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The Kia EV6 is blowing away the competition due to its unbelievable horsepower ratings and ultra-fast charging capabilities. Surprisingly, the Kia EV6 is also a superb vehicle when it comes to safety, receiving one of the top honors from the IIHS this past model year.

If you are wondering if an EV6 is right for you, here is everything you need to know about the new EV and the prestigious safety award it received from the IIHS.

Blue 2023 Kia EV6 GT driving on an open road.
2023 Kia EV6 GT | Kia

2023 Kia EV6: specs and features

The base model 2023 Kia EV6 is the Wind model, which starts at $48,700, according to Kia. This base model EV6 comes standard with rear-wheel drive and a 225-horsepower drivetrain.

This EV6 is outfitted with a 77.4 kWh battery with an EPA estimated range of around 310 miles on a single charge. Ultra-fast 800V DC charging capability is also standard on this base model EV6, giving you the power to charge from 10% to 80% in just 18 minutes.

On the higher end, the Kia EV6 GT is the performance model of the EV6, and it offers over 570 horsepower and over 500 lb-ft of torque, making it one of the most affordable EVs on the road today with power over 570 horsepower.

As far as features go for this base model, heated and ventilated front seats are standard, as is an onboard power generator and a vegan leather seat trim. Apple CarPlay and Andriod Auto are displayed through a 12.3 dual panoramic display infotainment system with five different USB ports found throughout the cabin.

Dual-zone climate control is also standard, with analog climate control knobs found below the infotainment screen instead of locked behind the screen’s controls, which is a sigh of relief for many consumers who don’t want simple vehicle functions hidden in an options menu in the infotainment system.

How safe is Kia’s new EV?

According to the IIHS, the Kia EV6 has received all “good” ratings in every single safety category and crashworthiness study. This was good enough to give the Kia EV6 the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award, the highest safety award given out by the IIHS. The EV6 achieved this high honor due to its crashworthiness, but also due to its great list of safety features that allow this EV to be one of the safest on the road today.

Some of these safety features include forward collision warning and forward automatic emergency braking. Kia also included pedestrian detection, front and rear cross-traffic alert, blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, highway driving assist, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, lane tracing assist, driver attention monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, and rear seat alert.

With all of these standard features found on the Kia EV6, it is no question why the IIHS awarded this EV with its Top Safety Pick + award.

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MotorBiscuit Contributing Writer

Steven Teleky

Steven Teleky holds a bachelor’s degree in education and music from Western Kentucky University and served as the educational specialist for the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he published an information newsletter titled Corvette Profiles.

An expert in classic American cars earned through his restoration work, Steven also has a deep passion for analyzing automotive history. His skillset in researching and explaining why certain models were highly successful or why a new car failed to sell was fine-tuned while he served as a museum educator.

Steven is also a semi-professional rally driver. He is a member of Monterey Bay Mopars, Malaise Car Club of Oregon, the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), SCCA Rallycross, California Rally Series, and NorCal Rallycross. He has been contributing to MotorBiscuit since 2022.