Electrification is ruling the minds of every automaker right now. This is because 2022 electric cars have not only shown humanity a new age of motoring but also exhibited key benefits like better energy efficiency, higher performance, and a quieter driving experience. Moreover, with the kickoff of electrification, the market experienced the arrival of new businesses, providing a bigger vista of choice than combustion vehicles.
Hyundai has been quite remarkable in recent times, exhibiting some great technologies. And Kia, being their sister-brand, has inherited all its merits. Following the introduction of the Ioniq series by Hyundai, its sister entered the electric game with the 2022 Kia EV6, its first BEV, and later with the EV6 GT. When the Kia EV6 GT debuted this year, Kia claimed it would benchmark the crossover segment with the EV6 GT and succeed the Kia Stinger GT2, which has proven its mettle in the market.
Despite Kia’s claims of the EV6 GT’s maximum momentum of 161.5 mph (260 km/h), diligent hauling by drivers of AutoTopNL on the unrestricted parts of the Autobahn has exposed higher speeds. Meanwhile, AutoTopNL has decided to test the Kia EV6 GT through its paces on the Autobahn to see how they compare to Kia's claims. Although some companies boast incredible facts about their products, these claims are usually met by trained drivers or racers. We're curious about what happens when car enthusiasts take it for a spin and try to haul these incredible machines down the Autobahn.
Kia EV6 GT Surpasses Its Claimed Top Speed Mark On The Autobahn
AutoTopNL’s latest video shows how the EV6 GT has kept each word the company has uttered, and we are impressed with Kia. The driver starts the video by giving us a walk around of the Yacht Blue Kia EV6 GT with high-performance brakes with yellow calipers. He mounts a phone on his left side with the GPS speedometer turned on and puts on his seat belt. He enters the Autobahn and accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.51 seconds, which is exactly what Kia claimed, sprinting up to the 232 km/h (144 mph) mark in the first go.
He starts his second attempt by entering a circular subway at a constant speed of 40–45 mph and then increases the speed up to 110 mph while driving along with other vehicles on the highway. Once he finds the highway to be appropriate for speeding, the speed climbs from 120 mph to 159 mph before he finds cars ahead of him on the highway. Once the left lane turns clear, he hauls the EV6 GT all the way to 165 mph or 266 mph to surpass the claimed top speed by Kia.
In another video of AutoTopNL, the driver also demonstrated the EV6 GT taking 3.5 seconds to clock 0–60 mph, only 7.49 seconds to cover the 1/6-mile mark, and an impressive 11.6 seconds to reach the quarter mile. Just like its performance in this video, we find the driver to have clocked a top speed of 266 km/h or 165 mph on an empty stretch of the Autobahn.
Kia EV6 GT Is A Mean And Pragmatic Machine
The new Kia EV6 GT checks all the boxes. Right from power to practicality, it has everything you’d look for in a car. The high performance and track capabilities are huge bonuses. The Kia EV6 GT is built on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform and uses an 800-volt electrical architecture to power the car.
The EV6 GT is the most powerful variant of the EV6, and it gets power from a pair of high-performance electric motors consisting of a 214-hp front electric motor and a 362-hp rear motor working together to produce an impressive 576 horsepower and 545 lb-ft of torque. With power being transferred to all wheels, the EV6 GT is brisk, taking 3.5 seconds to skyrocket to sixty miles an hour and a claimed maximum speed of 161 mph, making it the fastest Kia car ever.
The powertrain comes equipped with a 77.4-kWh battery and fast charging support, allowing buyers to charge the battery from 10–80% in just 18 minutes. With such performance also comes with a high-performance braking system comprising ventilated disc brakes and four-piston front calipers.
Kia EV6 GT Interior Cleverly Masks Its Performance
The interior of the EV6 GT is its second-best attribute after its performance. The interior beautifully blends a sporty driving position and luxury with practicality. Overall cabin space is pretty large, and the seats offer a decent amount of space in both rows. The dashboard uses textured aluminum trims for decoration, whereas the door panels are finished with suede leather for appeal.
The cockpit offers a 25-inch fully digital panel, including a 12.3-inch digital cluster and a 12.3-inch touchscreen, followed by a haptic touch panel housing the climate control buttons and other settings. The cockpit offers a pair of GT Sport front bucket seats draped with black suede and neon accents. A 14-speaker Meridian premium audio system comes equipped with a rich audio experience.
As an electric SUV by nature, the Kia EV6 GT offers admirable practicality. The crossover-shaped body, as mentioned earlier, delivers decent space, translating to a spacious cargo space of 24.4 cubic feet at the back. The rear row can be further folded to acquire 50.1 cu ft of additional storage space, which is impressive considering this is a car with racing genes.
Safety is well covered with blindspot detection and monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, automatic emergency braking with steering assist and junction crossing detection, lane keeping assist and follow, smart cruise control, highway driving assist, smart park assist, and many more safety technologies.
Sources: Kia, AutoTopNL YouTube channel