BEV BATTLE

• Published date: 24 June 2022
• Publication title: Northern Advocate, The (Whangarei, New Zealand)

But they’re also versions of the same thing: BEVs on the new Hyundai/Kia E-GMP platform, with the same basic architecture and powertrain technology

We’ve got the current flagship models of both here. While Kia New Zealand has undercut Hyundai nicely at the lower reaches, when you get to the high-end stuff the prices are similar. The EV6 GT-Line you see here is $106,990, or $3000 less than the Ioniq 5 Limited. But add in a glass roof (not fitted to our EV6, but standard on the Hyundai) and the Kia becomes the same price: $109,990.

Both are pure-electric cars with dual-motor all-wheel drive. The Kia is a snip more powerful and has a larger battery: 239kW/77kWh for the EV6 versus 225kW/72kWh for the Ioniq, although we understand the larger unit is on its way for the Hyundai. As it stands, the Kia has 50km better range.

The 0-100km/h times are the same, both 5.2 seconds. Both can also charge at 200kW-plus on the right DC station; in ideal conditions you’ll get 100km of range in under five minutes. So they’re fast in all kinds of ways.

The two have the same basic back-end electronic architecture. But you wouldn’t really know it, because each has unique cabin design and detailing. There’s even dichotomy in gear selection: column-mounted twist-lever for the Ioniq 5, centre-console rotary selector for the EV6.

You sit higher in the Hyundai, on leather seats that can also recline into business class-style chairs for a snooze while you charge. The Kia is much more intimate, the sports seats trimmed in a grippy Alcantara-like material.

But the Hyundai’s cabin is more bespoke and futuristic looking, although weirdly it still has more physical switchgear than the Kia. The row of silver shortcut buttons on the dashboard looks especially busy.

The EV6 takes a leaf out of the Jaguar I-Pace book (it takes a lot from the Jaguar, actually) with a dual-function control panel, where the same dials/pads do different things depending on which mode you’re in. Audio or climate, for example.

It’ll all be a matter of personal preference, although the Kia scores with standalone, permanent controls for seat heating/ventilation. In the Hyundai, you have to delve into the infotainment screen for all that.

They’re both incredibly roomy family cars, because they’re both deceptively large: 3m-long wheelbases and width of nearly 1.9m. The Hyundai has the more airy feel for passengers, as you’d expect, and a sliding rear seat.

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