2023 Kia EV6 Air RWD Long Range review

In the EV news lately, some in the US are complaining that advertised mileage doesn’t stack up in winter driving. Specifically, range reduces significantly when the temperature drops.

It’s true that EVs aren’t at their best in cold weather; lower ambient temperatures actually inhibit the chemical reactions of the battery, lowering its efficiency.

The real range killer, however, is heating. As the motor generates little in the way of waste heat when operating, battery power is diverted to run a heater. We noticed this has a drastic effect on the energy consumption in round-town running in the EV6, the consumption figure rising from the usual 18-19kWh/100km into the high 20s.

Given this is the Long Range Air model with the larger 77kWh battery, we decided to take a quick trip to Rotorua and back to Auckland which, in theory, this model should do easily given a WLTP range figure of 528km. But what about on a cold day?

With a full battery and a DTE of 491km, we should have been able to make it there and back, being a 440km round trip from our place to the Rotorua museum (still closed, by the way, as it awaits seismic work that may never happen).

However, a fine but frosty day called for some warmth to maintain sensation in the toes and that sucked energy. With the DTE indicating 320km as we descended the Bombays south of Auckland, we knew even then that we weren’t going to make it.

So, with the cabin warm enough (and my jumper on), we turned off the heat and the DTE bounced back up to 400.

The EV6 goes well on the highway, the ride a little firm over rough patches, but it’s quiet and the seats remain comfortable over a couple of hours.

You don’t get as many miles to a charge running at a constant 100km/h, the motor always churning to maintain your speed and there are few chances for brake regen.

We got to Rotorua having used 55 per cent of the battery, the consumption for the drive sitting at 18.6kWH/100km, the DTE at 206km.

Clearly we weren’t going to make it all the way back but the distance on Google maps suggested we’d get to the hypercharger at Bombay to refill with around 30km to spare.

Had we not been keen to check out just how far it might get on a single charge, we’d have topped up at the charger in Rotorua.

However, the outside temperature had risen into the teens for the drive back, so it was overall more efficient, registering 16.5kWh/100km as we pulled into the charger with four per cent battery remaining, the DTE at 27km, having covered a total of 402km.

It would be interesting to do the same trip in summer time to see how much further you’d get.

With its 800V electrical architecture, the EV6 can take on quick rates of charge, and the 300kW unit zapped us back up to 80 per cent in 23 minutes (juicing at rates of up to 220kW while on the home plug the comparable figure is just 1.2kW). The 61kWh of energy cost us $52.25.

Ideally, we would have only taken on enough electricity to get us back home to charge up off peak at a much cheaper price.

Over the six weeks we had this, we found it easy enough to keep it topped up via the supplied three-pin charger unit. A 12-hour overnight charge supplied between 14 and 15kWh, or around 90km of range. Do you need a smart wallbox?

If you have a busy, power hungry household maybe. We forgot to unplug the car one Saturday morning and with a few big appliances working in the house, the load tripped a circuit on the board. So don’t plug it in when the electricity needs are high; always charge off peak.

Our overall consumption during 1200km of travel was 19.1kWh/100km, and we discovered this month that this figure is not the same as the stated energy efficiency number, which is a mind-melting topic we’ll delve into another time maybe.

And during winter months, it would be wise to utilise the cabin preconditioning function – this uses the mains electricity when you’re still plugged in to heat the cabin prior to departure.

The EV6 is certainly easy to live with. The seats, a mix of vinyl and cloth, are easily cleaned and most surfaces are hardwearing. The spacious driver’s position we liked too, while the wide rear seat and flat floor give plenty of space for three kids across the back.

The boot is large enough, swallowing the grocery shop up, while the seats drop easily for when you need to fit in a few lengths of timber. We never opened the bonnet to use the frunk.

We like the different levels of brake regen – there’s something for every preference – and these are easily selected via the paddles.

The green hue looks striking in the sun but in winter always manages to look filthy. We’d prefer it if the Air had bun warmers and a heated wheel rather than powered seat adjustment and an auto tailgate, and that an around-view camera was added to the spec list.

Kia has sold over 1200 EV6s since launch, the majority this Long Range Air model. It’s the best value in the line-up given it’s eligible for the clean car rebate.

Those still pondering should get in prior to the election; there’s a chance such incentives that help improve local air quality and reduce reliance on imported fuels will be cut.