FAST FORWARD

Car makers are accelerating their efforts to bring zero-emissions vehicles to market

The electric revolution is charging ahead. EVs are no longer solely the domain of niche luxury brands. Mainstream makers are debuting exciting new models that are closer to the reach of the average motorist. They include last year’s Car of the Year, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the recently released Kia EV6. The pair are built off the same modular platform and share electric motors and batteries, but each has its own unique style and driving feel.

KIA EV6 GT-LINE RWD

The EV6 shares the Hyundai’s key strengths such as ample interior space, lightning fastcharging capability and impressive performance.

It isn’t cheap, though. Out mid-tier GT-Line RWD is priced at about $81,000 drive-away.

For the money you get an exceptionally well equipped car with an industry leading sevenyear/unlimited km warranty. Servicing is very cheap at just $1089 over five years.

Inside the EV6 feels more like a conventional car than the Hyundai.

It has a plush cabin with heated and ventilated front seats wrapped in faux suede and vegan leather. The cabin is further elevated with a heated steering wheel, ambient lighting and alloy sports pedals but extensive use of hard, cheap looking plastics below eye level and in the rear pews takes off some of the lustre.

The Kia’s exterior styling is more conventional, but also more sporty than the Hyundai, with a low swooping roofline and narrow rear windows.

The hi-tech cabin is fitted with a digital instrument display and a 12.3-inch central screen compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. All rows have aircon vents and there are plenty of USB charging points, as well as a wireless charging pad.

Unlike the Ioniq, the EV6 has a head-up display and a booming 14-speaker Meridian stereo. The Hyundai makes do with an eightspeaker Bose unit.

The EV6 also has the advantage of a slightly larger 77.4kWh battery that delivers more range and slightly more performance than the Hyundai.

Kia claims the EV6 will travel up to 504km on a single charge, while its 168kW and 350Nm rear-mounted electric motor provides plenty of oomph. A generous serving of torque delivered from the get-go helps shift the two-tonne machine with ease, sprinting to 100km/h in a claimed 7.3 seconds. For the revheads, a more expensive dual-motor version completes the trip in a brisk 5.2 seconds. Despite its bulk, the EV6 is engaging to drive, with well weighted steering and impressive grip and balance through corners.

The Kia’s shock absorbers do a great job of taming bigger, high-speed bumps, delivering excellent body control when the road surface isn’t ideal.

HYUNDAI IONIQ 5 RWD

The Ioniq 5 RWD is $77,000 drive-away, about $4000 cheaper than the EV6, which is a fair chunk of change for a car with an almost identical list of standard equipment.

It has a shorter five-year/unlimited km warranty and is more expensive to service – $1684 over five years – but it has a longer battery warranty.

It also turns more heads with its futuristic styling cues that aren’t matched by anything else on the road.

The Hyundai’s big windows and standard panoramic glass roof – not available on our Kia – give the cabin a light and airy feeling compared with the darker Kia. The boot is bigger and more functional, thanks to a rear seat that can slide forward to liberate more load space. Its smaller 72.6kWh battery delivers a claimed driving range of 451km and its single electric motor puts out 8kW less than the EV6.

Both cars are equipped with 800-volt charging capacity that allows them to accept a charge rate of up to 350kWh. That means the battery can be charged from 10 to 80 per cent in about 18 minutes. A regular power point will take more than a day, while a home wallbox charger should get it done overnight.

Both cars are packed with the same safety tech that includes automatic emergency braking, blind-spot assistance and rear crosstraffic alert. A bird’s-eye view camera makes negotiating tight spaces easier and a safe exit warning will warn you if a car is coming as you open the door.

On the road the Ioniq is enjoyable to drive, with perky performance and reassuring balance and grip through corners. It is quieter than the Kia on the open road and its softer suspension makes for a smoother commute. It isn’t as content over pockmarked roads, where it tends to skip across corrugations and take time to settle over bigger bumps taken at speed.

VERDICT

There is very little separating this pair of excellent EVs, but the Kia’s longer range, longer warranty and marginally better driving feel give it the slightest of edges over the better packaged Hyundai