Following its global reveal in March, Kia America has officially debuted the North American specification EV6. The Korean company said that it expects the electric crossover to go on sale across the USA early next year, with reservations for the First Edition launch model to open on June 3.
The special trim package will be limited to just 1,500 examples and will feature the dual-motor AWD drivetrain and the larger 77.4 kWh battery pack, which returns an estimated 300 miles of range, according to Kia. EPA numbers have not been published yet.
Read: Kia EV6 Debuts With A Porsche Taycan Beating 0-62 MPH Time Of 3.5 Seconds
First, The First Edition
The First Edition will be available with design features like black wheel arches and will be loaded with tech, including an augmented reality heads-up display, remote parking, a wide sunroof, 20-inch wheels, Meridian 14-speaker sound, and a two-year Sirius XM subscription.
The model will be available in three color combinations that are unique to this version. You can be boring and go for Steel Gray Matte with black seats, you could be vibrant and go for Urban Yellow with black seats, or you could go for the Glacier white with funky dark green seats.
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Illuminated door sills with a “First Edition” badge will round out the look. A numbered badge on the interior will mark you out as an earlier adopter and highlight the limited edition nature of the package.
Power And Power Sources
If you don’t mind waiting a bit, you can also get the big 77.4 kWh battery in the EV6 GT towards the end of 2022. While the First Edition will make a healthy 313 hp, the AWD GT will get mightier motors (160kW front and 270kW rear) capable of churning out a combined 576 hp. That extra power shrinks the 0-60 time (96 km/h) down from a respectable 5.1 seconds to a seriously impressive 3.5 seconds.
If you’re more in the mood for range than speed, though, the big battery will be available in a single-motor RWD configuration that gets you 218 hp. For those who are satisfied with simple EVing, a single-motor RWD version is available with a 58 kWh battery and 167 hp.
Official ranges for each trim level will be revealed closer to their unveiling, but Kia promises 800V charging capabilities. Used on compatible DC fast-chargers, the tech should enable the EV6 to gain almost 70 miles of range in less than 5 minutes. It should also go from 10-80% (netting you 210 miles of range) in just 18 minutes.
Vegans And Recyclers Rejoice!
Inside, the EV6 will be available with 100% vegan interiors (on some trims), plastics made out of recycled materials, slim front seats made of high-strength “giga-steel,” 27.7 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, and 53.5 cubic feet behind the front seats.
A 12-inch TFT curved infotainment screen greets front-seaters whose eye strain will be minimized thanks to blue-light filters. Wireless smartphone charging is available, though you may not need it because you can get charging information and vehicle status updates via Android and Apple smartwatches.
Kia Pay will allow buyers to shop straight from their infotainment system. Like its competition, over-the-air updates are available, as is connected routing, which uses real-time mapping information to calculate optimized routes that avoid traffic and construction.
Safety tech, meanwhile, will include a surround-view monitor, parking collision avoidance, rear-occupant alert, remote parking, blind-spot monitor, driver attention warning, forward collision avoidance, high-beam assist, and more. It will also be available with adaptive cruise control that can read speed limit signs, and slow down for sharp bends.
Unfortunately, U.S. pricing is not available at this time.
