2023 Kia EV6 GT new car review

The latest zero-emissions car to arrive on our shores will change the way people think about the brand and performance cars.

Quicker than a Porsche at half the price – that’s the sales pitch for the new Kia EV6 GT. Granted, the first $100,000 car from Kia is not cheap but it represents extraordinary value when you consider alternatives capable of similar performance.

Porsche’s Taycan GTS electric sports sedan costs about $260,000 and delivers 440kW of power, enough to reach 100km/h in 3.7 seconds before topping out at 250km/h.

The Kia EV6 GT uses 430kW to hit 100km/h in 3.5 seconds before running to 260km/h.

It’s yours for $99,590 plus on-road costs.

The new Kia EV6 GT has petrol car beating performance.

It wasn’t long ago that the sub four-second club was exclusive to high-end supercars.

There are a handful of four-door cars with similar straight-line performance, though none can match the Kia’s combination of a seven-year warranty, family-friendly space and generous standard equipment.

This car is loaded with all the gear you could expect from a range-topping model. It has the same 77.4kWh battery as the regular EV6, though the GT’s fat tyres reduce its claimed range to 424 kilometres – 60 less than less powerful all-wheel-drive models.

Standard gear includes matrix LED headlights and twin 12.3-inch digital displays with smartphone mirroring, a 360-degree camera and wireless charging.

This type of speed is usually reserved for cars almost three times the price.

Tech includes a clever smartphone app, 14-speaker stereo, head-up display and much more. All the modern safety features are here, though it misses out on the ventilated and electrically adjustable “premium relaxation” seats of the less focused EV6 GT-Line, trading them for supportive bucket seats that hold you in place while cornering.

Sporty upgrades include 21-inch wheels with Michelin performance rubber and wholly revised front suspension that sharpens responses while allowing the use of bigger brakes.

It has much quicker steering than the standard EV6, along with multi-mode suspension that constantly adapts to the road surface and a torque-vectoring electronic limited-slip differential linked to a new drift mode best left to the track.

It has an impressive level of standard gear for the price, too.

The only option is premium paint in metallic ($520) or matt ($3295) finishes. The latter includes special ceramic protection that makes it more durable.

Big wheels, bright green brakes and modest GT badges are the only way to pick the halo model out of an EV6 line-up. Kia played it safe with the car’s styling, but not its driving experience. The EV6 GT is shockingly fast.

It slams you back in the seat with real ferocity during full-throttle acceleration, shortening straights like a thoroughbred supercar. Better still, it’s great to drive.

Kia has worked particularly hard at making the EV6 GT handle like a true driver’s car.

The GT’s fast steering and taut suspension deliver impressive responses on a winding road. It feels far more athletic than its 2.1-tonne mass might suggest and offers precise control in fast corners.

Locally-tuned electronic suspension is particularly smart – it firms up the front, rear and sides as required to control excessive pitch and roll from the body. The shocks adjust their movement to account for smooth or bumpy roads and have markedly different responses when you select preferred driving modes.

Locally tuned suspension helps keep the vehicle’s heft in check through corners.

Better still, the car allows owners to set preferences for key elements and save them in a customised setting linked to a button on the steering wheel. Those who want to drive without touching the brake pedal can ask for heavy energy regeneration and folks who prefer the car to coast off-throttle like a petrol sports car can have it their own way.

Kia’s engineers did a masterful job finessing the transition from battery-saving motor regeneration to conventional friction-based braking when you squeeze the left pedal.

The EV6 GT is bringing in new customers to the brand by the boat load.

That torque vectoring differential helps the GT feel like a rear-drive sports sedan when you power out of a corner, the tail wriggling under acceleration. The ride is firmer than regular EV6 models but not uncomfortable. Tauter than anything else in the Kia catalogue, the EV6 still feels softer than 400kW four-doors from European marques.

Kia reckons 80 per cent of orders are from people new to the brand. They’re in for a shock.

VERDICT 4.5/5

Scorchingly fast, fun to drive and loaded with equipment, the Kia EV6 GT is a worthy halo model for a brand on the roll.

KIA EV6 GT

PRICE About $110,000 drive-away

MOTOR Front and rear electric, 430kW and 740Nm

WARRANTY/SERVICE 7-yr/u’ltd km, $2013 for 7 yrs

SAFETY 8 airbags, front and rear auto emergency braking, active cruise control.

RANGE 424 kilometres

SPARE Repair kit

LUGGAGE 480 litres