Kia has unveiled the first of what will be a stable full of electric vehicles (EV) the Korean brand plans to bring to the United States over the next few years. If the vehicle, dubbed the EV6, is anything to go on, Kia’s designers will be having fun with this new round of cars. The EV6 is an aggressive-looking 4-door hatchback with some upscale details.
Muscular hood bulges and sharp headlights give it a sleek front fascia. A rakish roofline angles slightly down from front to back, while the beltline beneath the windows angles slightly upward, coming together at the C-pillars. It gives the car a scowling look, but might create a big blind spot – we’ll know more when we get some seat time.
The rear lights are especially dramatic. A lightbar gracefully arcs all the way across the back of the car from wheel well to wheel well to create a wing-like effect. Paired with a roof spoiler, the car seems to have motion lines drawn behind it like a speeding car in a cartoon.
Open Cabin Design
Inside, the open look cabin employs a center console not connected to the dashboard (electric cars have no transmission tunnel down the center of the seats). That console looks as if it slides back and forth, though Kia hasn’t given us details yet — just photos. A central glass console on the dashboard puts a digital instrument cluster in front of the driver and an infotainment screen in reach of both driver and passenger, but they look like one unit.
We don’t know the mechanical details of the EV6 yet. It shares a platform with the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which means components under the skin may be the same. That Ioniq 5 comes in a one-motor, rear-wheel-drive setup making 215 horsepower and a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive option making 302.
Battery options include the 58-kWh standard range option and a 77.4-kWh long-range version.
We expect to see the EV6 for sale in the fall and will bring pricing information when we have it.
