Kia EV6 AWD GT Line long term test | Range and charging

My first weekend with the EV6 required a test of its tank with a return trip from Lincolnshire to south Wales.

In theory, the Kia’s 273 miles indicated range (official combined is 313, but that includes the reserve after zero miles is indicated, as well as projected energy losses while charging) would be comfortable enough to reach the destination in Cowbridge. But before arriving, I set coordinates for Cardiff Gate services on the M4 where there were several rapid chargers.

No queuing was a positive, and although my Kia Charge card didn’t seem to authorise the charge, my back-up Octopus Electroverse card did.

Drawing 180kW from the charger meant I was back up to full from around 20% within half an hour, at a cost of just under £50. That works out at almost 25p per mile, which is close to three times as much as I pay for charging at home. But this is what happens when you need a fast charge on the road.

I attended the event and set a course for home. The Kia’s sat-nav warned that there might not be enough range to reach my destination, and asked if I wanted to select a recharge along the route. However, around 50 miles out from home the car decided it would not be necessary as range by that point was comfortably showing I would reach my destination with around 40 miles to spare.

So the first truly long journey in the EV6 was relatively stress free; the single rapid charge needed was congestion-free and took the length of time required for a snack and a drink to be consumed.

It was certainly a confidence boost, and I doubt there’ll be any worry with other long journeys it will be required for.

Driving the EV6 is also stress free. I’m quickly getting used to the quiet environment. The car provides plenty of comfort and rides relatively well.

The only hiccup was that Kia UK has undertaken a recall of all EV6 models in the UK – around 16,000 of them – requiring a software update for the charging control unit. As I’m in the privileged position of running a car belonging to Kia UK, the company sent a technician to my home to carry out the update, rather than me needing to book an appointment with a dealer.

The work was done in around 40 minutes, so I imagine any owners thad did need to book the car in at a retailer workshop for the update would have been able to do so with only an hour’s downtime. Not too inconvenient.

---

Kia EV6 AWD GT Line joins our fleet

I’ve covered some miles in electric cars over the years but rarely for more than a week at a time during an appraisal.

With a petrol car of my own and no company car, I have been surprised over the last couple of years at how fleets (or at least the larger ones) are so heavily committed to electric cars.

Of course, electric cars have become easier to live with in recent years, largely due to greater capacity batteries (which usually plunder some of the earth’s most scarce mineral resources), which mean 250 miles on a full charge is not too difficult. The rapid-charging infrastructure has also become more reliable and with greater availability.

But of all the incentives that have driven fleets in this direction, perhaps the ones that have resonated most strongly are those that are of immediate benefit to the driver. Taxation has always been the most effective force behind changing habits.

For many years, drivers have effectively been able to give themselves a pay rise merely by swapping their petrol, diesel or hybrid company car by switching to electric. The employer benefits from the national insurance contribution for provision of a company car for private use also being linked to the vehicle’s BIK tax rate. And, of course, there are all the sustainability and move towards net zero boxes that can also be ticked.

All of this has offset the more chaotic residual values story, where used prices crashed in 2022 as a result of oversupply, and have remained in the doldrums since. And with the ZEV mandate forcing more electric cars on the market over the next six years with no strategy to boost demand from used car buyers, other than the blunt market forces dragging down values and making them more affordable, RVs will take some years to recover.

So this is where I come in with our recently delivered Kia EV6. Although when Fleet News originally reviewed the car Kia expected the GT Line S to be the strongest seller, we’ve taken the slightly more modestly equipped GT Line. It’s an all-wheel drive model, with two electric motors, and we requested the optional heat pump to help reduce the strain on the battery when heating or cooling the cabin.

It’s very different from the Sorento Hybrid I had been running, but very close on P11D value. However, the EV6 is slightly smaller, with two fewer seats, and in GT Line spec makes do without the panoramic roof, 360º camera, ventilated front seats and heated outer rear seats, and a few other items I had become used to. It does offer almost 100hp more over the Sorento Hybrid, however, although taking advantage of that risks efficiency and range.

It is an attractive and well-equipped car for your £52,000, though. I’ve signed up to the Kia Charge app and pay a small monthly fee to take advantage of reduced prices for rapid charging with certain networks, and I’ve also subscribed to Octopus Electroverse as a back-up.

I will be planning to drive the Kia to mainland Europe in due course. And planning will be rather more intensive than with any previous trip. There should be further driving impressions to report before then though. Watch this space.