Overview

What's New for 2025

Pricing for the 2025 Kia EV6 was not known at the time of this writing, but we do know the available trim levels and the equipment they will include. The base Light trim is the only one that comes standard with the short-range 62.9-kWh battery. All others (Light Long Range, Wind, GT-Line, and GT) get the long-range 84-kWh battery.

The Wind has been the most popular model, and it's our recommendation as well. We'll explain why below.

Light Short Range

Standard features include 19-inch wheels, flat-black wheel arches and exterior trim, power-folding mirrors, automatic pop-out door handles, dual-zone automatic climate control, fabric and imitation leather seating, an eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with two-way power lumbar support, heated front seats, a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen and 12.3-inch instrument panel, navigation, a six-speaker audio system, SiriusXM, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a Wi-Fi hotspot, wireless phone charging, one USB-A data port and two USB-C charge ports in the front and two second-row USB-C ports.

Light Long Range

The Light Long Range gets a more powerful motor and larger battery. It can also be had with all-wheel drive, which like every EV6 e-AWD model, brings with it heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, and an energy-saving heat-pump-based heating system.

An optional package adds parking and blind-spot camera systems, and a reverse parking collision avoidance system. An external vehicle-to-load connector is also an option for all Light variants. It lets the vehicle’s battery provide power for 120-volt equipment such as power tools, portable entertainment systems, and small appliances.

Wind

The Wind gets the Light’s optional features along with a power liftgate, an enhanced forward-collision warning system, upgraded adaptive cruise control, evasive steering assistance, gloss-black wheel arches and exterior trim, imitation leather seating, driver’s seat memory settings, an eight-way power-adjustable front passenger seat with two-way power lumbar support, heated and ventilated front seats, and a vehicle-to-load power outlet under the rear seat.

We would recommend the Wind trim level as the next-level GT-Line primarily adds style upgrades.

GT-Line

The GT-Line adds 20-inch alloy wheels, body-colored wheel arches, a sunroof, distinctive interior trim, a D-shaped steering wheel, a head-up display, and a Meridian sound system. Simulated suede upholstery is an option.

GT

In addition to its wildly more powerful motors, the GT has 21-inch alloy wheels with performance tires, larger brakes with neon yellow caliper covers, a specially tuned suspension with electronically controlled dampers, simulated gear shifts, and an electronic limited-slip differential. It also gets distinctive front and rear fascia treatments, gold accents on the dash, power-adjustable sport seats, and simulated suede upholstery with neon green seat stitching.

The 2025 Kia EV6 Light uses a 63-kWh battery pack that feeds a rear-mounted electric motor rated at 167 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. That isn't much power for a big, heavy, midsize vehicle like the EV6. The 0-60 time estimate is a rather pokey 8.3 seconds.

Other trims use an 84-kWh battery pack with variable power and range, depending on the number and power ratings of the motors.

Single-motor, rear-wheel-drive Light Long Range, Wind, and GT-Line trims are rated at 225 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, with 7.3-second zero-to-60 mph acceleration.

The dual-motor, all-wheel-drive Light, Wind, and GT-Line trims provide more grunt: 320 hp, 446 lb-ft, and very quick 5-second 0-60-mph times.

The EV6 GT, also equipped with two motors and all-wheel drive, churns out an impressive 601 hp and 545 lb-ft of torque, although it can manage 641 hp and 568 lb-ft when using Launch Control. Using that, the EV6 GT can hit 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds. For 2025, acceleration in the EV6 GT can be accompanied with simulated gear shifts and engine noises, not unlike the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, although the EV6 has a more sensible six gear ratios instead of the Hyundai’s rather pointless eight. This feature sounds silly, and it is, but it also does wonders in making an electric car more engaging to drive.

Rear-wheel-drive versions of the EV6 can slide around a bit in the back when pushed hard into tight curves, but are easily controlled. A somewhat numb steering feel prevents the car from being quite as engaging as its Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 siblings. The all-wheel-drive versions stick to the road and go where pointed with no fuss. The suspension is tuned for sporty handling and, with the narrow sidewalls of the 19-inch all-season tires (20-inchers on the AWD GT-Line), delivers a fairly stiff ride. Fortunately, the seats are well padded.

While the standard EV6 trims are good road cars, the EV6 GT takes things to a new level. The ride is silky smooth in normal driving, thanks to adaptive dampers, but stiffens up nicely when the road turns twisty and the accelerator pedal seems to want to press itself against the floorboard. Handling is responsive and well-balanced, and power is off the charts. We had the opportunity to try the GT on the highway in the rugged low desert mountains of southern Nevada and on the racetrack. It did not disappoint.

There are four driving modes for the Light, Wind, and GT-Line — Sport, Normal, Eco, and Snow — and five levels of regenerative braking. Steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters let the driver select from no regenerative braking to an aggressive "i-Pedal" setting that can slow the EV6 to a dead stop without use of the brake pedal. The Sport and i-Pedal settings provide the most dynamic driving experience, albeit at the cost of some range. They're especially fun in the mountains, where they act like a downshift when you lift off the accelerator before entering a turn. Beware of using it with passengers, however, as the subtle fore-aft motions of constant one-pedal slowing can cause motion sickness in passengers.

The rear-wheel-drive versions will be more than adequate for most people; they have plenty of muscle for merging onto freeways, climbing hills, passing, and towing. But the 320-hp all-wheel-drive powertrain, a near-must in snowy climes, provides a rush that many, even those in dry and sunny states, will find well worth the diminished range and higher cost.

The bigger batteries for 2025 should yield longer range, but by how much was not fully known at the time of this writing. Kia only indicated that the long-range, rear-wheel-drive models can now go 319 miles, up from 310. We would expect the GT’s range to still be paltry; it was only 218 miles last year.

Kia uses the same high-speed, dual-voltage charging format as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, switching from 800 to 400 volts to meet various charging system capabilities. The only other EVs in the market today with 800-volt charging (more are coming) are much pricier luxury models.

For charging during road trips, all but the standard Light trim can charge at up to 240 kW on Level 3 DC fast chargers, taking in enough juice in just 18 minutes to provide more than 200 miles of range. Even the standard Light can fast-charge at rates of up to 180 kW, whereas the Chevrolet Equinox EV and many other similarly priced EVs top out at 150 kW. All but the EV6 GT now feature a Tesla-style NACS charge port located on the left-rear fender, making it possible and easier to use Tesla Superchargers.

The 2025 Kia EV6 looks more like a sporty hatchback or wagon than an SUV. Its flat floor gives it a spacious interior, with more front legroom than competitors, as well as a roomy rear seat. The front buckets are nicely padded and bolstered, providing great support and comfort, although some may find they are mounted artificially high. The GT gets model-specific lightweight sport buckets (thankfully with power adjustments for 2025) and neon yellow accents on the seats and dashboard.

Forward and side visibility is unobstructed, but the thick rear pillars create blind spots that make the standard rearview camera and the available surround-view camera especially welcome. The only drawback is that the rearward-sloping roof is 2 to 3 inches closer to the road than competitors'. That means the EV6 has slightly less headroom than its rivals, and taller passengers are apt to bump their heads on the doorframe as they enter.

At 24.4 cubic feet behind the back seat, the EV6's cargo area is, on paper, smaller than competitors', but in our real-world testing, it could actually hold more bags and was easier to load than the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ford Mustang Mach-E.

The EV6 gets a new tech interface for 2025. The screens stay the same size (an instrument display and an infotainment touchscreen are located within one curved housing), but the user-interface and some features are new. While it's certainly a visual upgrade with some helpful new functionality (a multi-tile home screen is nice), some functions are less user-friendly than before. You can no longer split the screen between audio and navigation functions, for instance, and it’s impossible to see your radio favorites list and song info at the same time.

As before, a touch-sensitive band of controls resides under the screen. They serve double duty as infotainment and climate controls, swapping between functions at the press of a touch-sensitive button. The volume knob becomes the driver temperature adjuster, for instance. In our experience, those who use automatic climate control find this setup perfectly acceptable. Those who like to override the system and manually fiddle with temp and fan speed tend to hate it.

The 2025 Kia EV6 has not been crash-tested by a third party yet, but there’s little reason to doubt it’ll perform the same as the 2024 model, which received top five-star ratings for front- and side-crash safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded it the best-possible rating of “Good” in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front: original test, and side: original test. The 2024 EV6 also got top marks for front crash prevention.

All EV6 models come with a full complement of driver-assist features, including forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking with cyclist and pedestrian detection, driver inattention warning, blind-spot warning, lane-keeping assist, and adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability and lane-centering steering assist.

Parking distance warning, evasive steering assist, a surround-view monitor, and blind-spot monitor are available on the Light and standard on the others. All trims but the Light also get a more advanced adaptive cruise control system (Highway Driving Assist II) that uses machine learning to adapt to the driver’s acceleration and braking tendencies, and can make automatic lane changes after the driver uses the turn signal.

There's little doubt that the 2025 Kia EV6 is a capable challenger to similar-sized favorites such as the Tesla Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E, plus the mechanically related Hyundai Ioniq 5. The GT trim can also take on performance models that cost nearly twice as much.

Those on a tighter budget who are considering the Light trim level should also look at the Chevrolet Blazer EV. It provides more range, power, and equipment for less money. You also won’t have to pony up extra for all-wheel drive in cold climates since it comes standard with front-wheel drive. The Chevy is also eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit. Indeed, that has been a big drawback for the EV6, although moving its assembly to Georgia for 2025 (except the GT) may change its tax-credit eligibility.