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Kia EV6 facelift has been launched at a price of Rs 65.9 lakh, ex-showroom, India. In addition to a bigger and improved battery, the new Kia EV boasts of an updated design and interior, and is on sale only in the AWD GT-Line variant (entry-level RWD and top-spec GT trims sold in international markets).
The latest Kia EV6 GT-Line continues with two electric motors front and back (enabling all-wheel drive). Combined output is 325hp and 605Nm and 0-100kph takes 5.3 seconds, which is 0.1 seconds slower. It rides on the electric global modular platform (E-GMP) housing a floor-mounted battery. However, it now has a bigger 84kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery pack, as against the 77.4kWh unit in the pre-facelift model. This NMC battery is claimed to be lighter and eight percent more energy-dense, resulting in a range of 663km (ARAI). With a 350kW DC fast charger, the battery can be charged from 10 to 80 percent in 18 minutes, while the same takes 73 minutes with a 50kW DC chager.
Updates to the exterior comprise refreshed bumpers and Star Map headlights (with a new LED light bar spanning the gap between them). We have also seen these signature lights on the flagship Kia EV9 SUV and the internationally sold EV3. Some design updates have been made to the 19-inch alloy wheels, and the rear bumper and tail-lights.
Dimesionally, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 sibling remains unchanged – 4,695mm length, 1,890mm width, 1,570mm height and 2,900mm wheelbase. Interestingly, Kia has managed to fit a larger battery despite no changes in measurements.
A total of five colours are on offer, as shown in the collage below. They are (from left to right): Snow White Pearl, Yatch Blue Matt, Runway Red, Wolf Gray and Aurora Black Pearl.
Inside, Kia has added a new three-spoke steering wheel, which gets a dedicated drive mode button. A new fingerprint sensor allows registered drivers to start the car without a key; the centre console gets a textured finish instead of piano black, which attracted a lot of fingerprint marks. Kia has retained the curved panoramic screen that houses two 12.3-inch displays for instrumentation and infotainment. Other features on offer include wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, ambient lighting, a wireless charger, a 360-degree camera, ventilated front seats, 14-speaker Meridian sound system, vehicle-to-load (V2L) and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) charging, and over-the-air (OTA) software updates.
BS, ESC, hill-hold assist, front parking sensors and eight airbags continue to be on offer in the new EV6 SUV. Having said that, 17 new features have been added to the electric SUV's ADAS safety suite, taking the total number of features to 27 (see the table above).
The EV6 launch will be followed by the Carens EV in June 2025 and Syros EV by March 2026, expanding Kia's EV lineup in India to four.
Autocar