Kia EV6

[Undecided_2]

We chose the Y over the EV6 as the Y had more room and a better storage layout. The charger network for the 350kw chargers is sparse where I live. Tesla has a better more reliable network for our 500 mile trips to see family.

I agree on the EV6 HUD and the Y would be a sweeter ride with it for me.

I disagree on the interior. The center console took up to much space and it made it difficult to get beneath it. The controls were fiddly to use while driving for us. It just didn’t feel different or special.

We test drove the Y and cancelled our EV6 order. It wasn’t a hard decision for me as my wife loves the Y. Happy wife, happy life! I also love it and after driving the X for several days still prefer the Y.

 

[MashinBenzin]

Agree these are SUVs which, along with the VW ID.4 (and Skoda and Audi derivative) might explain why Tesla have started selling the Chinese built model Y in Europe rather than waiting for the Berlin factory to be finished.

As a current SUV owner; these things really are not SUVs. They are hatchbacks mildly jacked up. The Enyaq is a slightly higher estate. Crossovers perhaps, SUVs not a chance.

I have driven an EV6 and an Enyaq, and have a Model Y on order. None of them remotely tick the SUV boxes that I’d ideally like to tick.

 

[Neilio]

If I could I would definitely replace my model 3 with an ev6. Despite the fact I always normally favour a saloon over a crossover I love the looks of the EV6. I guess going from a performance model 3 I'd have to wait for the GY version. If only I could get out of my lease!

 

[MrBadger]

Have had a couple of test drives in Kia EV6. My thoughts, based on 2 EV6 test drives and 3 years of Tesla Model 3 LR ownership, including free supercharging. () indicates better choice for us, your priorities/preferences may differ.

• (EV6) felt finished. Model 3 still very much a work in progress. This is both from an engineering/build perspective and software/UI.
• (EV6) feels a solid car, fully fit for the road. Model 3 doesn't and there are scenarios that I still wouldn't use a Model 3 out of choice. Whilst it took best part of a year to get our Fremont build Model 3 upgraded to Shanghai build quality specs, it still feels very fragile at times and needing to be treated with kid gloves. I will not forget the shock of a friend when I took over bonnet closing and explained to them that there was a special way to close the bonnet so as not to damage it, or how to get out of/enter the car without risking window damage... and thats not even a frosty morning where the EV6 has doors that can be opened without worrying that the window is frozen up.
• Yet to find road conditions where (M3) did not give driver confidence that it could not cope. EV6 as tested is RWD only. (EV6) feels like it should cope better with snow build up/rutting due to higher ground clearance. Even with winter tyres and AWD, Model 3 would find a limit to depth of snow earlier - we live on a hill where snow can get quite deep/rutted 'off piste', but since owning M3, not driven in those conditions - with Covid and WFH, easy to avoid those conditions over the past 3 years.
• (M3) has great boot space area. EV6 looks to be more compromised. In RWD form, EV6 has limited space in the front. Even in AWD, (M3) has very useful space in the front. Unless all you need to carry is a folder or laptop, front space in an AWD EV6 is not worth opening the bonnet for.
• (M3) is lighter inside, thanks mostly amount of glass and glass roof. Side windows of EV6 are quite shallow, but what you do have open fully. They are heavily tinted in the rear which may help keeping heat out - in Model 3, the glass roof does a very fine job at keeping heat out - most of it if from side windows and windscreen.
• Driveability. A little underwhelmed with EV6 on first test drive, but it was a very short test drive and not much opportunity to experiment with settings. Much better on second test drive, on a par ease of driving with Tesla, but we do use chill mode in Tesla. But if you are after acceleration, (M3) will win this hands down, not that either car is sluggish, just that Model 3 is a bit of a brute. TBH, EV6 is plenty quick and will get you out of a tricky situation just as safely as a Model 3 would - or probably many other EV's due to instant throttle response.
• Charging - (M3) gets this by virtue of its supercharger network, but if non supercharging, DC wise, EV6 will be just as quick (and possibly quicker, but its just a pissing game by the sort of margins being talked about). But EV6 will benefit from opening up of some supercharger sites. When our free supercharging comes to an end, on the road prices will come as a bit of a shock, but even with near pricing parity, Tesla will still have benefit from more choice and knowing that a supercharger destination will likely deliver what is needed with minimal fuss. But there is good progress, and less than a year ago I would not have even bothered to look at a non Tesla EV.
• Interior. The (EV6) just gets the balance right between minimalist and over doing the controls. I prefer the stalk controls on the M3, especially for drive selection, but with the EV6, all the necessary controls seem to be easily to hand. No fumbling through menus trying to find lighting, wiper, temperature controls. Even the back seat passengers get their own heat seater control on the EV6. One complaint my teenage son had regarding the EV6 was that there was too much space in the back, yep, too much space. Combined with the (too) large headrests for front seats, he felt too detached from the front seat passengers. Rear seat passengers can't easily get their feet under the front seats, but with far more legroom in the rear than the Model 3, and for the longer legged of us, a more comfortable seat height (so you don't have to either sit across the car or have your knees around your ears [an exaggeration, but you get the picture]) means that not being able to tuck your toes under the seats in front is less of an inconvenience.
• Seating. The (EV6) seats are really nice. A 2 tone blend of (iirc) fabric and fake leather/vinyl (AKA 'vegan leather'), along with ventilated front seats in certain trim levels are not going to catch you out too much on the hottest or coolest of days. As a front seat passenger, I find seating position in Model 3 make me uncomfortable after around an hour and no amount of adjustment has allowed me to find a good long term seating position. EV6 seating seems much better padding and, still have all the controls. But only longer time in the front seats would tell, but you are starting off from a better position.
• Driver controls/instrumentation. Quite frankly, I find that Tesla have gone too far with pairing back driver instrumentation and controls that (any other car other than a Tesla) it has, IMHO, become a safety issue that is made worse by Tesla playing fast and loose with the UI. Whilst some may appreciate the constantly, even excessive updates that Tesla may bring, often several times a month, it only takes being bitten once too many times to appreciate the feeling that getting in the car and going on a drive, the car will look, feel and behave the same as it has always done. I appreciate that many will like the excitement of finding what's new, and I did once, but you get to a point in life where a vehicle like the (EV6) that does what the driver (and passengers) wants, when they want, in a safe manner and without feeling that the car is half finished or if its not just let you down, it will soon do. And as for HUD, never driven a car with one before, top trim level EV6 has one and, after a few minutes getting use to it, I can see why some people really like that feature.
• The (M3) ability to just get in and drive is really nice, or was, as reading through some comments, its becoming increasingly common to have to reset a setting on the M3 to revert back to how you liked things to operate. Not really sure how the EV6 locking mechanism works (apparently its got keyless entry but we got given a key fob so not sure if phone access is possible) but to drive the EV6, you first have to turn it on ... and as a passenger in the front, waiting for the driver, nothing seemed to work, although that may have just been a showroom car lockout mode.
• In car gaming... who needs a car with built in games when you can plug a full sized TV and games console into the charge port of an (EV6). Yep. Its got V2A at 3.6kW so you can even charge another EV from it.
• Ride quality. (EV6) is far better than our Model 3 over our typical roads and quieter too.
• Driver aids. I've already mentioned the HUD on top trim levels of EV6, but what Tesla and many of its following may go on about as latest and greatest feature, I would be sure that the (EV6) will already have done that, ticked it off, perfected it and not needed to brag about it as it would be pretty much expected stuff in the automotive world. And what Tesla may have that the EV6 does not, is probably down to Kia not releasing half finished, unreliable features. Sure, they seem to have need to fix a few things software wise, that can mostly be done OTA, but these seem to be a step forward, rather than 2 steps forward, one step back (or more) with Tesla.
• This is getting too long already. Lots of things to like about the EV6. I suspect it beats the base Model 3 and is on a par with the LR in general day to day use. I certainly would not see one as a step back over our Model 3 LR and in many respects, such as living with one day to day in all weather conditions, I see the (EV6) as a step forward, albeit with a few steps back in some areas. As for range, I suspect that real world driving range, even over a M3 LR, there is not going to be too much in it as the EV6 seems to more closely resemble its range calculations, especially in winter, than the Model 3 perhaps does.

So thankyou if you have read through all of this. I wrote it more as a 'note to self', to weigh up the virtues of whether a switch to an EV6 from our 3 year old Model 3 would work for us. I normally buy cars and run them until they owe us nothing, so 13+ years etc or typically even longer. I'm just not convinced that our Model 3 would fit that bill, and new/sh price differentials potentially allowing a reasonably priced switch.

So, if you are thinking about buying an EV6, I'll let you know what we think of ours when we get it in a years time...

 

[Dilly]

I do share your views and agree with much you've said. I don’t fancy a Kia. I had the original Ioniq, though an Ioniq 5 wouldn’t suit but a 6 might.
There are just so many things unfinished on the model 3 that it’s becoming tiresome that simple things have not improved.
I love the get and drive aspect and for that mine has been flawless all the time. I don’t mind minimalist but it’s become too minimal.
If voice command worked I would be less bothered. When I bought mine there was nothing else to beat it. Now there are no end of equally priced better specced cars. Supercharging still has the edge though.
The speedo used to be so much bigger, the pointless visualisations smaller, the map bigger.
It would be nice to drive on AP without the constant warnings of imminent death.
So many times I‘ve felt that the M3 could be so much better with small changes in software. There are just so many untapped possibilities!
Mine is 3 years old in March. If I haven’t got something close to the “city streets, coming soon” that was advertised, at the time, I will seek a refund for FSD and part with the car.

 

[Durzel]

Great write up, thanks for taking the time to do so.

I’ve been looking at the EV6 GT, with a fair amount of lust if I’m honest. I’d be coming from a M3P so don’t want to lose too much in terms of performance, if I can.

I’ve only sat in a GT-Line S, recently in fact, which is the top spec one below the GT. Some of the stuff you’ve mentioned - in particular the ventilated seats - is removed from the GT for some reason, weight saving presumably. I feel like this trim is probably the best choice if you don’t care about outright performance.

The strongest point I felt, much like you judging by the fact that you lead with it, was that it felt like a really well put together car. The mix of materials felt great, it felt really solid and substantial, and just oozed quality. I do love the first generation minimalist interior in my car, coming from an Audi previously, but I also know there really isn’t much to it in terms of actual substance either. My M3P felt a lot cheaper to get back into afterwards, and it wasn’t in monetary terms. Kia give you a 7 year warranty which speaks volumes.

I would bet money that all of the basic stuff works well, perfectly in fact, and that it would be quieter and generally just considerably more refined than my M3P is. I would caveat that by saying that I have a Fremont M3, but I honestly don’t expect the Shanghai ones to be night and day better, as the EV6 did when I just sat in it.

My main gripe - which is a weird one really - is that because they have several models they don’t “feel” like an EV brand. I didn’t feel like it was special from the drivers seat, just accomplished. I can’t really explain why that bothered me a bit at the time, but it just did, mildly.

The other gripe I had was anticipating a return to the old “bring your car in to a big glass fronted dealership on a regular basis to have your pants pulled down”. In that respect Tesla is a revelation in car terms. Mobile service and no particular requirement to service them is a breath of fresh air, and I would be unhappy to have to return to the old way of doing things. I don’t imagine Kia charge a King’s ransom for mundane stuff to the same degree as the likes of Audi and particularly Porsche (lol ~£2400 bi-yearly service plan for Taycans), but I do suspect they’d expect servicing etc, which means booking days off to take it in, etc.

Also - not sure how the non-GT models are but the GT is only currently available in two colours - black or white. I thought Tesla’s colour choices were limited!

To be honest - when it comes to looking to replace my M3P, possibly next year, the EV6 is more than likely what I’ll end up going with, and will look to return to Tesla if/when they actually get the basic stuff working properly, and self-driving isn’t an afterthought in Europe, and they’ve raised their game in terms of what you can expect from a £60k+ car.

A little thing I did notice - which just about sums things up really - is that the shut lines on the EV6, indeed all of the cars I saw in the showroom, were all perfect and tight. My M3 is all aligned, but there are gaps that are simply too big between the doors and body front and back as a whole - because the doors aren’t big enough for the gap - if that makes sense. Other places suffer from it to a greater or lesser extent too. The EV6 looks like someone has taken a solid piece of metal and sliced it where the doors are with a laser. I know other cars are like this, it’s pretty standard from your typical car maker to be honest, just not Tesla.

Oh, and the seats in the EV6 were better and more supportive than the ones in my M3P - which is just lol.

 

[Durzel]

I do share your views and agree with much you've said. I don’t fancy a Kia. I had the original Ioniq, though an Ioniq 5 wouldn’t suit but a 6 might.
There are just so many things unfinished on the model 3 that it’s becoming tiresome that simple things have not improved.
I love the get and drive aspect and for that mine has been flawless all the time. I don’t mind minimalist but it’s become too minimal.
If voice command worked I would be less bothered. When I bought mine there was nothing else to beat it. Now there are no end of equally priced better specced cars. Supercharging still has the edge though.
The speedo used to be so much bigger, the pointless visualisations smaller, the map bigger.
It would be nice to drive on AP without the constant warnings of imminent death.
So many times I‘ve felt that the M3 could be so much better with small changes in software. There are just so many untapped possibilities!
Mine is 3 years old in March. If I haven’t got something close to the “city streets, coming soon” that was advertised, at the time, I will seek a refund for FSD and part with the car.

Pretty much exactly my thoughts.

I also don’t rely on public charging and don’t do many miles, so the supercharger network is mostly irrelevant to me (beyond the impact of anticipated depreciation from it being fully opened up)

 

[Dilly]

Pretty much exactly my thoughts.

I also don’t rely on public charging and don’t do many miles, so the supercharger network is mostly irrelevant to me (beyond the impact of anticipated depreciation from it being fully opened up)

I don’t use SuC’s much either, but it’s the reassurance that they will work without any faffing around and at present, likely no queue.

I forgot to say in my last post, I have sat in both an Ioniq 5 and a Kia EV6. They are both of better build quality than a Tesla and both have just about everything a driver could want.

I guess it’s completely down to the individual, but for me the M3 seat is comfy and I can do a long drive arriving completely relaxed and not stiff or aching. I haven’t had that luxury with either my Ioniq and Prius. Perhaps part is down to AP.

PS. Hope to see some good news from from AI day today

 

[MashinBenzin]

Have had a couple of test drives in Kia EV6. My thoughts, based on 2 EV6 test drives and 3 years of Tesla Model 3 LR ownership, including free supercharging. () indicates better choice for us, your priorities/preferences may differ.

• (EV6) felt finished. Model 3 still very much a work in progress. This is both from an engineering/build perspective and software/UI.
• (EV6) feels a solid car, fully fit for the road. Model 3 doesn't and there are scenarios that I still wouldn't use a Model 3 out of choice. Whilst it took best part of a year to get our Fremont build Model 3 upgraded to Shanghai build quality specs, it still feels very fragile at times and needing to be treated with kid gloves. I will not forget the shock of a friend when I took over bonnet closing and explained to them that there was a special way to close the bonnet so as not to damage it, or how to get out of/enter the car without risking window damage... and thats not even a frosty morning where the EV6 has doors that can be opened without worrying that the window is frozen up.
• Yet to find road conditions where (M3) did not give driver confidence that it could not cope. EV6 as tested is RWD only. (EV6) feels like it should cope better with snow build up/rutting due to higher ground clearance. Even with winter tyres and AWD, Model 3 would find a limit to depth of snow earlier - we live on a hill where snow can get quite deep/rutted 'off piste', but since owning M3, not driven in those conditions - with Covid and WFH, easy to avoid those conditions over the past 3 years.
• (M3) has great boot space area. EV6 looks to be more compromised. In RWD form, EV6 has limited space in the front. Even in AWD, (M3) has very useful space in the front. Unless all you need to carry is a folder or laptop, front space in an AWD EV6 is not worth opening the bonnet for.
• (M3) is lighter inside, thanks mostly amount of glass and glass roof. Side windows of EV6 are quite shallow, but what you do have open fully. They are heavily tinted in the rear which may help keeping heat out - in Model 3, the glass roof does a very fine job at keeping heat out - most of it if from side windows and windscreen.
• Driveability. A little underwhelmed with EV6 on first test drive, but it was a very short test drive and not much opportunity to experiment with settings. Much better on second test drive, on a par ease of driving with Tesla, but we do use chill mode in Tesla. But if you are after acceleration, (M3) will win this hands down, not that either car is sluggish, just that Model 3 is a bit of a brute. TBH, EV6 is plenty quick and will get you out of a tricky situation just as safely as a Model 3 would - or probably many other EV's due to instant throttle response.
• Charging - (M3) gets this by virtue of its supercharger network, but if non supercharging, DC wise, EV6 will be just as quick (and possibly quicker, but its just a pissing game by the sort of margins being talked about). But EV6 will benefit from opening up of some supercharger sites. When our free supercharging comes to an end, on the road prices will come as a bit of a shock, but even with near pricing parity, Tesla will still have benefit from more choice and knowing that a supercharger destination will likely deliver what is needed with minimal fuss. But there is good progress, and less than a year ago I would not have even bothered to look at a non Tesla EV.
• Interior. The (EV6) just gets the balance right between minimalist and over doing the controls. I prefer the stalk controls on the M3, especially for drive selection, but with the EV6, all the necessary controls seem to be easily to hand. No fumbling through menus trying to find lighting, wiper, temperature controls. Even the back seat passengers get their own heat seater control on the EV6. One complaint my teenage son had regarding the EV6 was that there was too much space in the back, yep, too much space. Combined with the (too) large headrests for front seats, he felt too detached from the front seat passengers. Rear seat passengers can't easily get their feet under the front seats, but with far more legroom in the rear than the Model 3, and for the longer legged of us, a more comfortable seat height (so you don't have to either sit across the car or have your knees around your ears [an exaggeration, but you get the picture]) means that not being able to tuck your toes under the seats in front is less of an inconvenience.
• Seating. The (EV6) seats are really nice. A 2 tone blend of (iirc) fabric and fake leather/vinyl (AKA 'vegan leather'), along with ventilated front seats in certain trim levels are not going to catch you out too much on the hottest or coolest of days. As a front seat passenger, I find seating position in Model 3 make me uncomfortable after around an hour and no amount of adjustment has allowed me to find a good long term seating position. EV6 seating seems much better padding and, still have all the controls. But only longer time in the front seats would tell, but you are starting off from a better position.
• Driver controls/instrumentation. Quite frankly, I find that Tesla have gone too far with pairing back driver instrumentation and controls that (any other car other than a Tesla) it has, IMHO, become a safety issue that is made worse by Tesla playing fast and loose with the UI. Whilst some may appreciate the constantly, even excessive updates that Tesla may bring, often several times a month, it only takes being bitten once too many times to appreciate the feeling that getting in the car and going on a drive, the car will look, feel and behave the same as it has always done. I appreciate that many will like the excitement of finding what's new, and I did once, but you get to a point in life where a vehicle like the (EV6) that does what the driver (and passengers) wants, when they want, in a safe manner and without feeling that the car is half finished or if its not just let you down, it will soon do. And as for HUD, never driven a car with one before, top trim level EV6 has one and, after a few minutes getting use to it, I can see why some people really like that feature.
• The (M3) ability to just get in and drive is really nice, or was, as reading through some comments, its becoming increasingly common to have to reset a setting on the M3 to revert back to how you liked things to operate. Not really sure how the EV6 locking mechanism works (apparently its got keyless entry but we got given a key fob so not sure if phone access is possible) but to drive the EV6, you first have to turn it on ... and as a passenger in the front, waiting for the driver, nothing seemed to work, although that may have just been a showroom car lockout mode.
• In car gaming... who needs a car with built in games when you can plug a full sized TV and games console into the charge port of an (EV6). Yep. Its got V2A at 3.6kW so you can even charge another EV from it.
• Ride quality. (EV6) is far better than our Model 3 over our typical roads and quieter too.
• Driver aids. I've already mentioned the HUD on top trim levels of EV6, but what Tesla and many of its following may go on about as latest and greatest feature, I would be sure that the (EV6) will already have done that, ticked it off, perfected it and not needed to brag about it as it would be pretty much expected stuff in the automotive world. And what Tesla may have that the EV6 does not, is probably down to Kia not releasing half finished, unreliable features. Sure, they seem to have need to fix a few things software wise, that can mostly be done OTA, but these seem to be a step forward, rather than 2 steps forward, one step back (or more) with Tesla.
• This is getting too long already. Lots of things to like about the EV6. I suspect it beats the base Model 3 and is on a par with the LR in general day to day use. I certainly would not see one as a step back over our Model 3 LR and in many respects, such as living with one day to day in all weather conditions, I see the (EV6) as a step forward, albeit with a few steps back in some areas. As for range, I suspect that real world driving range, even over a M3 LR, there is not going to be too much in it as the EV6 seems to more closely resemble its range calculations, especially in winter, than the Model 3 perhaps does.

So thankyou if you have read through all of this. I wrote it more as a 'note to self', to weigh up the virtues of whether a switch to an EV6 from our 3 year old Model 3 would work for us. I normally buy cars and run them until they owe us nothing, so 13+ years etc or typically even longer. I'm just not convinced that our Model 3 would fit that bill, and new/sh price differentials potentially allowing a reasonably priced switch.

So, if you are thinking about buying an EV6, I'll let you know what we think of ours when we get it in a years time...

A great review and very balanced, thanks for taking the time.

I think the EV6 is much better than the MY (and presumably, by extension, the M3) in several ways - notably equipment and technology levels, along with feeling more premium. I love the practicality of the Teslas and, as a new owner, I’m already a big convert to the phone key and instant on/off being automated.

There are some great mid-size EV options now and I can see arguments for choosing any of Ioniq 5, EV6, Enyaq, M3/Y plus the incredible value MGs.

 

[Durzel]

I don’t use SuC’s much either, but it’s the reassurance that they will work without any faffing around and at present, likely no queue.

I forgot to say in my last post, I have sat in both an Ioniq 5 and a Kia EV6. They are both of better build quality than a Tesla and both have just about everything a driver could want.

I guess it’s completely down to the individual, but for me the M3 seat is comfy and I can do a long drive arriving completely relaxed and not stiff or aching. I haven’t had that luxury with either my Ioniq and Prius. Perhaps part is down to AP.

PS. Hope to see some good news from from AI day today

It’s not so much that I feel like the seat is uncomfortable in the M3, moreover that it doesn’t feel that supportive - to me. I actually think it’s a bit bizarre that the M3P has the same seats as the LR/SR+

I expect the EV6 GT will have seats commensurate with the spirited driving it expects you to want to do.

 

[Stuart1714]

So, if you are thinking about buying an EV6, I'll let you know what we think of ours when we get it in a years time...

Which trim level did you go far? I’ll probably take a closer look myself later in a years time.

The family of a colleague at work ordered the rear wheel drive EV6 with the highest trim level. They initially gave them an unrealistic short delivery date that keeps getting pushed back. The highest trim level looks to be the one that is suffering the longest lead times. We’ve just started an EV leasing scheme at work and a few people have ordered non-Tesla brands for above £40k vehicles and there are also long waits from the likes of Volvo & Polestar, who are part of the same organisation.

There are reports of EV6 drivers together with some of the Hyundais, which share some common components, not working on the V3 Superchargers. They work on the V2 Superchargers okay though. I don’t know if a fix is being worked on by Hyundai / Kia / Tesla.

 

[MrBadger]

We went for the RWD GT-Line-S. Other than brief mentions of the GT, no sight or sound of one and, TBH, overkill for what we would be looking for, in same way I suspect that Model 3 Performance was. We first dabbled with the thought of swapping a month or so back, and went for first test drive with my wife having GT-Line spec in head, and me having GT-Line-S spec in head, but only because of sun roof and a few other improvements, ok ... 'toys'. But we both came away way with the GT-Line-S spec at top of list, so it was then colour and RWD/AWD and, as I later learned, heat pump and tow bars. The AWD was a compromise in many respects, range, storage, insurance, and tbh, the front motor on Model 3 is used so little, and Model 3 RWD divers happy with their choice that whilst, living on a hill, I always said that AWD was the way forward, it would have been only used a few days a year at most. Yes, had those compromises not have been there, would probably have gone for AWD.

The other gripe I had was anticipating a return to the old “bring your car in to a big glass fronted dealership on a regular basis to have your pants pulled down”. In that respect Tesla is a revelation in car terms. Mobile service and no particular requirement to service them is a breath of fresh air, and I would be unhappy to have to return to the old way of doing things. I don’t imagine Kia charge a King’s ransom for mundane stuff to the same degree as the likes of Audi and particularly Porsche (lol ~£2400 bi-yearly service plan for Taycans), but I do suspect they’d expect servicing etc, which means booking days off to take it in, etc.

Its was actually Tesla's customer facing (or lack of) model that pushed us over the edge. A recent service issue with Tesla at their most arrogant faceless stonewalling just finished us with the thought of another 11 years of utter contempt of their customers - if this had been the first time, it could be forgiven, but this seems to be the norm for Tesla and anything better is out of the ordinary. So for us their faceless, technology driven customer communications let them down again. I guess, like many things Tesla, its work in progress and customer gets to take all the *sugar* when it doesn't work properly.

Its been nearly 7 years since I last bought a 'new' car from a dealership. That experience was not too bad, but its final in warranty service was awful so glad to get out of the clutches of that manufacturer. It started off pleasant at our local Kia dealership, to the point that come second test drive, we have a firm spec that we wanted to order dependent on the (in the env very positive) second test drive. But it turned very sour when the salesman would not order us the car that we wanted (we wanted a tow bar, salesman told us to get one fitted down the road), plus changed his story on the refundability of the deposit (an important factor given the long lead time). Long story short, he lost that sale.

But I found another fairly local dealership (still a lot more local than our closest Tesla one and there are actually 3 in 'our area') and they couldn't have been any nicer. No pressure, although a passing mention (no more than a minute of we can offer this and this, I'll leave you with the leaflet) of potential upsells (GAP and wheel insurance) at the end. My first contact with them was yesterday, over the phone. I just wanted to query the position of the tow bar and its warranty. No bullshit from the chap, a simple 'I don't know, I can find out for you' and today when we came in, another chap was there with the answers and more importantly, an explanation of the current situation and how they have to currently operate as Kia are not currently accepting fitted orders but he would put tow bar on the order form and be able to have an official Kia tow bar fitted at their garage by a specialist external fitter prior to our collection. And the ability to see a tow bar fitted only that morning. As for delivery dates, the first dealership said 1 year, but normally sooner. Todays, officially 1 year, but tbh, most litley be towards the end of next year. At the end of the day, the it would have been the same car and would come when its ready, but I will be a happier customer when our 'towards end of next year' car comes early than had we ordered one expecting it to be a year or less and taking longer.

So, a light touch and hands on can all work differently, even amongst the same car brand. In todays experience, a friendly face to face approach, with Tesla, an anonymous, hands off approach where you could ask the same question 6 times and get 6 different answers. When you get face to face at Tesla, they are usually great, but its rare to be in that position of face to face communication.

 

[M3noob]

YMMV is considerably different from mine and my 20 vintage Fremont car.

My cringe factor is ever having to use Tesla service again after discovering the non-responsiveness of their roadside care (now travel with a Road Hero, plug set and, now that it is 2 year old, a spare 12 V battery) and the "not covered by warranty" farango for a defective display screen.

I recently parked up at an inoperative Destination Charger next to a Lexus EV. He baldly stated "I envy your car". We shared the only working Destination Charger of the three on site. The hotel spent 45 minutes on hold with Tesla for no resolution. I envy his service team.

 

[Chimpy McChimp]

Nice write up on the EV6. Before ordering the MYLR this was on my short list. Being slightly put off by the local Kia sales reps complete lack of interest in actually trying to "sell" me the car. We didn't go for it in the end purely based on the facts that: the lead time was too long. We were quoted march next year. With the caveat of "maybe"! We are moving to being a one car family so Mrs. McChimp had her say, and her say was "it's ugly" and veto'd it. We both liked the MY and the ease of ordering (I know that sounds weird but just entering a few details on a website was preferable to having to deal with the disinterested Kia sales guys) meant we just said "f***k it" and ordered the Y without fully doing our research. However since then I've been doing that research and am more than happy with our decision in the end.

That said, in 4 years I will certainly want to take another look at the EV6. I like the look of it.

 

[roadcred]

Great review. I have a couple of great local Kia dealers. I know them now as we have just bought and got delivery of our second Kia Soul EV. When it comes to EVs both dealers know whats going on. In 2 years have never had a problem with a Kia EV. Yes you need a 12 month service, but it is not expensive and consists of a list of inspections - no work. These are all sensible inspections that I should get done on my Teslas if I ever did the mileage or held onto them for more than a few months. At the moment I would not change to an EV6 or anything else for my long distance car because of Superchargers. The second they are opened to everybody I will be looking hard for an EV6. My Souls are both better, more comfortable rides than any of my 5 Teslas have been. You are right when you say the Kia feels like a finished car, not one which needs the design to be completed!