2023 Kia EV6

[TIRES SCREECHING] SPEAKER 1: Whoa, so close. SPEAKER 2: I'm Alastair. That's Jonathan. This is a Kia EV6 GT. That's a Tesla Model Y Performance. And this is Edmunds U-DRAGS. Let's get on with it. [HIP HOP MUSIC] SPEAKER 1: Get your batteries charged up for this one. Today, we have the 2023 Kia EV6 GT, sporting 576 electric ponies and 545 pound feet of torque, going up against our very own long-term 2020 Tesla Model Y Performance with 456 horsepower and 497 pounds feet of torque, with a fancy new track mode setting-- Oh. It's an electric boogaloo you. These two (WHISPERING) silent slayers are going head to head on our Edmunds U-DRAG track, which starts with a quarter-mile drag. Then, they hit the brakes, do a 180, and power back to start finish. At the end of the first run, we'll swap drivers and lanes and do it again. And I saw what you did there. You liked and subscribed. [DING] Oh, we're best friends. And for everything else, check out Edmunds.com/u-drags. SPEAKER 2: So things have moved on a little bit since we last u-dragged dragged our Tesla Model Y. And that's because they've introduced track mode, which came as an over-the-air update. So you can go into the Pedals and Menu setting. You can customize it. I've set it up as a special Alistair mode. Handling balance 50/50-- but then, which is what Tesla recommends, but then I put stability assist at minus 10, which is the minimum assistance that Tesla will offer. But it's not all off. In terms of launch control itself, well, there isn't any. So all I have to do is basically plant my right foot and away we go. That bit hasn't changed. We're looking in good shape. Let's get ready to race. SPEAKER 1: I'm in the Kia EV6 [DING] GT. This is the performance version of the EV6. It's pretty impressive. How do we launch this thing? First off, we want to put it in GT mode, which turns everything to the highest sport level. And then, all I got to do is turn off traction and stability, which is over here. It's going to allow the tires a little bit more freedom to spin. I know this typically gets a little bit of wheelspin on launch. But that's the quick way down. Yeah, I'm pretty excited. I think this has a little bit of a power to weight advantage over the Tesla Model Y Performance. But tires aren't quite as grippy, so that's going to be its one disadvantage. But I think it has enough strengths going for it to pull out a win here. So let's see. [ROCK MUSIC] NARRATOR: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. [TIRES SCREECHING] SPEAKER 1: Good launch, good launch. SPEAKER 2: Oh, the Kia's just got more power. SPEAKER 1: All right, EV6. SPEAKER 2: He's gone. SPEAKER 1: Got the lead. Got the lead. SPEAKER 2: You're going to have to break mighty, Tesla. How are we going to roll it in a little bit? Roll it in on the brakes. I'll fire it out. Take a line. Think I caught up a little bit through the corner. SPEAKER 1: Oh, yeah. Got him. SPEAKER 2: Ah, he's got me. Now the power's kicking in. [INTENSE MUSIC] Eh, it's a clear win for Kia. You just got more power, buddy. SPEAKER 1: It's a pretty even match. But like you said, it's-- I've got more power. I think with the track mode update with the Model Y, it looks like it moves better through the corner. I can't stop as late as you do. And I really have to sort of manage the traction at the turn. But-- felt good, like, the power is just there. It's just got a power advantage, basically. SPEAKER 2: I saw you brake, and I felt a little bit confident. I braked a little bit later. And this track mode has made a difference. It just feels so much more consistent. You can kind of trail brake it in, which basically means you ease off the brake pressure as you start to apply some turning lock, and then fired it out. And I think I actually probably gained a little bit through the corner. But then, we were kind of level pegging as soon as we hit the straightaway, and you were just gone. SPEAKER 1: I really like the dynamics of this I'm looking forward to seeing how that track update-- what that has done for the Model Y. SPEAKER 2: Right. Should we swap lanes, swap cars? SPEAKER 1: Let's do it. [INTENSE MUSIC] SPEAKER 2: There's a software update for the Tesla. I hope it's not introducing anything. SPEAKER 1: [CHUCKLES] We're taking away your track mode. All right. My turn-- [DING] --in the Model Y. So we're going to use Track Mode. And this will theoretically give me more freedom-- less traction stability control intervention. And I don't know. Maybe we'll pull out a win against the EV6. SPEAKER 2: OK welcome to the-- [DING] --the Kia. I'm going to follow exactly the same principles as the victorious Jonathan. So we're in GT mode with all the stability control turned off. I'm conscious that in a bit of testing, this doesn't break quite as well as a Tesla. So I'm going to recalibrate my brain to break a little bit earlier. But what I'm hoping is I get a similar launch, and the extra horsepower can haul me ahead before we get the braking zone, get it through the corner, and then use the horsepower on the way back to secure the victory. Let's go. [INTENSE MUSIC] NARRATOR: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. [TIRES SCREECHING] SPEAKER 2: Oh, I didn't get the best of starts. Let's go. Now the horsepower is kicking in, and I'm pulling clear. SPEAKER 1: Oh, but that horsepower, man. SPEAKER 2: Don't got the best of starts, need to nail the braking. SPEAKER 1: Picking up on braking. SPEAKER 2: Come, on Mr. Kia. Come on, Mr. Kia. Trailbreaker in, take her in a little bit deep. SPEAKER 1: Here we go. Here we go. Oh, so close. Oh, man. Ah! SPEAKER 2: It's lively, but I'm ahead. SPEAKER 1: That power-- you just can't compete. Oh, man. That EV6 is so fast. [INTENSE MUSIC] But not bad for the Model Y. SPEAKER 2: Yeah, I think that's a fairly clear victory. SPEAKER 1: That Kia is quick. SPEAKER 2: Yeah, I didn't actually get a good start. You got the jump on me off the line. It moves a lot through the corner, doesn't it? was kind of trying-- I was conscious that you were right there and I needed to get on it. But, yeah. It kind of moves around quite a bit. It was fun. SPEAKER 1: Fun is definitely the word this Tesla-- whether it's the tires or the programming, I'm sure it's a little bit of both-- definitely a little bit more like clean lines, no tail-out action, whereas that thing's kind of all over the place. The launch, yeah. I mean, I got a little bit of a jump, but it really didn't matter. You were well ahead of me by the quarter mile. This Tesla might be-- I think if it had the similar power levels-- might be better aligned. But, yeah that power just-- you can't compete. SPEAKER 2: Yeah, that actually was, by far, definitely not my best run. I was a little light on the brakes. I was a little Yeah loose through the corner. I felt like I could have done a cleaner run. But I just-- there's no substitute for horsepower. SPEAKER 1: That's just showing that this Tesla is-- it just cannot compete against that EV6, even with a few flubs here. That's clearly just the faster car. NARRATOR: And how did these two do in school today? In the 0 to 60, the Kia takes the cake with 3.6 seconds-- 0.3 faster than the Model Y. In the quarter mile, the Kia takes it again with its best time of 11.9 seconds at 120.1 miles an hour-- half a second faster than the Tesla. For max cornering, the Tesla outstrips the Kia, pulling 1.23 Gs. But in the end, the best run goes to Kia, with a time of 34.2 at 130.4 miles an hour-- almost a full second ahead of the Model Y. And it's time for the leaderboard. The EV6 did not beat its previous best time of 33.8, so it stays put. And because of its fancy new track mode, the Model Y beats its previous best time by 0.4 seconds, but still stays in 11th place. SPEAKER 2: So, as the Tesla tries to cool itself behind us, that was a pretty clear win for the Kia. SPEAKER 1: Yeah, I'd say so. I mean, it's got power. In the last race, I had a pretty good launch, ahead just by a little bit, but, man-- you just walked. SPEAKER 2: Honestly, my last run was rubbish. My running the Kia-- I mean, the Tesla-- was pretty good. My last run in the Kia, I was sleeping off the line. And then, I was trying to-- braked a little bit late. The brakes are not as good on the Kia. And I braked at a similar point and actually went past the flag. But then, it's got so much power. I still kind of pretty much ended up back in the same place. So it's quite a thing. I wish it braked a little bit better. But it's pretty lively when you get back on the power as well. You get a little bit of slide going on, little dab of oppo. SPEAKER 1: I mean, if you were to blindfold somebody, put them in the driver's seat, and then have them drive it, and then say what am I driving, they would not guess it was an electric SUV the way that it handles and it gets tail-out out stuff. With that being said, I think the track mode in the Model Y really helps the dynamics as far as this sort of driving. I mean, we all know it was fast in a straight line, but it always felt like way too tethered by the electronics. And now, that track mode really frees it up. SPEAKER 2: I agree, particularly on the braking, the ability to sort of ease off the brake, start a turn in when you're still on the brakes. There's a lot of-- if you really enjoy driving, it's got so much better with this mode. But I can't believe that there's a day when we got into Tesla Model Y Performance and go, it's a bit slow. SPEAKER 1: Yeah, it's crazy. Well, it's a new age. And, yeah-- Kia, clear winner for this race. SPEAKER 2: Good job, Kia. That's it for this U-DRAG. If you want to see more, read all about it, check out the leaderboard, head to Edmunds.com/u-drags That's u-drags with an S. And check out everything else on Edmunds-- all the latest news, reviews, sell your car, everything else you could possibly want from the automotive world. And subscribe to our channel, please, because it helps us to do really boring stuff like this. SPEAKER 1: [CHUCKLES] SPEAKER 2: That's it for now. Thanks for watching. See you next time.