When it comes to the EV auto market, one name always comes to mind: Tesla. While Elon Musk was successful in making great electric vehicles, he was even more successful in creating a lifestyle brand. Tesla has become a trend. Unfortunately, the success of the American brand overshadows many great, known brands that are just getting into the EV world. A great example of these brands is Kia. Since its major re-brand, Kia was able to completely change how the market perceives them.

The Korean automaker is no longer a cheap car that will do the job. Instead, Kia vehicles are stylish, well-equipped, and capable of competing amongst European vehicles. Kia recently released its first dedicated all-electric vehicle named the EV6. After a quick glance at its design and an eye-scan of the spec sheet, we decided we need to drive this. Here’s what we think of the 2022 Kia EV6 GT-Line e-AWD.

Kia As A Brand

The re-brand is not only apparent in their logo, but it’s rather obvious in Kia’s new designs, performance numbers, luxury features, and safety equipment. One of Kia’s flagship vehicles is the Stinger GT we recently reviewed. We declared this platform one of the best values and performance with no other vehicles in its price range capable of matching them.

We then followed this review with another for the 2022 Kia K5 GT, and we decided that it is quite the sleeper and also unmatched in terms of value in the midsize sedan market. Just when you think Kia is only committing to performance, we drove the Kia Telluride. This SUV can easily compete with Audi, Mercedes, and BMW. It was then that we knew Kia is no longer the underdog. Instead, Kia is a major player and it’s here to win.

Related: 2022 Kia EV6: Costs, Facts, And Figures

EV6 GT-Line e-AWD By The Numbers

The 2022 Kia EV6 GT-Line e-AWD sports a permanent magnet AC synchronous motor. The engine works together with a lithium-ion polymer batter with a 111.2 Ah capacity, 697 V, and 77.4 kWh energy. The drive battery output is 253 kW, and it weighs 1,052-pounds. This makes the EV6 AWD weigh 4,502-pounds. With this much weight, we expect a high power and torque output to get this vehicle moving. The EV6 delivers 320 horsepower and 446 lb-ft of torque. These are definitely respectable numbers, and while the weight discouraged us, the torque regained out attention. Our loner came with a dual motor e-AWD.

Quick Charging On The Go And Great Tech

The EV6’s charging port complies with the SAE J1772 and CCS standards, which makes it compatible with most common charging networks. There are five trim levels available, two of them are all-wheel drive and three are rear-wheel drive. The AWD sacrifices some range, with a maximum estimated range of 274 miles. The rear-wheel drive versions give you an estimated range of 310 miles, while the entry level trim, called Light, gives you 232 miles. Our choice would be to sacrifice range since the difference in power and torque is massive. Our loner delivers 320 horsepower and 446 lb-ft of torque, while the rear-wheel drive version delivers 225 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. The Light trim level delivers 167 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque.

Related: Why The Kia EV6 Is The Electric Car To Buy In 2022

On the fast charger, it takes 18 minutes to charge the EV6’s battery to 80-percent. From 20-percent, it took us a little over 40-minutes to charge to 100-percent. The EV6 also features regenerative braking technology. If you’re unfamiliar with it, regenerative braking captures energy from braking and turns it into electric charge. When you let off the throttle pedal, the EV6 decelerates as if you’re stepping on the brakes. The paddles behind the steering wheel gives you control over how much deceleration you want. The more deceleration, the more energy the car can create. The specs don’t stop here, but we were eager to analyze the smooth, futuristic exterior design, which surprisingly didn’t veer off too much from the original concept.

Futuristic And Unique Exterior Design

Our loner EV6 came with the steel matte gray, which is quite possibly one of the best paint colors on the market today. The matte paint is smooth, confident, and completely complements the lines and curves of the vehicle. Shaved door handles pop up when you approach the vehicle, and while they feel fragile when you pull them, we didn’t really have any issues with them. Design-wise, these door handles are simply brilliant. The front features a narrow grille, which in this case is more of a trim piece, and the LED multi-reflector headlights makes for quite the elegant touch. GT-Line exterior accents add sporty trim pieces all around.

Related: What Makes The Kia EV6 GT-Line A Worthy Challenger To Tesla

The thin strip of LED taillight reaching from one end to the other make for a great rear to look at. The 2022 EV6 hits all of the marks on the outside. The last thing we wanted was for Kia’s first all-electric car to look like any of their other models. However, this is far from reality. Not only does the EV6 have a completely different design than anything on Kia’s lineup, it stands out from all other competition.

Advanced Interior With Stylish Accents

Upon entering the cabin of the Kia EV6, a dual panoramic screen measuring 12.3-inches each will welcome you. Together, they make for 24-inches of high quality display and access to tons of features. Unfortunately, you still need a cable to connect to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Rather than a simple head-up display, the EV6 comes with augmented reality head-up display. I found it to be quite distracting, however, and at its lowest position, it still feels like it’s where your line of site is. Through the large touchscreen in the center, a powerful 14-speaker Meridian Premium Audio System can offer you high quality music with a ton of base.

The entire cabin is rather large, which Kia claims it’s due to the giga seats used in the front. They create more rear leg room while increasing comfort. If you’re environmentally-conscious, you will love the sustainable design elements in the cabin, which features the use of more than 100 recycled PET bottles for the interior. Any leather you see in the interior is vegan leather. Not only is Kia going after environmentally-friendly vehicles in terms of pollution and into the EV world, they are truly making a statement with the materials used as well. Overall, the interior of the EV6 is a great place to be.

Quick And Smooth With A lot Of Driver Aid

The 2022 Kia EV6 completely changed the way I looked at EV vehicles. On one end of the spectrum, the EV6 has a ton of driver assistance features that makes it almost drive itself. This includes highway driving assist 2, forward collision-avoidance assist, surround view monitor, and much more. Setting up cruise control and the lane and steering assist will practically make the car take over and drive on its own. This includes changing lanes when you hit your turn signals. Although the gauge cluster will remind you every once in a while to keep your hands on the wheel since it’s not “auto pilot.” Off the freeway, I started turning all of these systems off and tried to take back control of the car. To my surprise, the EV6 is actually rather engaging. Steering doesn’t have too much feedback, but it is precise and the suspension feels extremely balanced. The instant torque from the dual motors made exiting corners simply a blast. Just point the all-wheel drive EV6 and stomp the pedal, and you will have a huge smile on your face.

Related: Here Are The Coolest Features In The New Kia EV6

You can change driving modes from the small switch on the steering wheel. We noticed a massive difference between ECO, Normal, and Sport modes. The difference is instant and you can feel it as you toggle through. In sport mode, the EV6 goes all out, and so does the charge. The entire car just doesn’t feel as heavy as it really is, at more than 4,500-pounds, it completely surprised us with how light and nimble it felt. The brakes are great, but sudden braking can feel briefly uneasy. Everything is smooth behind the wheel of the EV6. The acceleration will get you to 60 mph from a complete stop in just 4.5-seconds, but you may not even notice because of how smooth it is, and due to the lack of exhaust roars.

As any electric vehicle with regenerative braking, this system will take some getting used to. However, the peddles in the back of the steering wheel allow you to change how much regenerative braking you would like. Having it at the maximum means you need to ease of the throttle pedal and gauge how quick it’s braking, rather than completely taking your foot off since it won’t coast. Once you get used to it, however, you can really make your charge last longer while still being comfortable. Speaking of comfort, the cabin of the EV6 offers tons of that. It’s comfortable, quiet, and best of all, you won’t hear any rattles on the highway like many other vehicles on the market, including Tesla, all at a great price.

A Game-Changer In The EV Market

The electric car marketing just got better thanks to the Kia EV6. Our 2022 Kia EV6 GT-Line e-AWD has a starting MSRP of $55,900 before any federal tax credit or dealership markups. While we would always recommend this trim or the Wind so you can experience the true performance this EV can offer, the other trim levels make a great argument with their 310-mile range. All in all, Kia just put the entire EV market in check, and while Tesla is still the trend, car shoppers should start giving vehicles like the EV6 a chance. We truly believe the styling, the level of comfort and materials used, and the performance and safety of the EV6 is nothing short of a game-changer.