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The Kia EV6 GT only started appearing on UK roads in 2023 but it’s already been updated with a number of improvements, including a longer range, simulated gearshift and engine sound, and improved ride quality.
The Kia EV6 has been one of our favourite EVs since it first appeared in 2021. The EV6 shares its platform with the Hyundai IONIQ 5, so when Hyundai was developing the IONIQ 5 N, it was no surprise that Kia was also working on a performance-focused EV6. The IONIQ 5 N transformed the family hatch into a crazy rally car, but, very surprisingly, Kia didn’t quite get all of the details right with the EV6 GT. Now the EV6 GT has been updated, should you place your order?
Even the standard EV6 (recently updated including new frontal styling with ‘Star Map’ front lights) looks sporty, but the GT takes this to the next level by adding a number of details such as 21-inch wheels and neon green brake callipers at the front and rear.
Despite the EV6 GT being an electric performance car, it’s still practical, with five seats, generous rear legroom, a hatchback, 480 litres of boot space with storage under the boot floor for the charging cables, 1,300 litres of space with the rear seats folded down, and a further 20 litres of space under the bonnet.
One of the many things that we love about the EV6 is the well-designed and user-friendly interior, and the neon green theme is also evident in here, on the seat piping and on the GT button on the steering wheel.
The updated EV6 GT has a new 84.0 kWh li-ion polymer battery, 8.5% larger than the previous 77.4 kWh unit, delivering a range of 279 miles – 16 miles more than the previous EV6 GT. Dual electric motors deliver all-wheel drive, with an increase in power from 577 bhp to 641 bhp and an increase in torque from 740 Nm to 770 Nm.
The EV6 GT even has an impressive towing capacity of 1,800 kg.
One of the first changes that you’ll notice with the new EV6 GT is the appearance of electric seat adjustment, for driver and passenger, compared to the manual adjustment on the previous model. This helps you to enjoy an excellent driving position.
Once you’re underway, one of the next things you’ll be aware of is the improved ride quality compared to the previous EV6 GT, thanks to the suspension being retuned, with slightly reduced spring rates. The steering responsiveness has also been improved, with new variable steering gear ratios.
It won’t be long before you’re aware of the performance. There’s even more power and torque – now 641 bhp/478 kW and 770 Nm – with a 303 kW motor driving the rear wheels and a smaller 175 kW motor powering the front wheels. However the 0-62 mph time of 3.5 seconds is unchanged (and the top speed is now quoted as 161 mph rather than 162 mph). Launch control can be activated when stationary in the vehicle’s settings when in GT or MyDrive mode.
The EV6 GT may be described as a crossover, with a higher ride height compared to a sports car, but it feels as though it’s sitting low on the road, with rewarding handling and tight body control, although you are aware of the car’s 2,200 kerb weight when driving enthusiastically through corners. The all-wheel drive system delivers excellent levels of grip and the EV6 GT features an electronic Limited Slip Differential (eLSD) to aid traction and reduce wheelspin.
One major new feature on the new EV6 GT is the virtual gear shift technology (VGS), simulating a six-speed paddle-operated transmission. This is available in all drive modes other than Eco and can be switched on and off via the ‘custom’ (star) button on the steering wheel, although you need to assign this custom button for this task via the touchscreen. It may be better to have a more obvious big button to switch the engine noise on or off.
Linked to the new virtual gear shift technology is a new ‘GT sound design’ which simulates engine noise. Four levels of active sound design (artificial engine noise) can be selected via the vehicle settings (quite a lot of button pressing is required to get to this screen) with the options of ‘largest change’, ‘moderate change’, ‘smallest change’, or off. The active sound design is configured to come on at medium volume when the virtual gear shift is activated. You can even ‘rev’ the EV6 GT in neutral.
Like the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N, the artificial sound, linked to the new virtual gear shift technology, matches accelerator inputs realistically, turning the single-gear EV into a car with a (simulated) gearbox. This results in the EV6 GT being a lot more interactive and engaging to drive than most other EVs. The EV6 GT doesn’t have as wide a range of options to adjust the powertrain settings as the IONIQ 5 N, but that might be a good thing for drivers who don’t want technology overwhelm.
When the virtual gear shift technology isn’t activated, the paddle shifters on the steering wheel control the level of regenerative braking, with six levels: none, 1 to 3, ‘i-Pedal’, or auto mode.
The EV6 GT has a drive mode button at the bottom of the steering wheel for the four options of Eco, Normal, Sport and Snow. There’s also a neon green GT button on the steering wheel which gives you an instant way to select GT mode, unlocking the car’s full performance and reducing the intervention of traction and stability control systems.
Pressing the ‘GT’ button twice engages a personalised ‘MyDrive’ GT mode allowing you to configure your ideal performance-focused set up. The electric motor can be configured in four different ways (Eco, Normal, Sport, Sport+), steering and suspension in three ways (Normal, Sport, Sport+), electronic stability control in three ways (Normal, Sport, Off), and the eLSD in three ways (Normal, Sport, Sport+).
Despite the large 21-inch wheels, road noise has also been reduced in the new EV6 GT thanks to sound deadening materials and sound absorbing tyres, and the windscreen features acoustic glass to minimise wind noise. All these features ensure that the EV6 is more refined than the last model on motorways.
So the EV6 GT’s driving dynamics are excellent, and we’ve not even talked about the EV6’s interior yet. The thing is, most new EVs just have a central touchscreen, featuring all controls. This is a trend started by Tesla, and many others, notably the majority of Chinese manufacturers, are following this fashion. But in our opinion, having all controls on a touchscreen isn’t user-friendly or safe. And that’s without the issue of touchscreens not working, which we’ve experienced on a number of cars that we’ve tested.
The Kia EV6 has a 12.3-inch central touchscreen, and a 12.3-inch screen in front of the driver, and a head-up display, all of which work brilliantly. But in addition the EV6 has buttons on the dashboard. Under the touchscreen is a row of buttons, which double up as touchscreen shortcuts and climate controls. There are also buttons at the front of the floating centre console for steering wheel heating and seat heating and ventilation. We’ve already mentioned the drive mode switch at the bottom of the steering wheel; this has moved from the left of the wheel, and has been replaced by the big green button to easily and instantly select GT mode (which has moved from the right of the steering wheel). One of our favourite buttons is the one you press to switch off the Lane Keep Assist, and you can mute Intelligent Speed Limit Assist. Even the start/stop button is positioned in a really user-friendly place, facing you in the middle of the centre console, near the rotary gear selector dial.
So the EV6 GT’s interior is well designed and also functional, allowing you to control the car easily and safely when driving progressively.
The 2025 Kia EV6 GT has an official combined WLTP range of 279 miles, compared to 263 miles for the previous model. After a week on test our real-world range averaged 230 miles. The larger wheels will be a factor in the reduced official range of the GT model. The EV6 GT has a WLTP combined electricity consumption of 3.0 miles/kWh.
The EV6 GT’s E-GMP (Electric-Global Modular Platform) has 800V technology, which allowed an ultra-rapid charging rate of 239 kW for the previous model, and this has been increased still further with the new GT – now a very impressive 258 kW. This means that a 10% to 80% charge can still be achieved in just 18 minutes, even with the new, larger battery pack.
With a 7kW home charger the battery can be replenished from 10% to 100% in 7 hours 20 minutes.
The Kia EV6 has a vehicle-to-load (V2L) function which can supply up to 3.6kW of power from the battery for domestic electrical items (via a 3-pin plug socket located under the front of the rear seats) or it can even charge another EV (via an adaptor that fits into the external charging socket).
A heat pump, designed to maximise driving range in cold weather, is standard on the EV6 GT (and optional on other EV6 models).
Prices for the new Kia EV6 GT start at £59,985, which is £2,690 less than the £62,675 of the pre-facelift model. Our test car had Yacht Matt Blue paint, a £1,500 option.
There are three other EV6 model grades available: ‘Air’, ‘GT-Line’ and ‘GT-Line S’. ‘Air’ models are available only with the rear-wheel drive powertrain; ‘GT-Line’ and ‘GT-Line S’ models offer the choice of rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive.
Prices and specifications correct at time of review
We’ve shouted about the standard Kia EV6 being one of the best EVs you can buy since it was launched in 2021, for a wide range of reasons including its sporty looks, its well-designed and user-friendly cabin, its practical size, its excellent driving experience, and its long range and ultra-rapid charging.
We were therefore looking forward to the original EV6 GT, but it didn’t quite live up to our expectations. The updated model addresses all of our main issues with the previous car, and also throws in other bonuses such as more power and torque, which we didn’t even know we needed. So the updated EV6 GT offers a longer range, even faster charging, more comfortable ride quality, and a more engaging (/addictive) driving experience thanks to the simulated gear change and simulated noise. And of course the existing excellent interior remains. Yet despite all the improvements, the price has been reduced. The new Kia EV6 GT now really is one of the best electric driver’s cars that you can buy, and compared to Porsche Taycan prices, it’s a bargain. The Kia EV6 GT is awarded a Green Car Guide rating of 10 out of 10.
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