2026 Kia EV6 Expert Review
Reviewed by Alex Leanse
When the EV6 arrived in 2022, it changed the way we think about Kia’s electric car efforts. Here was a five-seat SUV that combined a sporty driving feel and futuristic styling with impressive charging and good driving range. The 2026 Kia EV6 has a quiet year after a refresh for 2025.
Rivals include the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Volkswagen ID4, and Chevrolet Equinox EV.
What’s New
The EV6 was significantly updated for 2025, so changes for 2026 are expected to be minimal. For 2025, the EV6 received:
- Fresh exterior styling details
- Longer driving range thanks in part to larger batteries
- Auto-extending outside door handles (a great day-to-day improvement)
- Faster infotainment processing power
- Built-in Tesla NACS charging port
What We Think
We like the EV6 a lot—but not quite as much as its twin, the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Both are built on the same EV architecture, offering similarly impressive range and charging potential. A few factors still skew us toward the Ioniq 5 over the EV6.
The 2026 EV6 looks sleek, but the shape of its body results in less interior capacity than the relatively boxy Ioniq 5. The Kia’s interior layout isn’t as intuitive and user-friendly as the Hyundai’s.
These rational considerations make the Ioniq 5 a better solution for everyday driving.
At the same time, the EV6’s design is very appealing; we like how it looks with its new-for-2025 headlights and details more than it looked at launch.
The Kia’s driving manners feel tighter and more connected than the comfort-oriented Ioniq 5, making the EV6 more fun to drive. There’s higher emotional appeal in the EV6 than the Ioniq 5, but also a small practical benefit in the EV6's ever so slightly longer driving range when equipped with the bigger battery.
Point is, you can’t really go wrong either way. We’d still recommend the Ioniq 5 but wouldn’t fault you if something about the excellent 2026 Kia EV6 piques your interest instead.
Range and Charging
Driving range on the 2026 EV6 should match that of the 2025 model. Last year, the EV6 gained larger batteries. The base offering in the Light RWD model is a 63.0-kWh pack, while all models above now have an 84.0-kWh pack.
Driving range for the small-battery Light RWD model is approximately 240 miles. For models with the bigger battery, driving range is rated at about 319 miles with RWD and 295 miles with AWD, except for the GT-Line AWD model, which gets 270 miles of range.
The peak charge rate is 180 kW for the smaller battery, and 240 kW for the larger pack. The EV6 now comes equipped with a NACS charging port, the standard designed by Tesla. With this, the EV6 can use certain Tesla Supercharger stations or other charging stations with an adapter.
With these types of DC fast chargers, going from 10 to 80 percent charge takes about 20 minutes under ideal conditions.
Power and Performance
The small-battery EV6 Light RWD has a single rear motor producing 167 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. Expect a 0–60-mph time of about 7.5 seconds from this model.
EV6 models with the larger battery produce 225 hp and 258 lb-ft with the single-motor RWD powertrain, or 320 hp and 446 lb-ft with the dual-motor AWD powertrain. Acceleration to 60 mph takes approximately 6.5 or 4.5 seconds, respectively.
Kia EV6 GT: Better Than Ioniq 5 N?
At one point, we considered the Kia EV6 GT something of an electric muscle car. It got a few chassis upgrades, but the real appeal was its potent dual-motor powertrain. With the 2025 update, Kia aimed to make the EV6 GT a more well-rounded electric sports car—by borrowing key attributes from its corporate counterpart, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.
Huge power remains a focus; the new EV6 GT now makes up to 641 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque. But it also gains a Virtual Gear Shift feature, which simulates a dual-clutch transmission that can be controlled by the steering-wheel paddle shifters.
In addition to revised adaptive suspension dampers, the EV6 GT will continue to have 21-inch wheels with summer tires and larger high-performance brakes.
With all this hardware and software, the updated EV6 GT should be just as thrilling to drive as the Ioniq 5 N—expect the 0–60-mph launch to take less than 3.0 seconds.
Compared to other EV6 models, the GT has two main downsides: its high price of just below $70,000 and short range of about 230 miles.
Safety Ratings and Features
The EV6 has earned a five-star overall crash safety score from NHTSA every year since its 2023 debut. For 2025, the EV6’s structure was strengthened to meet stricter IIHS crash test standards.
All EV6 models come equipped with driver assist and active safety features including:
- Front automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection
- Rear cross-traffic alert with automatic braking
- Side cross-traffic alert
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Intersection collision avoidance
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Lane keep assist
- Adaptive cruise control
- Automatic high-beams
Kia’s Highway Driving Assist 2 system, which combines enhanced adaptive cruise control with a lane change assist feature, is optional or included depending on trim. Blind-spot view cameras are also available.
Cargo Space and Interior Room
Arguably more of a tall wagon than a true SUV, space inside the EV6 is less than in some of its competitors. Passenger legroom is good, but there’s not much cargo capacity.
Technology
Every 2026 EV6 comes equipped with dual 12.3-inch digital screens, one functioning as the driver’s display and the other as the infotainment touchscreen. The infotainment software has over-the-air update capability. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included.
There are five USB ports distributed through the cabin, and a wireless charging pad is standard.
A six-speaker audio system is included, and a 14-speaker Meridian premium setup is added on higher-end models.
Other available premium technology features include phone-as-key functionality, a 360-degree camera, and a head-up display.
Off-Road EV6 X-Pro Coming?
What happens to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 tends to happen to the Kia EV6—just see how hardware and features from the Ioniq 5 N made their way to the EV6 GT. With the off-road-oriented Ioniq 5 XRT now part of Hyundai’s lineup, will a rugged EV6 X-Pro soon be part of Kia’s?
Maybe. The Korean automaker seems keen on expanding its X-Pro trim level, which currently brings all-terrain tires and tough-looking design details to the Sportage, Sorento, and Telluride.
A 2026 EV6 X-Pro would give Kia a competitor against adventurous EVs like the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally and Subaru Trailseeker.
