While plenty of other automakers seemed content to sit out the Los Angeles Auto Show this year, Kia used it as an opportunity to keep the spotlight on itself. This included the updated EV6, which received a bigger battery, styling changes, and some performance enhancements for the 2025 model year.
The Kia EV6 isn’t a new model and we’ve already seen the refreshed version drop in its home market of South Korea. But we now know which changes will migrate over to the North American market.
Styling changes on the EV6 aren’t drastic. However, they do help modernize the exterior by adding more complex shapes to the grille. Headlamps are likewise not in a triangular shape and bleed into the LED running lights, some of which span the entire front of the vehicle. Less has been changed at the back. But the pattern of the rear LEDs is new and the bumper has more panels that match the body paint.
Wheels are likewise new, with the outgoing five-spoke pinwheels being replaced with straight, parallel spoke units that look like they’re from the near future. The new wheels previewed by the manufacturer don’t look as sporting. But customers will have a few options, in both 19 and 21-inch options.
We’re not certain it’s a better look for the EV6. But it certainly modernizes the vehicle and brings it more in line with Kia’s other electrified products. It’s busier and more techy, without fundamentally changing the overall presence of the car.
Inside, the digital instrument cluster becomes more boxy and the central touch screen swells slightly to 12.3 inches. The 2025 Kia EV6 also receives a new, three-spoke steering wheel to supplant the outgoing two-spoke unit. The rest of the changes are minimal and arguably don’t do much to transform the cabin.
That’s because all the big changes are happening in places you rarely see. For 2025, the base EV6 using a single electric motor (at the rear) will see its battery grow from 58 kWh to 63 kWh. However, the model still produces 167 hp and 258 pound-feet of torque in order to maximize range.
Higher-trimmed models will likewise see larger batteries, with the 77.4 kWh packs being replaced with units offering 84 kWh. Kia said it was targeting 319 miles between charges on all single-motor variants of the Light Long Range, Wind, and GT-Line.
For reference, the EV6 is broken up into Light, Wind, GT-Line and GT trims. The base trim comes with rear-wheel drive and the smallest battery. But it can be upgraded to the Long Range with the larger power pack and either rear or all-wheel drive. The other models all come with the bigger battery and the ability to option rear or all-wheel drive. But the GT is all-wheel drive only and offers a massive power upgrade.
Going with the bigger battery likewise results in single-motor vehicles getting more power — 225 hp and 258 pound-feet of torque to be exact. Meanwhile, the second motor that comes via optioning all wheel drive will bring those figures up to 320 hp and 446 pound-feet.
If that’s still deemed insufficient, the GT has seen its power output bolstered to 601 horsepower and can be pushed up to 641 hp in the hyper-aggressive GT mode. That’s a massive increase in power over the previous model year. Although torque goes unchanged at 545 pound-feet.
These gains are presumably thanks to the updates Hyundai made to the Ioniq 5 N, because the EV6 now has the same output and also received the “Virtual Gear Shift” which feigns shift points and pipes in engine sounds to try and con you into thinking you’re driving something with a powerful combustion engine. Some people will love this, with the hardcore enthusiasts finding it a little cringey.
Tech upgrades include a faster processing for the central console and the ability to buy multimedia via apps or customize your display screens with branded content. You can even use the vehicle’s embedded WiFi to download and play video games or pair your phone to use it as a virtual key. You can remotely set a friend’s phone up to do the same in a pinch, too.
We’re not the biggest fans of a lot of the gimmicky tech going into today’s automobiles. While it’s a great way for automakers to convince customers to spend more money and allows for in-cabin advertising, it seems exceptionally greedy and runs the risk of distracting motorists from the task of driving safety.
Other changes are harder to knock. Kia said it has installed more sound deadening into the vehicle, which is particularly important on EVs that run extra quiet and make you hyper aware of road noise. Towing is likewise improved, not that we expect anyone to try and lug around 2,700 pounds with an EV6. This may have something to do with the strengthened frame. But Kia said that was primarily about bolstering crash performance. Steering responsiveness is also said to be improved, which is nice to hear in a world where disconnected electronic controls have become the norm.
Pricing has yet to be announced. But previous versions of the Kia EV6 started around $44,000 with the top-tier GT model coming with an opening MSRP of $63,000. The 2025 model year should ballpark just a little higher in all trims once it goes on sale in the first half of 2025.
[Images: Kia, © 2024 Tim Healey/TTAC.com]
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Source: The Truth About Cars
