How you described the EV6 is pretty much how I would describe all my Hyundai/Kia experiences. I think you're dead on with pretty much everything here.

The M50 will be significantly faster than the AWD Polestar, though. I think a HUD is great, and you're not the only one who feels that they're deal breakers, but when I switch back and forth between cars, the HUD feels like a plus but not a necessity. You can always do a vinyl roof wrap or a tint on the roof and windows. Eventually somebody should make a sunshade. I have one in my Tesla but not the ipace.

My biggest gripe with Polestar and Volvo is that China is the new Nazi Germany, competing with Russia for the title. It would be like buying a BMW or Mercedes during WWII. There is so much that is made in China that I can't avoid buying, but some things I can and I will.

 

Reporting on a couple of test drives this week.

EV6
Thursday evening I headed out to Smithtown, Long Island to try the EV6. Short story - as others have said, it's a strong KIA, but no BMW. First, the buying experience would be enough to keep me from buying one. The dealership looked like something out of a thrift store in a Mad Max movie. Broken desks, dirty and cramped store, "pit boss" standing up on his platform "overseeing" the sales people. Sales folks who were clearly emotionally drained and just beaten down. I can't even (and don't want to) imagine what the service experience would be.

The car itself - fit and finish is respectable but they forgot attention to detail and quality control in the features. The EV6 "has" every feature, but the features are not quite ready for prime time. Apple Car play, but not via bluetooth. Heads up display, but blurry and distorted. And my favorite - the "volume" knob changed the radio station, and the "tune" knob changed the volume. Come on people. It's software for god's sake. A little over-styled, but then the BMW is a little sparse. Nice ride, good pickup, tight steering, roomy. But again, maybe rushed to market. Too expensive for the target audience. Quality and dealership/buying experience not strong enough to warrant the $56K price.

Polestar 2
Visited the Polestar dealer in Princeton, NJ - currently colocated within the Volvo dealership while the Polestar building is being finished. Great sales staff, knowledgable and engaged crew, well thought out mechanically, and quite similar to the Volvo. Not sure what the purpose is of spinning up a new brand name - it's clearly a Volvo.

The drive was outstanding. Smooth, tight steering (adjustable with software setting). Tested the two-motor AWD, which was rocket-ship-like. One pedal driving was outstanding (again, adjustable with software) and instantaneously intuitive. Solid safety features, as you'd expect from anything with the Volvo name. Did I mention the power? Holy carp. Note, that it's hard to get the car with all-season tires. Summer tires are inappropriate for the northeast USA most of the year, so you'll have to pay extra for new tires as soon as you buy the car. And once the batteries get a little more power in 'em, the available towing package will be a "nice to have." Go figure.

Comfortable interior, if a little poorly laid out (one cup holder for the front seat) and cheap looking in spots. One leather color (blah beige), and the nicer of the interior trims are only available without the upgraded feature packages. The air vents are that plastic chrome stuff that clearly does not belong in this car. If you get the upgraded feature package you end up with fakey wood trim.

The driver's display is a little small and not contiguous with the fancy central display that's reminiscent of a Tesla. I'm guessing that the driver's display and the central console were developed by different teams with very different senses of user interface/user experience.

Again, wondering if it was rushed to market a bit. No Apple Car Play - but it's promised as an over-the-air update sometime soon. The glass roof was impressive, but a friend who lives in Arizona and works for Volvo tells me that it becomes a bit of a problem since you can't shade it. Without an interior shade the intense sun heats the car to the point where it can't be effectively cooled down. And, for the love of all things holy, what is up with no heads up display? I'm sorry - but my BMWs have had heads up display since at least 2013. Can't see myself buying a car without that feature now that I've had it this long.

Exterior is sharp. A bit boxier than the 4-series GC body, again typical of Volvo. But my husband likes the exterior look more than the BMW. Also it has a much nicer grille than the new bucktooth rabbit look on the 4 GC. Colors are limited, but all quite nice.

Price is also a bit better than the new BMW i4. Similar features and (I assume) drive quality, for about 10K less than an i4 M50. And the car is available. They have tons of them in stock with more on the way imminently. They don't negotiate (a la Tesla) but that's the way of the world now.

Final verdict: Had the car included heads up display, Apple Car Play, the ability to configure the nicer interior trim with the pilot and plus packages, and the ability to shade the glass roof, I'd have one parked outside right now. But at this price point I'm more willing to wait than to compromise.

Yeah, I guess we came to different conclusions. I totally agree that the Kia dealer you went to is horrific. That dealer is diagonally opposite my BMW dealer where I have my i4 reservation. But I've visited 3 Kia dealers thus far and the one is Smithtown is far and away the worst. One, closer to me, is actually pretty nice, not BMW nice, but still not at all bad.

The important thing is, like you, I found the ride, handling, pickup & interior space very good. I wish the i4 had the interior space of the EV6.

I'd never buy a Polestar because I refuse to buy something from the CCP where they create concentration camps for those 'lacking purity'. I also don't like the iPad design that looks like it was dropped in the center console. It's the same reason I was turned off to the Mach E. Poor design. Even Tesla manages to present a better integrated look with their iPads.

Regarding the heads up display, I didn't find it blurry at all. Very sharp actually. Were you wearing sunglasses or do you use reading glasses? Other than that I'm not sure why it wouldn't appear sharp, but that's definitely not in the design.

I agree with you about the convoluted radio controls, but that's something I'd find easy to adjust. It's kind of like the Germans putting the volume control on the right side of the steering wheel and most others putting it on the left side. Going from my e-tron to my wife's Sonata I invariably hit the wrong steering wheel control for volume.

As for looks, that's just too subjective to delve into. Some will love one and others the other.

 

Hi,
some info about Volvo and Polestar production plants :

Volvo News and Reviews | InsideEVs

Get the latest on new Volvo models including spy shots, first drives, in-depth reviews, concept car photos, new features and more.

insideevs.com

Volvo Preps Torslanda Plant for EV Production

Volvo will be using aluminum mega-casting at its revamped plant for EVs in Sweden, a technique popularized by Tesla. Here's how this process works.

www.autoweek.com

Geely-Owned Volvo to Spend $1.1bn on EV Plant Conversion

Volvo Cars said it would invest nearly 1 billion euros in its historic plant in Sweden to switch its production to electric vehicles.

www.asiafinancial.com

Volvo Ups Stake in EV firm Polestar as China’s Geely Eyes US Market

Volvo Ups Stake in EV firm Polestar as China’s Geely Eyes US Market

www.asiafinancial.com

 

The car itself - fit and finish is respectable but they forgot attention to detail and quality control in the features. The EV6 "has" every feature, but the features are not quite ready for prime time. Apple Car play, but not via bluetooth. Heads up display, but blurry and distorted. And my favorite - the "volume" knob changed the radio station, and the "tune" knob changed the volume. Come on people. It's software for god's sake. A little over-styled, but then the BMW is a little sparse. Nice ride, good pickup, tight steering, roomy. But again, maybe rushed to market. Too expensive for the target audience. Quality and dealership/buying experience not strong enough to warrant the $56K price.

So we just came back from a Kia dealer, largely because I wanted to just sit in it and play with the controls and interfeace. There must have been some setting that changed the volume & tuning on the car you played with (and was probably the same one I played with at Smithtown), because in the car we sat in at a different Kia dealer, the volume was on the left and the tuning was where it should have been, on the right. So it was perfectly normal. I didn't check the heads up display since we were stationary, but in our 2 other test drives, it was perfectly sharp.

Now regarding the wireless Apple car play, it's a two-edged sword. BTW, you can get an inexpensive USB module that converts most cars to wireless CarPlay or AA. I have that module since I needed it for my I-Pace that didn't have wireless as well as my wife's Sonata. It works fine, but with the same issue I'm about to describe that exists in my e-Tron that does have built-in wireless CarPlay.

So we took my e-Tron. which as I mentioned has wireless CarPlay, to the Kia dealer. However every time you turn on the car, the e-Tron's radio begins to play, but within about 5 seconds it shuts off as Apple CarPlay takes over. That requires you to press the radio button to bring the radio back on line. I've heard of other cars with wireless CarPlay or AA doing this same thing. As I mentioned, the USB module that gives this wireless capability to any car that comes with wired CarPlay or AA, also suffers from exactly the same issue. So it's give & take with wireless.

So bottom line, I'm not seeing any software issues. You could say the car not having wireless CarPlay is a missing feature though. Not a deal-breaker for me. So the features that were there did work correctly. That's more than could be said for many software features in the $169,000 Lucid Dream edition.

This was the car we sat in:

 

For the glass roofs, a good ceramic tint makes a tremendous difference. Mine blocks 95% of the heat. Not quite the same as a roof, but it’s nice.

 

I agree with the OP on almost everything, but the wood trim in Polestars is supposedly all recycled real wood.

I understand the sentiment about not wanting a car made in China, but I think if you look around your life, that may be a battle that was lost decades ago.

The Kia dealership where I did my test drive out of was quite strange, too.
It was in the daylight basement of a building, hidden behind some other dealerships in the same ownership group. (Mazda and Chevrolet up front, Kia hidden above and behind the Chevy side of the property and somehow still below whatever was above it the parking garage vehicle storage for the service departments.) The showroom was barely big enough for the single car in it and the salespeople were at a couple of plain tables lined up in a row along the only window.

Google drove one of their camera cars through it all. Here, look for yourself how strange this place is.

Oh god. Someone brought a 360 camera into the building.

 

 

I had NEVER considered the EV6 seriously until Ken7 wrote here and in the Multiple Dealer strand. Ken7 - you know your stuff so I listen! I did my research, but bottom line is I can’t pay $59k for a Kia. Even with their really impressive styling upgrades in the last 2 years. I just don’t trust that they’ll have the reliability I want in three years. BMW will deliver on the quality promise. Now, I will test drive it just in case, but for now the price difference (small difference) is not justified.

 

Keep in mind that Kia’s overall warranty is superior to BMW’s. Oops.

Also keep in mind that reliability rankings puts Kia near the top of the entire automotive industry and well ahead of BMW. So there’s also that. I know some here are living in the past regarding what Hyundai & Kia used to be, but that really is a mistake. The times they are a changing.

And finally, coincidentally, speaking of superiority, I just got notice of Bjorn’s latest video released today. Another ‘Oops’. Again, don’t underestimate the Koreans gentlemen, I sure don’t.

 

I had an initial crush on the EV6 GTline before I took a test drive in december. I liked the design - both exterior and interior, the large 21 wheels, Black color with white inside looked gorgeous.

The first minute and first meters after having turned the key on, the car and steering felt solid.

But then… the screen output felt outdated, pale colors and low-res, there was no joy and feel whatsoever in driving the car. The speedo climbed fast but I had no feel from the ride. It felt like a great family car but not a great driving machine.

At that moment I decided it was worth to push the button on the i4 and worth the wait.

After that, I have seen several EV6 on the road and parked. I must say that the initial wows I had on the design is now replaced by the relief I don’t own it myself. Actually I think the EV6 rear design looks like a large sad face. It reminds me of the face I would have had if looking at an i4 owning the EV6.

 

Steffo, I looked but couldn't find anything about the resolution of the touchscreen. I never thought it was low-res, but I can see your point about colors not being vivid. I was able to see the iX and certainly those colors of the new screen are more vivid. The bottom line was that the screen looked fine and fairly typical of EV screens I've been used to in the I-Pace & e-Tron.

Regarding the aesthetics, it's so subjective it's almost not worth discussing, everyone feels differently. I like the edgy look of the EV6 both inside & out, but I also like the more classic design of the i4 even though I wish its design was a bit more 'up-to-date' and a bit more edgy. That's my only exterior criticism of the i4, it's almost too familiar. I can see the i4 getting lost in the crowd whereas the EV6 would not. Bottom line is I'm happy with the looks of both.

Unlike you I didn't get that feeling of a numb ride from the EV6. I agreed with Bjorn Nyland, it felt like a driver's car, fun to drive. I can only guess about the i4 at this point as I was only able to drive the 4 series GC. But to be honest, some reviewers have said the i4 steering feels 'numb' and some say 'detached'. I can't agree or disagree having never driven the car, but it's become such a common criticism of almost every EV, that I almost yawn when I hear or read it.

 

"coincidentally, speaking of superiority, I just got notice of Bjorn’s latest video released today. Another ‘Oops’."

clickbait ? This is actually the worst video that I have seen from him. The whole video is built around the Kia charging a little bit faster if you are charging on a 50KW 400 Volt charger. Both cars are built on 800 Volt technology, and the KIA is a little bit faster charging on 50KW/400V. In the NAF winter test the KIA charging did not perform as expected. Another thing two of the main developers of KIA came from Audi and BMW M. (now retired). So if you cannot wait for an i4 and can pay for a Taycan with all necessary requirement - that might be a better solution. Or maybe an AUDI RS GT - if it is available in the US ?. In Norway it is USD 100000 more expensive than the i4.

BMW Quality: They had issues some years ago, even the earlier I3 had a recall regarding motormounts. My 2019 i3 with 85000 km have been without any issues, but probably need to change braking pads and tires soon. The i4 is a heavier and more complex car, so maybe some issues on this one - but the good thing is that it does not contain any new technology. It has already been introduced in iX3 or IX. There was a recall on the iX3, and a 2 or 3 week sales stop while they fixed an issue.

I do not believe that i am a BMW fanboy, When I bought the i3, I had not had a BMW for 20 years. (but I really like to DRIVE BMW's)

BMW i3 - is number 4 on the total EV sales/registrations in Norway (1. Nissan, 2 VW eGolf, 3 Tesla Model 3)
BMW iX - is number 4 in 2022 - and (semi-official) rumors - the i4 has sold a lot more than the IX - but not delivered yet)

While driving around the last couple of days, I have seen 50 - 100 BMW i3's, maybe 10 iX3, three IX'es, and one i4M50 (demo car?)

 

"coincidentally, speaking of superiority, I just got notice of Bjorn’s latest video released today. Another ‘Oops’."

clickbait ? This is actually the worst video that I have seen from him. The whole video is built around the Kia charging a little bit faster if you are charging on a 50KW 400 Volt charger. Both cars are built on 800 Volt technology, and the KIA is a little bit faster charging on 50KW/400V. In the NAF winter test the KIA charging did not perform as expected. Another thing two of the main developers of KIA came from Audi and BMW M. (now retired). So if you cannot wait for an i4 and can pay for a Taycan with all necessary requirement - that might be a better solution. Or maybe an AUDI RS GT - if it is available in the US ?. In Norway it is USD 100000 more expensive than the i4.

BMW Quality: They had issues some years ago, even the earlier I3 had a recall regarding motormounts. My 2019 i3 with 85000 km have been without any issues, but probably need to change braking pads and tires soon. The i4 is a heavier and more complex car, so maybe some issues on this one - but the good thing is that it does not contain any new technology. It has already been introduced in iX3 or IX. There was a recall on the iX3, and a 2 or 3 week sales stop while they fixed an issue.

I do not believe that i am a BMW fanboy, When I bought the i3, I had not had a BMW for 20 years. (but I really like to DRIVE BMW's)

BMW i3 - is number 4 on the total EV sales/registrations in Norway (1. Nissan, 2 VW eGolf, 3 Tesla Model 3)
BMW iX - is number 4 in 2022 - and (semi-official) rumors - the i4 has sold a lot more than the IX - but not delivered yet)

While driving around the last couple of days, I have seen 50 - 100 BMW i3's, maybe 10 iX3, three IX'es, and one i4M50 (demo car?)

View attachment 6538

The reference I made to quality was to current/recent BMWs. Both JD Power & CR show BMW’s reliability lower than Kia or Hyundai. I’m not throwing rocks at BMW, but it was more in response to an earlier post questioning Kia’s quality. It’s true that years ago they were garbage, but a company that has turned itself around should be acknowledged. Honda, Toyota and others went through the same metamorphosis. Many German cars today don’t have the best reputation for reliability. So that too should be acknowledged. OTOH, warranties protect the customer and as long as I’m not in the repair shop with a degree of frequency, I’m OK. I’m just trying to be objective here.

Regarding the charging, it was simply a point Bjorn made regarding the very important aspect of EV quality, charging speed. When you’re on a trip, charging speed becomes every bit as important as range. That’s been proven in a number of EV long range challenge tests, where EVs with lesser range were stacked up with those of longer range and beat those with longer range because of faster charging speeds.

If you feel it was clickbait, you should watch Bjorn’s actual reviews on the EV6. If you’ve watched his reviews, you know he can be very critical about numerous aspects of an EV. In his EV6 review, it’s one of the rare times where he repeatedly mentions how much he enjoys driving the car and feels it’s a real driver’s car. Does he find faults? Sure, Bjorn always does and that’s what makes his reviews one of the most respected in the industry, he’s as objective as any (despite being a bit of a Tesla fanboy). He knows EVs. In the end he says he could see buying the EV6 himself. No small praise from a guy who doesn’t say that very often.

Regarding Taycan & Audi RS alternatives, they are both gorgeous cars, IMO prettier than the i4 or the EV6. However I refuse to pay $115,000 & up for either car. If you know Porsche, they charger extra for everything you can possibly think of. Oh, you want wheels too? It’s absurd. The $100,000 price on the Audi is the base cost. It goes up from there.

I’m of the school that no car is worth these prices, whether you can afford it or not…especially when EV tech is advancing so fast, what ever you buy today will be dated in 2 years.

 

@Ken7 - just one quick fact check - the April 2022 CR brand report rates BMW 3rd and Kia 17th (Hyundai 14th). Each receive the same score in Predicted Reliability. BMW rates higher in road test scores and Owner Satisfaction. I’ll go back to reading and eating my popcorn.

 

I, for one, appreciate your thoughtfulness and the attention to detail in your writing.

 

For those interested:

 

He loves the i4 too:

 

@Ken7 you have me solidly interested in the EV6. The wife is looking to replace her 11yr A4 within a year or two. For her the number one thing is the seats. She needs her knees below her hips and currently elevates the driver seat as high as it can go. At 5'6" she barely fits with her hair brushing the liner. She has been looking at the Q5 or the CX-5 based on reviews of seat comfort.

I am wonder if the EV6 might fit the bill. I am trying to test drive a GT-Line on Friday. For lots of reasons my wife can't test drive one until our local dealer gets one. If I find it fun to drive and she finds the seats comfortable enough, we may buy an EV6 for her and I would wait a couple years on replacing my S5.

So @Ken7 you sound like a perfect person to ask about the seat fit between Audi sedans, SUV's, and the EV6. Care to comment?

 

Thanks. I'm actually 5'7" and my wife is 5'4", so we're both vertically challenged but we both found the EV6 seats very comfortable. In fact, for my tastes, more comfortable than the 4 series GC I and my wife sat in a couple of times. We actually sat in the 4 series a couple of times precisely because we were concerned about the firmness in the tush. We both found the EV6 seats softer and at the same time supportive. The BMW seats were supportive too, but if I was designing them I'd have made them somewhat softer. I don't know how that would translate to a longer drive, but in my brief test drive of the 4 series GC, they were fine if not a bit firm.

In terms of how the seats compare to my current Audi e-Tron, again I find the EV6 seats softer and more 'comfy'. I like the e-Tron seats, but again they're 'German firm', but not quite as firm as the 4 series GC we sat in. Some love that, some don't, so you really have to try it. We were with friends last night and my buddy's wife said she much prefers fabric seats as opposed to leather because of comfort issues. She prefers the look of leather, but the feel of fabric that doesn't get hot in the summer or cold in the winter. In all honesty, my Tesla MS had the textile seats (some type of fabric material) and they were among the most comfortable seats I've ever had. But again, for leather, the EV6 is very nice.

Let me know how your test drive goes and if you and your wife like it. Good luck!

 

Any thoughts about the mach-e? If the suv/crossover segment is on the table, then the mach-e has been very well reviewed.
Its closer to the i4 in driveability than the polestar and the ev6. The magnaride in the gt prem is closer to the i4 dynamic air suspension.

The interior is plasticy and very 'Ford' but the ev6 is not that premier either.

I was looking for a second car that doesnt have to be a family car and is not a tesla i initially started with a mach-e (the 5k nj state rebate drew my attention but i priced myself out of it). Then reports of poor resale and reliability of Ford made me put in a deposit for the i4. I have owned ice bmw's for years. The ionic and ev6 werent available then.
Depending on the day of the week and what posts I read, one car is the runner-up in my i4 decision and another car the next day

 

I've only sat in a Mach-e once and was turned off to it by the 'dropped in' iPad-like display. I definitely feel the EV6 presents a much more upscale, well-integrated look. I know the reviews are excellent for the EV6, but I haven't really read many Mach-e reviews because of little interest.

I've also never test driven one, but I know, at least in terms of efficiency, it's not considered among the better EVs.

As with most things, you should test drive both and see which suits your needs better.

 

I won't lie: The presentation of the main screens in the EV6 is quite nice compared to all of the slapped on 'screen-on-a-stalk' BEV cars out there.

 

The advertised charging rates on all these cars are overstated. 300kw? 150kw? Sure, for the first 5 minutes. Then the rate quickly drops off. Meh. My car is full every morning.

 

That’s not the point at all. If you understand EV charging, the desired behavior is to maintain high charging speeds as long as you can. That’s very important when road tripping. There is a huge variation among EVs in that regard. Teslas are not among the best and my MS was certainly indicative of that. My e-Tron OTOH, as poor as its range is, maintains a high charging rate far longer than most EVs. That’s why it can beat longer range EVs in long distance challenges. Apparently the new EV6 & Ioniq 5 are among the current best now (yeah, those poorly engineered Korean products). 🤣

 

Bjorns gets a ride in the 580+hp EV6 GT

 

Looking at video, and comment from Bjørn, the EV6 is much better than Tesla Model 3 on speeds above 200 km/h, but I do not think it is at BMW/Porsche/Mercedes/Audi/Volkswagen level at high speeds ?

Some of the core developers at Kia comes from BMW and Audi, And the Korean Samsung owns the American company Harman (Harman Kardon) that also aquired Becker that has been for many years, and is building most of Audio/Navigation systems in BMW (iDrive) and Mercedes.

The thing that makes a German car, german is the tuning (and software) of the different components that is built around the world. And then you have the marketing and branding.

Has anyone looked at the consumptions of the EV6 at high speeds - you end up with more time charging than driving. It will be interesting to see how the iXM60 consumes at 250km/h. Speeds like that on a EV is only for fun - does not makes sense at all.

 

I don't think very many buyers, certainly here in the U.S., could care much about consumption at speeds above 200km/hr!

However at speeds that most of us drive at and won't spend time in jail or losing our license for doing, the EV6 is very competitive with the i4 & most other EVs.

 

Sorry for being unclear, but I was trying to say that the consumption on EV's (actually all cars) is very high when driving very fast. The EV6 consumption is one example of why driving fast with an EV over longer distances does not make sense - because of charging times, and the hassle with stopping every hour. But it is great fun to do it once in a while, and I have grown up with my naive looking at the speedometers of my neighbours cars to find out who has the best cars.

(I have a real problem with the i4 40 max speed of 190 kmh, even the iX has a higher top speed, and so do my 40 years old Mercedes S-class. The i4M50's 225 kmh is better, but cannot match my 30 years old Mercedes SL, so I like the top speed of the EV6 GT (and also the iXM60 - 250KMH. It is a big improvement compared with my i3 with a top speed of 150kmh - that car also required recharging every hour at that speed).

 

Well, 118mph can still wind you up in jail, result in a loss of license or if you're lucky, just a ticket. So at least in the U.S., 118 is more than enough.

 

In Norway you can loose your drivers license forever in an i4 40 at full speed. 200 km/h in Denmark, and your car can be confiscated - as happened with someone that bought a Lamborghini Huracan and was stopped in Denmark at 230 km/h on the first, and last day of ownership, after having bought the car in Germany and was travelling back to Norway.