Kia has introduced the much-awaited facelifted EV6 to India at a price of ₹65.9 lakh (ex-showroom). There are some subtle design changes, improvements in technology applied, but most importantly, it carries a new and larger 84 kWh battery pack.
With the upgrade, the previous 77.4 kWh battery is replaced, and the officially claimed WLTP range has now become 581 km, with 53 extra km added. But let's look at whether real-world scenarios live up to the claims.
The new EV6 was put through our real-world range tests covering all kinds of situations, including city and highway driving. The tests were undertaken keeping in mind Eco mode, proper tire pressure to the manufacturer's suggestion, and all major in-car systems like AC, infotainment system, and seat ventilation used as regular users would.
Range Test Results
Thus, the EV6 gave a very impressive real-world range of 498km in combined driving conditions, just 2km shy of the official figure. The figure shows that city driving returned an efficiency of 5.18km/kWh; hence, the usable range is calculated to be around 435km. Highway performance was even better, showing consumption of 6.67km/kWh for a potential range of about 560 km.
During city testing, the ambient temperature had risen quite a bit, which meant a tremendous load on the AC, hence a small impact on efficiency. Although Level 3 regen braking (there are four levels) was used, it was not enough to maximize energy recovery fully or allow for any kind of one-pedal driving.
How It Tested
Now, for the real-world range tests, a fixed loop was created through the city of Mumbai and maintained average speeds as similar as possible along it. The car was fully charged before starting the test.
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