EV3 snares NZ Car of the Year
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Kia’s first winner of long-running national award cited for range, design excellence.
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Updated Stonic starts with less
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A big refresh for the well-established base crossover kicks in with a discount for the base edition.
Read MoreKia EV4 slips in with low Cd, best range
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Cheapest version of new fastback cites as Kia’s most efficient car here.
Read MoreANCAP high fives Tasman - but only in one format
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Kia’s ute has won a strong result from the national safety auditor, but it only stands for the four-wheel-drive dual cab. Other variants are unrated.
Read MoreSportage goes big on hybrid
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New drivetrain first used by sister brand now in Kia’s SUV, for price advantage.
Read MoreTasman set to start with double cabs
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Five versions, all with common diesel automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive likely here from July.
Read MoreExciting EV van push Kia NZ’s next big move
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PV5 Cargo edition will kick off involvement with impressive skateboard-style underpinning, with more in the wings.
Read MoreKia NZ settles EV2 conjecture
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Now the EV3 has settled into play, can we count on also seeing its little brother here?
Read MoreKia EV4 confirmed for June-August NZ arrival
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Impressions of interest are being taken for the brand’s first electric sedan.
Read MoreChina or South Korea for first EV5?
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The showroom-bound models are still months away, but a trial example of Kia’s next electric has landed for testing.
Read MoreEV6 GT here – and first lot is gone
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Kia’s electric hotshot seems to be outpacing order book
Read MoreNiro Plus to join Kia choices
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Enlarged version of original generation, in hybrid and full electric, to arrive next month.
Read MoreEnd of the road for Stinger, diesel Sorento
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Plan S is a push toward sustainability – but it also means sacrifice in the local Kia line-up.
Read MoreSportage demand high, prices bump
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The pre-sale promo has been a hit, but prices announced just weeks ago have been increased, mostly by $2000.
Read MoreSportage pricing fully revealed
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The entry edition is well under Hyundai’s equivalent and the most expensive sits just $10,000 above the cheapest Tucson.
Read MoreSportage special price campaign starts
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Push to raise awareness of new model puts entry edition well under Hyundai equivalent.
Read MoreAssault with battery – EV6 betters Ioniq 5
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Kia says a latest trial shows a rear-drive version of its EV6 is capable of 500km-plus range … whereas Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 tops at 481km.
Read MoreKia enhances rebate-eligible line
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SEVEN Kia models are laying claim to ability to extract Government Clean Car subsidy assistance at purchase.
Read MoreKia Sportage pulled from NZ
/POPULARITY has apparently proven the undoing of the top-selling Kia in New Zealand last year, the Sportage.
That’s the gist of explanation from Kia New Zealand in respect to why it has determined to stop selling the current generation of medium SUV, which achieved 36 percent of Kia NZ volume last year, with immediate effect.
Read MoreEV6 a potential 2021 release in NZ
/Less certainty from Kia here than expressed by Hyundai for the twinned Ioniq.
POTENTIAL for Kiwi electric vehicle enthusiasts to cross-check two strongly-related South Korean products here before year-end seems strong, though cannot yet be considered an absolute certainty.
In the wake of Kia in Seoul having released images, Kia’s national distributor has indicated optimism of the new EV6 hitting our roads in the second half of 2021, a timing that matches that for its Hyundai sister ship.
Aside from adopting a sportier look, offering perhaps less practicality, Kia’s car is in the same five-door, broadly crossover representation as the Hyundai Ioniq that is already confirmed for sale here.
The subordinate make’s first dedicated electric also has the Ioniq’s Hyundai-developed Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), so is expected to offer in the same drive formats – single motor rear-drive and dual-motor all wheel drive – and potentially have similar, if not identical performance and range.
However, that side of the story has yet to be spelled out by Kia. The announcement from Seoul has simply been an entree to a full unveiling that is still weeks away. The preliminary exercise is simply to tell the styling story.
Neither local distributor is talking price, or exact specification, but Hyundai NZ is already accepting pre-orders for their model. Kia NZ’s comment does not broach that subject.
Expectation of the EV6 being considered by Kia NZ was always solid; it is already on the electric route with the battery-fed Niro, has recently added PHEV and mild hybrid versions of the Sorento and it knows the Ioniq is a firm starter.
EV6’s local placement might be considered a little less cemented, in that comment from Kia here says the car is ‘expected’ to go on sale in worldwide markets, New Zealand included, this year.
Kia says EV6’s shape is very much influenced by a new design philosophy, ‘Opposites United’, that it says embodies their shifting focus towards electrification and takes inspiration from the contrasts found in nature and humanity.
“EV6, as the first dedicated Kia EV, is a showcase of human-centred, progressive design and electrified power,” says Karim Habib, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Design Centre.
“We aimed to create a distinctive, impactful design by using a combination of sophisticated, high-tech features on pure and rich volumes, while providing a unique space as a futuristic EV.”
A strong element is the ‘Digital Tiger Face’, a design progression evoking the spirit of Kia’s ‘Tiger Nose Grille’ for the electrified era.
Kia’s car appears to have a lower roofline and more compromised side glass aspects, particularly in respect to the rear doors, than Hyundai has dared with Ioniq.
The subordinate’s approach is more daring and more eye-catching, but could well compromise the interior spaciousness that is being hailed as a strength of the Ioniq. Interestingly, Kia has described the EV6’s interior design as profiling “an innovative use of space, creating a unique spatial and driving experience.”
Kia NZ’s managing director Todd McDonald has noted that the car is “quite unlike anything produced by Kia in the past” and echoed head office in calling it “a hint of the brand’s future direction.”
In Hyundai form, the single motor version uses a 126kW rear-mounted motor. The all-paw’s combined power output is 227kW and 605Nm of torque. In latter form, the Ioniq 5 will accelerate from 0-100kmh in just 5.5 seconds.
Range depends on the battery. With the parent brand, there’s a choice of two - a 58kWh unit or a 72.6kWh unit. Hyundai hasn't indicated the range for the smaller, but the bigger one, with a single electric motor, lends 480km on the WLTP test.
It seems likely EV6 will also mirror the parent’s car with 800-volt charging capability. The Ioniq 5 can gain 100km range in just five minutes of charging and go from 10 percent to 80 percent charge in 18 minutes with 350-kW DC fast-charging.
There has been speculation Kia might be ultimately allowed to release EV6 in a performance tune, with around 447kW, top speed of 260kmh and a 0-100kmh time as low as 3.5 seconds.
