Kia heats up new hatchback with EV6 GT

After slipping into the 2023 Kia EV6 GT for a week and firing it around town and over endless miles of highway, it is easy for me to say this is a huge winner for the Korean automaker. It’s gorgeous, fun to drive, and keeps you away from expensive gasoline stops.

Exterior prowess

On the outside, this is a hatchback you can fall in love with. I sure did. From the low-slung nose and sweeping lenses, the EV6 climbs the raked windshield to peak height only to descend to the rear spoiler overhanging the tailgate. Kia calls it a crossover, but this is a smokin’ gun hatchback by all definitions that matter.

Below that rear spoiler, the rear-end liftgate abruptly drops straight down. One of the cooler design elements is the integrated design of the charge door, which silently pops out below the right-corner brake light. So many EVs just put it into the rear quarter panel.

Maybe the best part about this little rocket is the look of its wide, planted stance. While the 21-inch wheels elevate this Kia to performance standards, I have my doubts about the neon green brake calipers. While they stand out, and the potential market for this crossover may be a younger driver who may love it, I didn’t.

Maybe the only true limitation of this EV, other than one’s perceived range anxiety, is the two standard exterior colors. While luxury vehicles have been a bit uptight about their limited primary hues, Kia offers only two standard colors (Runway Red and Yacht Blue), as well as three upgrade options (Snow White Pearl, Aurora Black Pearl and Steel Matte Gray).

Performance

Kia offers a traditional fuel-ignited powerplant variant of the EV6 GT, but don’t be fooled into thinking anything other than the future of EVs are brighter. My all-wheel-drive tester utilized a dual-motor setup delivering 576 horsepower and 545 lb-ft of torque. Think about that for 3.4 seconds, the time it takes this GT to get from 0-60.

Kia’s numbers put the GT’s 3.4 seconds into rarified air – the Tesla Model Y Performance needs 3.5 to get there. This is the most powerful Kia ever and, with the steering, suspension, and breaking all up to the performance task, it has a fun factor of 10 on a scale of 10.

The dual-motor EVs give you immediate acceleration, especially when you put it in GT mode, which turns off traction control and tunes the throttle response to the most aggressive setting. My tester featured an electronically controlled suspension and an electronic rear limited-slip differential, as well as ventilated 5-inch front rotors and ventilated 14.2-inch rotors at the rear.

The GT has the same 77.4-kWh battery as the regular EV6. Pushing the car to the max performance too often drops the driving range to just 206 miles, a real disappointment given where the competition has already been for years.

Cabin

Inside the EV6 GT cabin, you have a pretty roomy front row, but no power seat adjustments. Rear seating is a little tighter, but not as tight as the utility storage space, which is fair to refer to as smallish. The EV6 only offers 24.4 cubic feet of capacity with the rear seats in place and 50.2 cubic feet with the rear seats down.

The EV6 GT offers familiar Kia elements such as the two-spoke steering wheel, dual 12.3-inch screen infotainment system, and rotary gear selector. The GT lets you enable GT mode, a step above Sport mode for the hardcore performance enthusiast, with a bright green “GT” button.

Kia’s top-level driver-assistance safety is part of the EV6 GT package. Expect a surround-view camera system, forward collision avoidance assist, blind spot monitoring, lane keeping and following assist, adaptive cruise control, safe exit (keeps you from opening the rear doors if a car’s approaching), and remote smart parking assist.

My tester had a base price of $61,400. Adding on some GT mats and freight and handling brought it to a final $62,865. In the EV world, that is a bargain given the extraordinary performance traits and the amazing exterior styling. If utility space is no issue for you, this one should be on your EV short list.

• John Stein is a freelance journalist based in Chicago. He has more than 25 years of experience driving, testing, and writing about the automotive industry, its latest innovations, and vehicles.