2022 KIA EV6 RWD Wind: Full Review
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2022
- I recently had the opportunity to test out the new 2022 KIA EV6. This car is the "Wind" trim, which is the middle trim level between "Light" and "GT." Despite being a relatively expensive car (the version I reviewed had an MSRP of $48,710), the EV6 offers a lot of value for the money, with a well-appointed interior, a number of driver assist features, and class-leading EV capabilities.
After taking the car on a couple of long drives, including driving more than 700 miles in a single day, I'm convinced that the EV6 has achieved the level of a "no compromise" EV, where the car is no longer the limitation for most drivers on long trips. The EV6 was easily capable of driving more than 250 miles on a charge at freeway speeds, and it could consistently add about 200 miles of freeway driving range in about 20 minutes on high-power chargers.
Overall, the EV6 is a great car that could easily replace a family's ICE car as the only vehicle. - Наука та технологія
After owning an EV6 Wind RWD since April and taking a long trip From Pahrump, NV to Yosemite NP in May, your reveiw is spot on in everything you said, especially the inconvience of the position of the charging port. I also required extra time trying to back into a charging space especially when there were cars on either side and no surround camera to help guide me into the tight space. It's much easier to back out of a charging space or parking space than it is to back into a space. Except for that, it is a great road tripper, and it's a great every day EV too.
This is another reason I think we need to start pushing for pull-through charging stalls. People automatically assume that it's for EVs that are towing (it helps there, too), but pull-through charging stalls are the one format that equally accommodates all EVs, regardless of charging port location.
@@newscoulomb3705 That would definitely solve that problem and make charging even faster by not having to pull in and reverse to come out. It would be just a forward only operation. The only drawback would be that they might not be able to fit as many stations in the same space. One Walmart we stopped at actually had both types.
Have you ever driven your
real wheel EV6 in the mountains snow if so how did it handle?....
I've driven in the mountains with only a little snow here and there and it was fine. I have not driven it with a blanket of snow on the road. If you are looking for a good snow EV it will probably have to have All wheel drive or at least front wheel drive. @@Tonyconner74
I own a '21 Mach-E4, and my wife and I just picked up her new EV6 Wind RWD, 600 miles away in South Carolina. You're 100% correct! With its 300+ mile range and 18 minute on a 350 kW EVSE, charging was a non-event, and roughly twice as fast as my Mach-E's DCFC. So far, I'm amazed with the EV6!
Loved your review. I own an AWD EV6 GT-Line, and I have a few comments on your review...
1) Yes, the charging port is very dark at night. Some people have stuck battery LED lights on the inside of the charge port door, but what I did works too: I used some white nail polish to paint the rim of the J1772 connector on the car. This dramatically improves the visibility of the connector. The reflected light from the charging LEDs is enough to make the white rim easily visible.
2) LOL The 19" inch wheels actually *are* reduced in size. The AWD GT-Line has larger, 20" wheels. Same thing with the sister car Hyundai Ionic 5. Absolutely true that they're expensive, but the ride is oh-so-sweet. We'll see if I still feel this way when it's time to replace them!
Your comments about the charging speed are accurate. The car waits for me at charging stops, not the other way around. I usually put more juice in the battery than planned simply because I'm not ready to leave.
Even though you didn't get to try them, I can attest that the heated seats and steering wheel work very well. When the car is sitting in the sun (my car is black), opening the sun roof is a great way to cool the car quickly.
Finally, the reason for the small trunk is, apparently, that if they put in the larger frunk (which you get in Europe), they would have to engineer an internal emergency release for both the frunk and the hood. Since a person can't fit in that space, it's not needed.
Thanks! And thank you for the insights! Yes, I was often finding myself charging to over 80% battery, even when I was making short stops.
Great review. Fun car. Your attention to detail is remarkable. Love the charging rate on that car. This has been the biggest difference between my Bolt and my Tesla. Being able to charge at those higher rates makes all the difference on a road trip. The other features of the car are pretty interesting. And I agree, they missed the boat on the front trunk. Lot's a space available that would be handy to have. Also, you and I both like to have more insight into the charging and discharge data. I guess manufacturers don't want to overload or burden the typical driver but it would be so easy to put into the menu for anyone interested in seeing it.
Thanks for taking the time to review this car. Another nice EV option. Love seeing it.
Thanks, Bruce! It's definitely a great option to be able to add so much range in such a short time on longer trips. If this is the new baseline for EVs moving forward, we're in a good place.
Thanks, looking forward to more reviews.
Really nice review! It is great to see a full review of the "middle" model. Thank you for sharing! 🔌⚡🚘
Great review dude!
Thanks for the video, the Ioniq 5 has a longer wheelbase and has more room inside due to the huge console on the ev 6 and the rear roof line. Both great cars and charging monsters! I’m keeping my 17 bolt as a city car with a brand new battery!
Thanks for the most complete, honest review that I have watched. And, you didn't even complain about the door handles - LOL.
Convinced me of the Wind, since I hate moon roofs. I just need the rear mirror upgrade for the garage opener.
very nice review. thank you.
Great review. I like your candid viewpoints... agree with many of them, especially the charge port location... worse place to put it... I prefer front/center charge port, like old Kia Niro EV, or the new Niro EV 2023 (front and center), similar to Nissan LEAF, and also, I prefer the hinge covers for CCS like Chevy Bolt EV or Nissan LEAF, instead of these dangling caps... Also, I think EV6 looks like sedan, so low/short.. I would prefer Hyundai Ioniq 5 , more like SUV/hatchback.
Thanks! Yes, and the Ioniq 5 is definitely larger, too. It's the same size class as the Mach-E, so about 10 cu/ft larger than the EV6. At this point, I'm starting to think the charging rates for these smaller cars are beyond what most people will demand. I'm going to see if I can review the new Niro EV because, frankly, it might be all most people would expect/need in terms of range and charging times.
Glad you liked it so much, excited to see your travel videos with it! How did you find the headroom? Felt a little lower to me than the Hyundai, which might bolster the driver-oriented focus that some owners cite as a positive.
Thanks, Steve! I think the headroom is fine for anyone under maybe 6'2", but the Wind edition I was driving didn't have the sunroof. The EV6 I sat in at the LA Auto Show had the sunroof, and I thought to myself at the time that some people might have headroom issues. Maybe anyone 6'0" or taller.
I personally like the styling of the EV6 more than the Ioniq 5, but I like the format of the Ioniq 5 more. I'll have to see whether I can get the Ioniq to review in the future.
Hi Eric thanks for the review, may I ask what the Tesla model three was doing at 17:02 blocking an EV charging spot and apparently without a CHAdeMO or CCS adapter As you are using the charger that is behind it?
Sweet Porsche Taycan Cross Tourismo at 2:30 btw.
Thanks! The Tesla was plugged into the L2 AC charger. I'm assuming they didn't have a CCS/CHAdeMO adapter.
Just as a preface i own and drive the same car you do a 2017 Bolt EV. I'm curious what exactly you would do with the exact Kw input and output from the motor? I have the Bolt in same DIC configuration that you do, and i hardly ever look at the power meter that closely. How would you alter your driving knowing that granular of info.
To me this seems a lot like a Falling Rocks road sign. How exactly is one supposed to change their driving based on a random event that 99.99999% the time won't happen?
While it's not crucial, the power in/out information is something I reference often in the Bolt EV. For power output, it's something I watch while driving to monitor real-time consumption. That enables me to adjust driving speeds to ensure I have enough range to make my next stop. For regenerative braking, I'll often monitor the power input to balance coasting versus regenerating.
Thanks for the review. I have started to see these charging next to me. What is the context here? Your car? Mfg press car?
Thanks! This is a press car. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to test out the updated Niro EV soon.
The dealer near me had one coming in. The wife hates not having a HUD on her model Y. Let’s see how the test drive goes!!!!
I would compare this car to the Tesla Model Y and it has standard 19" rims, while the Model 3 starts at 18". I am glad that they are all pretty wide tires.
The EV6 is quite a bit smaller than the Model Y, despite having massive tires. The Model 3 can come with even larger rims (20"), but the tires are significantly smaller in diameter.
One of the reasons people choose the Ioniq 5 over the EV6 is the overall size (~60 cu/ft of overall cargo capacity versus only 50 cu/ft). The Ioniq 5 is more of a direct competitor with the Model Y.
Eric - a good review of a nice car. It looks like you had this car for a few days. Any comments on the absence of a rear wiper? Is the turning radius small, since the front tires don’t have a halfshaft?
Thanks! Yes, I had the car for a few days. We didn't get any rain while I was driving it, so I didn't really need a rear wiper. Still, it might not be as noticable because the rear visibility isn't great to begin with.
I actually wasn't very impressed with the turning radius. I know it's a longer car than the Bolt EV, but some regular two-point turns in the Bolt turned into three-point turns in the EV6.
I just did 6,000 miles in my EV6 Wind, RWD. Downpours in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Visibility out the rear window was fine. As an aside, on cars I’ve had with a rear wiper, they get used so infrequently the blade usually rots away.
@@jbwaterman - James, agree on your comments. Highway travel likely presents no rear window issues, as you observed. We shall see if Kia/Hyundai agrees with the “not necessary” stance looking forward. Based on your comments, as well as from others, perhaps they will continue without it.
20:03 The bright red taillights might have been enough to illuminate the charging port had they stayed on for a few more seconds. However, I agree that they should have made the charging port more visible in the dark.
It's more the direction that the LED points. Because it is flush mounted on the same surface as the port itself, there's no way for it to provide enough light to actually illuminate the port. The LED would need to be located somewhere else.
Nice review of the EV6 RWD. I'm looking forward to your 620mi road trip to nowhere. I'd also love to see you do the same route in a Mustang Mach-E California Route 1 RWD. How long would the Mustang's longer range out of the gate keep it ahead of the EV6 before the Kia's faster charging over took the Ford?
Thanks! I'm a bit behind putting some of those other videos together, but they should be up soon.
Unfortunately, I still don't have a Mach-E for a full review yet, but I'm looking into it. As far as a speed test difference, assuming perfect charging locations for both cars, the Mach-E would be at least 45 minutes to an hour behind the EV6. The Mach-E might have an extra 30 miles range based on what I saw, but the EV6 could finish 600+ miles with only two 20-minute or three 15-minute stops. The Mach-E should need at least two 40 to 45 minute charging stops.
@@newscoulomb3705 maximizing the CaRt1’s charging speeds, the EA charger would show 28kWh after 15 mins, 35kWh after 20 mins and 49kWh after 30 mins. Kyle Connor says he was getting a legit 300 miles out of the CaRt1 before charging. So it might be quite a bit closer than your back of the envelope math would suggest. These types of math races are a good sign of just how far the EV scene has changed since your Bolt EV was delivered!
@@anthonyc8499 Sure. I've also driven the Route 1, and based on what I saw, it doesn't really have an efficiency advantage over the RWD EV6. So really, it's just the extra, initial 7 to 8 kWh that works in the Mach-E's favor. After that, it's not really close. 15 to 20 minutes adds a legitimate 200 miles of freeway speed range for the EV6, meaning it would spend less than half the time charging.
Unfortunately, with the EV6, it charges too fast to do a true, theoretical fastest trip speed. Everything would need to be scripted ahead of time, and even then, there are just too many variables to account for. The run I did in the EV6 was on Memorial Day, so most of the 350 kW chargers were occupied and I ended up spending more time stuck in traffic than I spent charging. It's no wonder I was seeing faster trip times in my Bolt EV taking Highway 99 than Tesla folk were seeing taking I-5.
@@newscoulomb3705 absolutely. I think someone described the E-GMP as really the first EV platform that doesn’t punish the driver for driving faster. The charging speeds even above 80% seem crazy fast!
Id like to think their was some kind of reason Hyundai/Kia opted to keep the frunk storage small. Maybe a heat issue? Not too sure how hot it actually gets under there though-
Some have mentioned that it's due to regulations, and the European EV6 RWD actually does have a larger front storage compartment. In the United States, after a certain size, they are required to include an interior release.
How does car know which Seat setting will it set?
Is the driver assist hands free? Is it comparable to Tesla basic autosteer? I would really like to see a video that focus on reviewing the drive assist. For me, a have a very long, nearly all highway commute, so driver assist is a deciding factor for me.
No, it wasn't hands free. I have no frame of reference with Tesla because they don't offer press cars for review, but Tesla's system is not currently hands-free either. I'm waiting to be able to review the Chevrolet Bolt EUV and Cadillac LYRIQ, both of which have hands-free driver assist (Super Cruise), and the only other hands-free driver assist feature that I know of that's currently available is Ford's Blue Cruise.
8:33 To lift the rear seats back up use the same lever (near the passenger door) that reclines the seat while you’re sitting in it.
Good information. Thanks!
7:39 I am extremely impressed with the 120volt, 16amp, 1,920 watt and three prong electrical outlet in the backseat area!
Yes, that's even more useful than the adapter, in my opinion.
My understanding is the North American models get a smaller frunk due to a law about requiring an internal release to open the frunk/hood, if it's big enough for a child to get trapped inside. I have seen some European models that got a larger frunk on the RWD drive models of the EV6 and Ioniq 5.
I see you're a Run the Jewels fan!
I can confirm your charging experience. I took a 2600 mile trip in my AWD wind EV6 and was amazed at how much battery was recovered during a bathroom break. When we sat down to eat I often had to unplug and move the car before we were finished eating . Overall trip efficiency including temps from 40 to 80 degrees was about 3.0 m/kWh.
Interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out, but it appears that the RWD might have about a 10% efficiency advantage. Either way, I agree. I can't see how you could do a sit-down meal with the EV6 unless you were using a 100 kW or slower charger.
@@newscoulomb3705 I agree. I think a 10% efficiency advantage can be expected based on claimed epa range ratings (310 rwd vs 274 awd). I used normal mode the entire trip so front motor was available the entire trip. Would be interesting to see eco mode result.
@@MrElderon Ah, thanks! Yes, ECO mode might cut that difference in half, but based on what I was seeing, it's not a big deal unless you're trying to really stretch your range. It's pretty hard to go wrong.
is it better to get the wind with tech package or just get the gt-line?
I think it depends. I spoke with a GT-Line owner who mentioned the 360 overhead camera and blind spot cameras, which address most of my concerns with visibility in the Wind. So that alone might be worth the upgrade.
@@joyzz6533 Good catch. Yes, it looks like the AWD Wind also gets those options, so you don't have to go with the GT-Line to get them.
Nice job! See you Tuesday?
Thanks, Brian! No, unfortunately, I'm still up in Northern California. I won't be able to come to the meeting, but I'll see if I can help out at the booth at Fully Charged Live.
Mach e has this? Air ventilated seats?
No, not that I've seen, but cars don't have to have exactly the same features to be competitors. Personally, I like the Mach-E Route 1's interior better than the EV6's, even though the Mach-E has stitched leather rather than ventilated seats.
Thanks Eric,
I called Kia on this car in upstate NY. They want to sell you a full optioned car at $55k. Now add 8% tax and it's almost $60k. Not many people will get this without a loan so it's really a $65k car. I don't know if Kia gets the $7.5k incentive but that's still a lot of money. Sure it's nice but you drive an EV, how many people are long tripping several times a month? Certainly not me and my wife.
The other thing is this is still a heavy car to me. One of the things I like about the Bolts is their lightness and I charge off grid so every watt counts. Also, now you have more expensive tires and with the weight you have more tire changes. Kia dealers don't even want to talk about the Nero, they want to sell maxed out 6's. I understand that but it's not for me and apparently a lot of other people as I see the Bolts are selling very well now, something like 14k last month. Great, I love cars like the Nero and Bolt. I know that's not for everyone though, just my two cents.
What are the dealer markups on this car?
They’re around $5k in my area (Northern California).
That’s what no one ever talks about, especially when they complain about Tesla’s price increases. I’m only speaking generically about journalists.
@@mitchellbarnow1709 I have read quite a bit about markups. Hard to tell who is a journalist anymore with all the internet “influencers” out there. Markups are there for some fossil gobblers, too, even though demand for EVs far exceeds demand for ICE.
@@barryw9473 It seems that every limited edition ice car that comes out will sell for way above MSRP. I see so many of the UA-camrs that I have been watching over the years now are able to enjoy a week with manufacturers demo cars, except for Tesla, because they don't play that game (for now).
I'm not sure. I haven't really checked out what dealerships are charging.
I regards to your recommendation for Kia to reduce the size of the 19 inch tires: NO WAY!!
Small tires are one of the reasons electric cars look so nerdy!! Concept cars always look so much better than their mainstream reveal because of the concept tires are so large. Proportionally large tires ALWAYS make a vehicle more attractive. It would be a GRAVE mistake for Kia to make the tires smaller. The car would look horrendous. The hit the bullseye 🎯 with the entire design.
Ford made a mistake by having a HUGE bulbous body, and tiny thin wheels. It pushes a cool looking car (Mach E) toward nerdville.
PS: I currently drive a Bolt, and my girlfriend calls it a “Beep Beep”…meaning a little nerdy car. I believe the smallish wheels encourage the nerdy look on the Bolt. Luckily I love everything else about it. The visibility, the turning radius, the narrowness…everything that makes it nerdy in appearance , help with usability ;-)
PSS or PPS: thanks for your videos. I believe you to be one of the most knowledgeable EV sources on UA-cam!
Thanks! You might be right about buyer preference with the larger wheels/tires, but I still think they should have an option for us nerds. Especially on the Light/Wind trims. What really surprised me was the outside diameter of the EV6's tires. They're almost 1" larger in diameter than the stock tires on the Ford Ranger Electric.
Just how bad is the battery range defect? This is a really great model from KIA, but the rumor is that this battery for this model is maybe as high 20% less efficient,
(however I don't think there is any official re call so buyer beware)
Battery range defect? That's new to me, and I didn't experience anything like that while reviewing this EV6. Later models were supposed to see improvements in efficiency, but that was on the inverter side, not the battery. This was the RWD model, though, which appears to have already been another 10-15% more efficient than the AWD model (the version that saw the biggest efficiency gains from the inverter improvements).
My understanding is that all 2023+ models should have that silicon carbide (SiC) upgrade, but that might have only been the GT. All I can say is that in this 2022 EV6, I was able to get on the freeway with a full battery, set the cruise control at 75 mph, and not stop for 250 miles with at least another 20-30 miles of range left. That's somewhere in between the Tesla Model 3 and Y in terms of freeway efficiency, and they are widely considered the gold standard for freeway speed efficiency.
@@newscoulomb3705 Thanks for the detailed response, it's difficult to hunt down the exact youtube complaints and if it's more prone on the RWD or AWD versions, but it is a real thing, because I've seen it referenced in print from review articles by MotorTrends, etc.. and here it is referenced for the 2022 model year at the 13 minute mark area of this video: ua-cam.com/video/_w2k8K3eDCM/v-deo.html
P.S. Thank you for mentioning the blind spot handicap because of the oversized B-pillars, in my opinion that is hugely important, it only takes 1 time for the blind spot assistance alert technology to fail you, so I'm becoming more inclined to go back to the regular 2022 NIRO EX and it's drawbacks.
@@flolou8496 Yes, I believe I saw that video at some point. The problem is, that statement at the 13 min mark lacks a lot of context. Range and battery capacity are not the same thing because battery energy is used to run everything in the car. On a hot day, if your car spends all day sitting in the sun with the AC blasting, you'll use a lot of your energy without driving a single mile. That doesn't mean the energy isn't there; it was just used for other things.
I've had that happen several times. I took my Chevy Volt in for servicing, and they completely charged the battery to full. They called me to come pick it up, and they left it in the parking lot with the AC running. By the time I got there, the gas engine was on because the AC had burned through all 11+ kWh of battery energy while just sitting there. And it was only about 105 degrees that day. It's easy to see how an EV6 could lose 30% of its range in Arizona in Summer if they just leave the car running with the AC blasting.
@@newscoulomb3705 I can see where your coming from, if I come across any good intel that is more specific on the EV6 line in regards to this, I'll try to remember to pass it on, in the meantime, can I pick your brain for something un-related but still kind of important: It has to do with the suspension quality of this exact trim and this exact year VS, say the suspension quality of the 2022 KIA NIRO EV. I believe both might say, they're the same in terms of the type, for example both having a rear multilink suspension, but I wonder if that's premature to assume, the quality would be exactly the same. The EV6 as I understand is, is built on the more sophisticated IONIQ5 design if not the assembly line itself right?
@@flolou8496 All other factors being equal, the EV6 will ride a bit smoother than the Niro EV because the EV6's wheelbase is about 8" longer. That helps reduce choppiness on uneven surfaces.
Room for nick-knacks, paddy whacks, and dog bones? 😂😂😂 You need to quantify the exact carrying capacity in those units in your future reviews. Hilarious! Very good review, Eric. I’m surprised to see how cheap and plastic-y the interior is, and how generic the display graphics are. It’s also interesting to see how poorly the center light bar lines up with the taillights. It totally agree that it’s inconvenient to have the charging port in the rear and have to back into charging spots.
Haha, thanks! Yes, I was going to mention the infotainment graphics (they seem a bit dated), but I wanted to avoid being too nitpicky. That got me in trouble when I reviewed the Niro EV.
@@newscoulomb3705 Yeah, I get it about being too nit picky. (That measurement could be your catch phrase and your take on Bjørn Nyland’s banana box capacity measure. Pop some entertaining and obscure nick-knacks in standard size boxes and see how many you can transport in each car you review!)
maybe big tries is to add to ground clearance
Maybe, but I don't see why they couldn't do that just with suspension. As it is, the EV6 only has 6" of ground clearance, so that's not something they should have addressed with tires alone.
In Willows I see. Lol...
Why do you think car manufacturers are not all on the same page when it comes to charging speed? Numerous manufacturers are using the same type of battery but different charging rates.
There are several reasons, and while it might appear that automakers are all using the same batteries, there are some subtle differences. For example, the batteries in the EV6 are probably less energy dense and definitely more expensive than the batteries in the Niro EV. So automakers are seeing tradeoffs between cost, range, and battery life.
To be honest, I'm not entirely sure that EV6's charging speed is always necessary. A 300-mile EV doesn't always need to add 70% battery in 15 minutes of charging, and if doubling that charging time reduces the cost by $10,000 to $15,000, many consumers would appreciate that option.
I really dislike how prevalent fake leather is becoming in cars. I know it's a lot cheaper and a bit lighter than the real stuff but it's such a cheap out. Is there at least a cloth seat option?
Yes, I think there is a cloth option, but it would be on the Light trim. Unfortunately, it looks like everything is included automatically with the Wind package, so you have no choice but to get those seats.
As Jason Torchinsky would point out, that's not a sedan. Hatchback? Wagon? Crossover is a meaningless term, but sedans have a trunk and not a hatch.
Interesting. I've never heard that sedans exclusively have trunks. In the EPA filing documents, the Bolt EV is officially classified as a "sedan" despite having a hatch.
That charge door is gonna get torn off.
I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you've never charged an EV6 or an Ionic 5. The charge door closes automatically, and the car won't let you drive away with it open, even if you tried. When you're charging the car, that door is going to be on the side close to the charger, so there's little chance of being hit by another vehicle.
Bro. You need to bulk up. Pulling down the trunk should not be hard. Get in the gym!!!!
It's tooo haaarrd! 😀
@@newscoulomb3705 glad you got a sense of humor. Hard to find these days.
Nice car but that rear end design makes it a no for me. Flat out ugly. Ioniq 5 is much better looking,