Kia EV6: why it amps up your choice for a company car

Monthly payments are also impressively low for someone in the 40% tax bracket, with the entry-level Kia EV6 Air available for £20 per month and the range-topping Kia EV6 GT-Line S available for just £40 per month. 

So, whether you’re a user-chooser looking to get more bang for your monthly BIK buck, or a fleet manager looking to find the best blend of driving tech to keep your drivers safer on the road, there’s a trim for you.

Equally, like all electric cars, the Kia EV6 cuts running costs to the bone, especially when you charge at home. Based on the average UK electric rate of 18.9p per kWh for 2021, you could fully charge the Kia EV6 for just £14.63. Put another way, a driver doing 10,000 miles a year in the Kia EV6 could expect to pay just £454 for the privilege. Charge your Kia EV6 overnight when rates are lower, or on an EV-friendly tariff, and you can expect the cost to drop even more.

Helping you go the extra mile

Whether you’re doing the short daily commute to the office, heading further afield to meet clients, or taking friends and family for a long weekend away, a good all-electric company car should offer both the range to take you further for longer, and the ultra-rapid charging that lets you top-up quickly and conveniently when needed.

On this front, the Kia EV6 delivers in spades. Its advanced large-capacity 77.4kWh lithium-ion battery offers up to 328 miles of range, and boasts an intelligent heat-pump that limits range-loss in cold weather – ensuring that even when the mercury plummets to -7C, you still get 80% of the range you’d expect in summer at 25C.When it comes to topping up your range, the Kia EV6’s 800V ultra-fast charging technology – which, until now, has usually only been found on significantly more expensive performance cars – lets you *recharge the battery from 10% to 80% in as little as 18 minutes on a 350kW ultra-rapid charger, or add 62 miles of range in just under five minutes. Even using a more conventional 50kW rapid charger, you can still top up the Kia EV6’s battery from 10% to 80% in as little as 1hr and 13min – perfect for adding a healthy dose of range while you refuel during lunch, or recharge your creative spirit with a trip to the gym or the cinema.

A Kia Charge account makes on-the-go charging even easier, offering a choice of ‘one card to rule them all’ subscriptions that gives you access to 17,000 charging points from some of the UK’s largest and most widespread networks – including BP Pulse, Pod Point, Source London, Instavolt, Shell Recharge, Osprey, Char-gy and IONITY. Heading abroad for work, or a weekend family vacation? With Kia Charge, you get access to 205,000 charging points in 28 European countries as well.

At home, where you can make the most of low-cost charging on more cost-effective overnight or EV-friendly home energy tariffs, the Kia EV6 will charge from *10% to 100% in around 7hrs and 20min, ensuring that you can simply plug in when you arrive home and start every journey the next morning with the maximum range.

And here’s a novelty that might appeal to the creative types among you who want to make a sales pitch with a difference. The Kia EV6’s Vehicle-to-Device (V2D) two-way charging capability means you can use your car’s battery as a 3.6kW mobile energy source to power external home appliances under 16 Amps – such as laptops and even 55-inch TVs. Prepare to level up your PowerPoint presentations.Alternatively, you can power an electric grill or mobile fridge on a camping weekend with friends or family, or even build up some Kia karma by lending a good Samaritan a helping hand to top-up someone’s electric vehicle if they’ve run out of charge. 

Add in zero road tax for the first year, exemptions for urban congestion charges and ULEZ ultra-low-emission zones, and many of the other benefits that local councils offer all-electric cars – such as free parking – and it’s easy to see how quickly the cost benefits of going electric build up for a company car driver.

As an aside, the Kia EV6 is also the first model from a Korean manufacturer to receive coveted carbon footprint certification from The Carbon Trust. This recognises Kia’s commitment to improving, measuring, reducing and offsetting its CO2 emissions for more sustainable car manufacturing – perfect for reinforcing the intent of your (and your business) to cut your impact on the environment.

High-tech space exploration

When it comes to space, the Kia EV6 has it all – and more. Kia’s all-new dedicated all-electric platform lets the Kia EV6’s engineers and designers comprehensively rethink an electric crossover’s layout, creating more interior room for you, your passengers and your luggage. Compact electric motors mean the wheels can be pushed out to the chassis’ corners for an extended wheelbase, while a low-slung battery creates a totally flat floor for enhanced rear legroom.Inside the Kia EV6, the sleek minimalist high-tech controls feel incredibly intuitive to operate, while trim surfaces made from sustainable premium suedes, vegan leathers and other recycled and reclaimed materials feel warm, soft and welcoming to the touch. Dual 12.3-inch high-definition curved digital screens seamlessly blend and arc their way across the top of the dashboard, working with the low-slung sporty seating position to deliver a truly cosseting performance-car-like wraparound panoramic display for all your key driving, navigation and infotainment. Even more impressively, this high-tech display comes as standard on all Kia EV6 models.Underneath, a multi-mode digital display – with haptic shortcuts for infotainment and climate controls that replace physical controls – creates a less cluttered centre console, while still providing you with quick easy access to all the key features you need on the go. On range-topping GT-Line S models, a premium 14-speaker Meridian sound system delivers a truly immersive concert-like sound experience.

Rear passengers benefit from a limo-like 990mm of legroom and added light from the wide tilt-sliding sunroof, while also getting dedicated USBs on the backs of the front seats to keep their devices charged on the move. Further back, there’s up to 490 litres of luggage space with the rear seats up, expanding up to 1,300 litres when the rear seats are folded down. It’s all accessible through a smart power tailgate.

Smart remote out-of-office connectivityWhether it’s for work or play, your smartphone is the beating heart of your day. It helps you stay in touch with colleagues, friends and family. It’s your itinerary and road map for every journey. It also keeps you entertained on the way with music and podcasts. On the Kia EV6, your smartphone is the beating heart of your car as well.

Using Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, the Kia EV6 seamlessly connects with compatible smartphones for a more integrated navigation and entertainment experience. You can also recharge your phone on the wireless phone charging pad that is available on GT-Line and GT-Line S models.

The Kia EV6’s built-in SIM card gives you free seven-year access to Kia Connect – which delivers comprehensive navigation data including real-time traffic information and weather, in-depth charging station and parking information, as well as speed cameras and danger zones. Syncing remotely with the Kia Connect app on your smartphone, you get true door-to-door navigation, letting you plan work journeys – including finding the best en-route charging, and parking with charging near your destination – from the comfort of your sofa, while also checking your car’s charging status.

While you’re at work or in a meeting, you can monitor your Kia EV6’s charging status or security remotely, before using the door-to-door navigation to remind yourself of where you parked for a quick getaway. It also lets you check your vehicle’s charging and security status – including tracking its location and speed if it’s being driven by a valet at an airport or upscale car park.

Making work trips more engaging

When it comes to enjoying your work, who said driving an electric company car to meetings can’t be fun? The Kia EV6 certainly begs to disagree – especially when you consider the beauty of an electric powertrain which bundles instant all-electric torque that makes light work of overtakes when appropriate, while also being wonderfully refined, quiet and calming in the city or on the motorway.

Depending on which Kia EV6 model you pick, you have the choice of a rear-wheel drive single-motor all-electric powertrain with 226bhp and 350Nm of torque that can get you from 0-62mph in a hot-hatch-like 7.3 seconds, or a dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain with 321bhp and 605Nm that can do the 0-62mph dash in a sportscar-like 5.2 seconds – with the all-wheel drive offering extra front-end bite for an added touch of cornering confidence on twisty A-roads.

The shift-by-wire rotary control lets you easily switch between drive, reverse and neutral, while the Drive Mode Select lets you pick the performance to best suit your journey and your mood – whether it’s Normal, the invigorating Sport mode, or the more range-friendly Eco mode. Active Sound Design also lets you choose the character of your all-electric ‘engine note’.

Using the paddles behind the wheels, you can decide exactly how responsive the Kia EV6’s smart regenerative braking system is. It includes an i-PEDAL mode that offers true one-pedal driving that’s perfect for stop-start traffic, gradually slowing the car to a halt as you lift off the accelerator, without the need to apply the brake.

Making every trip easier and safer

Finally – but perhaps most importantly – the last piece in the Kia EV6’s box of tricks: a wealth of driving aids that help make journeys easier, less stressful and safer. It all starts with an augmented-reality Head-Up Display on the Kia EV6 GT-Line S, which projects key driving information directly into the windscreen, helping you focus more on the road more of the time.

Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist and Blind-Spot Collision Avoidance Assist offer an extra set of advanced radar eyes (front, back and rear) to make you more aware of hazards all around you, while Highway Driving Assist 2 and Lane Keep Assist work together on motorway journeys to help you stay on the straight and narrow – automatically adapting your speed to local limits and surrounding traffic, while offering steering assistance that maintains your position in your chosen lane and warns you if you’re drifting.

When it comes to reaching your destination, a combination of parking sensors and the 360-degree 3D Surround View Monitor lets you navigate more easily and effortlessly into parking spaces, with less risk of bumps and scrapes. Or, you can let the Remote Smart Parking Assist feature do it all remotely as you stand alongside.