KIA EV 6 Wind

The third Kia EV 6 that I experienced over recent weeks was the US version Wind. This is the most downmarket version of the Kia EV 6 available in the US, price as tested still $48,710. Although the car looks pretty much the same as the previously shown versions there are some features turned off to make this a cheaper version. Among these is the door openers that now do not pop out when you unlock the car. I thought this was a mistake but apparently this belongs to the goody bag that’s left off. I tell you, it is irritating. It also does not come with any charging cable at all. You don’t need when you go to a charging station, but for home in-garage charging you need that. $180 at Amazon, but still a miss.

I’ve found that I have plenty of space inside the EV 6, as a driver, as front passenger and even as rear passenger. Ease of access and egress is plenty as well, which, with my height is not always a given. The center console design left me wanting and wondering though. True, there is a flat floor, but in front of the center console you don’t really need to leave that space open for no good reason. You’re not going to play footsie with your front passenger while driving, nor is she or he going to be operating your throttle pedal. Initially unaware of this design feature, I entered the vehicle with the paperwork from the funeral mass I had attended and quickly wanted to dispose of these to follow the funeral car, but it all landed on the floor…. That was stupid. Plain stupid!!

I did like the general car controls, although, coming from a Hyundai daily driver I am wondering why basic controls like cruise control and radio controls should be on opposite sides from the Kia to the Hyundai? I am sure there is a strategic consideration for this But I fail to understand it. I assume it doesn’t cost more since Kian and Hyundai have LHD and RHD vehicles, but if the switches are the same and the selling countries are the same, keep those essential controls the same as well.

As said in the previous reviews, I like the overal proportion, stance and look of the EV 6 a lot, and from the aboce sketches you can clearly see the dynamic style of them. I still maintain though that the front end design doesn’t really fit well within the Kia brand identity. That could have been resolved better.