New Kia EV6 Facelift Unveiled: Key Differences Explained

The Kia EV6 facelift has broken cover in Korea with a bigger battery pack and mild design updates

Kia started its journey of electric only models based on a dedicated platform back in 2021 with the EV6. Now, the electric crossover has received its first facelift, debuted in the brand’s home country. The Kia EV6 facelift gets subtle design enhancements on the outside and a slew of changes in the interior. It also comes with a bigger battery pack for more range. Here’s everything different about the new EV6, starting with the looks:.

Front

Since this is a mid-life cycle update for the Kia EV6, the design changes are subtle. At the front, the EV6 ditches the eyebrow-style LED DRLs to make way for a sleeker headlamp unit with C-shaped elements that make the design in line with the latest crop of Kia EV models. The front bumper and the grille is also revised with angular elements to give the car an even sportier look.

Side

The side profile remains unchanged except for the alloy wheels. The facelifted EV6 is available with 19-inch wheels as standard, which go up to 20-inch wheels for the top variants. While there has been no change to the proportions of the EV6 with the facelift, it does sit 20mm lower than the model currently sold in India.

Rear

The rear design of the facelifted EV6 remains unchanged from its predecessor. It still features a connected light bar that spans the width of the EV. Kia has retained the edgy and extended look for this side of the electric crossover.

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Battery, Range And Performance

Kia has made more impactful changes below the surface for the EV6’s facelift as the battery pack has been upgraded. It now gets a 84 kWh battery pack which is 6.6 kWh more than the one that does duty in the Indian market. The detailed specifications are as follows:.

We’ll have to wait and see how the facelifted EV6 with the larger battery pack performs under the Worldwide Harmonised Light Test Vehicles Procedure (WLTP), where we expect to see an increase in the claimed range. The EV6 already featured 350kW DC fast charging capabilities to top up the battery from 10 to 80 percent in just 18 minutes.

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Interior and features

The interiors have been given a more thorough update for the facelift as the EV6 gets a new curved housing for the integrated dual 12.3-inch displays (one for the digital instrument cluster and the other for the infotainment system). It also features a redesigned two-spoke steering wheel with an offset Kia logo and chunkier steering-mounted controls.

The design of the center console has also been reworked and a fingerprint scanner is placed to act as a biometric key for registered users as an alternative to the physical key. 

Furthermore, the EV6 now gets wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, OTA software updates (was previously limited to maps only), a digital rear-view mirror, AR navigation (on the infotainment screen), and an enhanced 12-inch heads-up display that shows more information than before. 

Safety

In terms of safety, the Kia EV6 gets 10 airbags (two more than the Indian model). Also, it continues to offer all the ADAS features that were on offer before which includes lane change assist, park assist, forward collision mitigation and more.

Expected Launch

The Kia EV6 came to India a year after the global launch, so expect a similar timeline for the facelift as well. As such, we expect it to arrive by mid-2025 and likely to remain as a CBU import for us. The current EV6 is priced from Rs 60.95 lakh to Rs 65.95 lakh (ex-showroom), and the facelifted version will likely carry a premium for the upgrades. It will continue to be a rival to the Volvo C40 Recharge and as an alternative to the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 5, BYD Seal and BMW i4.

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