2025 Kia EV6 First Look: Bigger Battery, New Tech, Easier Charging

• The 2025 Kia EV6 gets a bunch of meaningful updates.
• Larger battery packs are standard, as is Tesla Supercharger compatibility.
• More tech and new styling round out the 2025 model-year changes.

An updated 0-60 mph time was not given for the 2025 EV6 GT, but acceleration will definitely feel and sound different thanks to the addition of Virtual Gear Shift tech. This is Kia’s name for the simulated gear shifts first found in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N (and making a simultaneous Kia debut in the new EV9 GT). Kia indicated there are accompanying “engine sound effects,” but we’ll have to wait and see what those sound like and if there are multiple choices.

All EV6s but the GT switch over to Tesla’s NACS charge port, and not only that, but the port itself has been relocated to the left rear fender to match Tesla’s location and therefore make it easier to park at Superchargers.

Other, less obvious improvements include a new belt-type steering column that Kia says improves steering response, additional sound insulation, and a reinforced frame to better meet the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s new, more stringent crash tests.

New tech features

The interior gets Kia’s latest tech interface. The size of each screen remains the same at 12.3 inches, but the overall housing is now a rectangle instead of a trapezoid. There’s less leftover black space as a result. In terms of functionality, there are some wins and losses with this system relative to the outgoing one. It’s certainly slicker in appearance, but some things — like the radio interface — are annoyingly more complicated to use.

The EV6's infotainment system does boast new features, though. There’s a Wi-Fi hotspot and the Kia Connect Store lets drivers add entertainment and connectivity apps. Kia’s sponsorship of the NBA has also been leveraged to let owners reskin the infotainment system to match their favorite team’s colors and logos. Finally, our complaints that the EV6's interior didn’t evoke the New Orleans Pelicans have been addressed.

The EV6 joins other Kias, including the less expensive Niro EV, in providing a Digital Key 2.0 feature that lets you access the car via an NFC-enabled smart card. You can also use a compatible smart device. The driver assistance suite is enhanced with an updated Remote Smart Parking Assist 2 system and the addition of the enhanced forward/side/reverse parking collision-avoidance system.

Exterior design changes

The front end has been reshaped, most notably with redesigned LED headlight housings that now resemble claws instead of triangles. The front bumper has also been restyled, but Kia only provided pics of the GT-Line — the Light and Wind used to have a different bumper design as well as black fender flares. The new schnoz has added 0.6 inches to the car’s overall length. New wheel designs wrap up the visual changes outside.

Finally, every 2025 Kia EV6 but the GT will now be built in West Point, Georgia. It’s unclear whether this will grant the EV6 access to the $7,500 federal tax credit in the future, but who’s going to argue with a Made in America sticker? Pricing will be announced closer to the car’s on-sale date in the first half of next year.