nm electric crossover with 510km of range for about $65,000.

That would put it well in the hunt against the most obvious rival, the Tesla Model 3, which recently scored a price reduction. The base Model 3 – known as Standard Range Plus – has 448km of range (according to the WLTP standard; on the Tesla website the claim is 508km of NEDC range) and about 211kW/375Nm.