Kia EV6 GT Line AWD compared to my Tesla Model Y LR

For those interested I will post my comparison of the two EVs. I have now spent approx 2 hours driving plus quite a bit of research of the Kia EV6 recently, as I am very interested in getting another EV, so I think I have a little knowledge on the subject. Now both comparisons are AWD models from both companies with similar size batteries from memory.

So I will post what I think are the negatives of the EV6 first:

Capacity of the interior for luggage including Frunk and under the floor at the rear. No comparison here I think.

Although Kia are aggressively trying to price the EV6 to compete with the Model Y I think Tesla with their recent price drops are cheaper from what I see ATM. But the new EV5 which maybe available here soon may reverse this trend.

Access to the full Tesla Supercharger network is not applicable at this stage and what Superchargers are available, because of the 800 volt architecture, derates what is a impressive charging speed at suitable chargers that can handle the EV6's characteristics.

I think Tesla's Navigation software is probably better but having access to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto this may make this negative mute.

Having to service the car yearly maybe considered a negative.

Positives of the EV6 IMO:

7 year warranty.

Suspension is noticeable better I think. Kia sending engineers to tune the suspension to Australian road conditions shows here I think. I wish Tesla did the same.

I spoke previously here about how I consider the MY having too low a steering ratio to make a good handling car at higher speeds and especially for inexperienced drivers. The EV6 is far better in this regard IMO.

The radar based adaptive cruise control of the EV6 is far better than what Tesla are using on my Model Y IMHO. It truly was a pleasure to use.

Self steering or what may be considered lane centering. Ok Tesla around sharper corners is better ie holds its line more consistent. But, and this is a big BUT IMO, there are other attributes that make Kia's system far better to use I think. These are:

A capacitive steering wheel it seems ie just lightly grip the wheel when warnings are transmitted to driver instead of adding a certain amount of torque for the Tesla to show you are still attentive.

The ability to correct the line of the Kia without disconnecting self steering ie say you see a pothole ahead that you will hit staying in the centre of the lane. Just steer around it then head back towards the centre and self steering reapplies. It was even possible to leave the system on all the time and have it apply itself any time you wanted ie around town etc. Also taking a racing line around sharper corners was especially nice to achieve I think or moving over pre-emptively to overtake large trucks then back to self steering in the centre of the lane. A great and confidence inspiring system I think.

I have other commitments now but will try to finish this later.

"Kia EV6 RWD (2022)" by usf1fan2 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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[TrevRex]

The ability to correct the line of the Kia without disconnecting self steering ie say you see a pothole ahead that you will hit staying in the centre of the lane. Just steer around it then head back towards the centre and self steering reapplies. It was even possible to leave the system on all the time and have it apply itself any time you wanted ie around town etc. Also taking a racing line around sharper corners was especially nice to achieve I think or moving over pre-emptively to overtake large trucks then back to self steering in the centre of the lane. A great and confidence inspiring system I think.

This is what I am missing from Tesla autopilot/fsd.

I believe Tesla originally disabled it to reduce the amount of feedback data they have to process, but hopefully they soon have enough computing power to process these feedbacks. The most annoying part of fsd/autopilot is when it drives too close to either the oncoming lane or the curb and I would like to teach it a thing or two.

I feel the difference is that Autosteer takes over steering entirely, while lane assist in the Korean cars steers the wheel with you. It’s a different experience and in some ways superior, such as being able to steer around obstacles without disengaging and being able to set whatever speed you want.

I don't like writing in a Tesla forum that I think a competitor's self steering or lane centering is better. Hell as a Model Y owner I want to say it has the best.

But in all honesty I cannot say that Tesla has the best system, when judging all the nuances of those systems I have tested as an engineer trying to show no bias of judging in their comparison, and still be honest to everything I have learnt in using facts and test programs in my career.

Like I wrote previously "Tesla around sharper corners is better ie holds its line more consistent." Tesla's Autopilot is in all my tests is good at keeping in the centre of the lane around sharper corners and holding it like it's "on rails" so to speak. But around sharper corners is where I prefer, especially on narrow country roads where I mainly drive, to use a more defensive line around blind corners ie be over on the outside edge of a lane to allow for another driver from the opposite direction that has entered the corner at too high a speed and ends up crossing into your own lane. Or if not a blind corner I take a racing line to "straighten" out that sharp corner.

Kia's system lets you do that without turning off. My Tesla will not. Kia's system can be used anywhere and left on I found. My Tesla's Autopilot system still tries to take some exits off the freeway that makes me disconnect it which is bloody annoying IMO. Just changing lanes disconnects Autopilot unless I pay extra.

I will conclude with this. Kia's radar cruise control and lane centering are on totally separate buttons. It means you can have either on or off or both on and yes I found that having lane centering on but cruise control off is handy in some circumstances.