GT-Line RWD.
Southern CA: Santa Barbara with frequent 200-plus mile freeway trips into Los Angeles.
Overall verdict: Best car we have ever owned.
Local driving
In-town, curvy, hilly back roads, plus a substantial amount of driving on the 101 Freeway (which runs through Santa Barbara).
Verdict:
Even better than we had expected
Driving Dynamics:
Albert Biermann (previously head of the BMW M division) joined Hyundai a few years back. The EV6 was his final car before retiring. He has said that they put more time and effort into this car than any of the previous cars he had done for Hyundai/Kia/Genesis.
It really shows.
At 4200 lbs, the EV6 is cannot be as light and lithe on a tight, twisty back road as our older daughter's manual transmission Golf GTI or her husband's Mazda3 Turbo.
Rather, it is a confident and rewarding GT car.
Even though the EV6 weighs 10% more than our 2017 Audi A4 Premium plus, if feels substantially more agile, more precise and more responsive than the Audi.
Way better throttle response of course.
But also: better ride, and considerably better handling and steering than the Audi.
Also quieter.
And the paddle-shifter controlled regen braking is completely addictive.
Build quality, solidity and finish are at at least as good as those on the Audi.
Interior materials are "modern" rather than Audi traditional, but still very well done.
Our only complaint: in the trim we have, more shiny piano black plastic than we would have preferred. We could have chosen an interior trim with much less black plastic, but we accepted the shiny black to get the lovely suede seats.
We also have a VW Golf Alltrack —which is reasonably close to the GTI and the Mazda3 on narrow curvy back roads.
I was surprised to find that, despite the fact that the EV6 is a significantly wider car, I am already going faster on those roads in the EV6 than I was in the Golf.
Even more surprised to find that I actually prefer to drive the EV6 even on these sports-car roads.
(Note: EV6 4200 lb weight requires Extra Load tires. These have very stiff sidewalls. As I had expected, you do feel some road texture. But we don't find it objectionable. Just very connected to the road.)
Performance:
All we will ever need.
Very linear throttle response.
Right-now torque that does not appear to fall off at higher engine speeds as it does in other EV's I have driven.
A quick lane change into a gap in traffic on the 101 took us from 60 mph to 80 mph in the time it took to steer from one lane into the next.
Local driving range:
Temps in the 50-64F range.
Driven in Normal mode with regen mostly on 2.
Enjoying the car as it was meant to be driven with NO attempt at being frugal.
Consistently within a few miles of the EPA combined range estimate of 310 miles.
Highway driving & LA city driving.
Here is summary of our first trip to LA and back:
We went 4 different places — so a pretty substantial trip.
216 mile round trip.
Started on the coastal plain at just above sea level.
Passed over three passes with elevations of 800, 1000 and 1300 feet respectively.
The first two passes were on the 101 freeway.
For the third (over the Santa Monica Mountains between the San Fernando Valley and LA proper) we used a local road (Beverly Glen Canyon) because the 405 freeway was backed up.
Temperature started out in the 50’s, but was into the 60’s for most of the day.
The majority of the highway driving was at 77 mph on the 101 Freeway.
Set adaptive cruise control at that speed, so the car would move up to 77 whenever there wasn’t someone going slower than that in front of us.
Ran in Eco mode after we got up to cruising speed on the 101.
Normal mode for the rest of the driving.
Range
Ended up with 47 miles of range left.
So a total range of 263 miles for this kind of driving — right about what I had expected for this trip at these temps.
85% of the EPA 310 mile estimated combined range.
Regen braking
This is one of the aspects of EV’s that really changes how you drive.
Especially in the Hyundai/Kia/Genesis cars that give you paddle shifters that let you change the level of regen on the fly.
Like shifting gears.
I had thought that these paddle shifters would quickly become essential.
I was right.
As noted above, we came over Beverly Glen Canyon because the 405 was backed up.
Ran from the top of the mountain range down to the flats of Beverly Hills barely having to touch the brake or the accelerator.
Only used the brake to come to a stop at a stop sign or traffic light and accelerator to get back up to speed.
Came down most of the way with the regen at level 2 to provide engine braking.
Dropped down to level 0 when the road was less steep and I wanted to pick up speed.
Up to Level 3 when needed to avoid closing up on the cars in front.
On the 101: never had to touch the brakes all the way down the big hill that drops about 800 ft into the coastal plain before Camarillo — mostly stayed in regen level 2.
When on regen the car feels very controlled.
Driving experience
As I had expected that the combination of a smooth EV with very linear throttle response and very good Level 2 driving assist makes a big difference in stress and fatigue on the freeway stretches.
And, by this time, I already knew how responsive and confident the EV6 feels on a curvy back road.
What I hadn’t expected was how much easier and less stressful it is to drive in city traffic
The power comes on so smoothly and evenly — as does the regen when you want to slow down.
Again, the paddles really help modulate the slowing from regen as you need to.
You find yourself just easily ghosting along.
And, as on the Interstate, the situational awareness provided red blind spot warnings in the heads-up display, the excellent side mirrors — and the blind spot camera views on the driver’s screen — give you a ton of confidence.
Bottom line
We are in love with this car.
We have not driven either of our ICE cars since we got the EV6.
No reason to ever do so — unless we plan a long road trip.
(The Audi has an honest 450 mile range at a 85mph — which is great when you want to make a 900 mile trip on one day.)
So, we will probably keep that car around for a little while.
Until we admit to ourselves that we probably won't be making many more 900 - 1200 mile road trips.
Southern CA: Santa Barbara with frequent 200-plus mile freeway trips into Los Angeles.
Overall verdict: Best car we have ever owned.
Local driving
In-town, curvy, hilly back roads, plus a substantial amount of driving on the 101 Freeway (which runs through Santa Barbara).
Verdict:
Even better than we had expected
Driving Dynamics:
Albert Biermann (previously head of the BMW M division) joined Hyundai a few years back. The EV6 was his final car before retiring. He has said that they put more time and effort into this car than any of the previous cars he had done for Hyundai/Kia/Genesis.
It really shows.
At 4200 lbs, the EV6 is cannot be as light and lithe on a tight, twisty back road as our older daughter's manual transmission Golf GTI or her husband's Mazda3 Turbo.
Rather, it is a confident and rewarding GT car.
Even though the EV6 weighs 10% more than our 2017 Audi A4 Premium plus, if feels substantially more agile, more precise and more responsive than the Audi.
Way better throttle response of course.
But also: better ride, and considerably better handling and steering than the Audi.
Also quieter.
And the paddle-shifter controlled regen braking is completely addictive.
Build quality, solidity and finish are at at least as good as those on the Audi.
Interior materials are "modern" rather than Audi traditional, but still very well done.
Our only complaint: in the trim we have, more shiny piano black plastic than we would have preferred. We could have chosen an interior trim with much less black plastic, but we accepted the shiny black to get the lovely suede seats.
We also have a VW Golf Alltrack —which is reasonably close to the GTI and the Mazda3 on narrow curvy back roads.
I was surprised to find that, despite the fact that the EV6 is a significantly wider car, I am already going faster on those roads in the EV6 than I was in the Golf.
Even more surprised to find that I actually prefer to drive the EV6 even on these sports-car roads.
(Note: EV6 4200 lb weight requires Extra Load tires. These have very stiff sidewalls. As I had expected, you do feel some road texture. But we don't find it objectionable. Just very connected to the road.)
Performance:
All we will ever need.
Very linear throttle response.
Right-now torque that does not appear to fall off at higher engine speeds as it does in other EV's I have driven.
A quick lane change into a gap in traffic on the 101 took us from 60 mph to 80 mph in the time it took to steer from one lane into the next.
Local driving range:
Temps in the 50-64F range.
Driven in Normal mode with regen mostly on 2.
Enjoying the car as it was meant to be driven with NO attempt at being frugal.
Consistently within a few miles of the EPA combined range estimate of 310 miles.
Highway driving & LA city driving.
Here is summary of our first trip to LA and back:
We went 4 different places — so a pretty substantial trip.
216 mile round trip.
Started on the coastal plain at just above sea level.
Passed over three passes with elevations of 800, 1000 and 1300 feet respectively.
The first two passes were on the 101 freeway.
For the third (over the Santa Monica Mountains between the San Fernando Valley and LA proper) we used a local road (Beverly Glen Canyon) because the 405 freeway was backed up.
Temperature started out in the 50’s, but was into the 60’s for most of the day.
The majority of the highway driving was at 77 mph on the 101 Freeway.
Set adaptive cruise control at that speed, so the car would move up to 77 whenever there wasn’t someone going slower than that in front of us.
Ran in Eco mode after we got up to cruising speed on the 101.
Normal mode for the rest of the driving.
Range
Ended up with 47 miles of range left.
So a total range of 263 miles for this kind of driving — right about what I had expected for this trip at these temps.
85% of the EPA 310 mile estimated combined range.
Regen braking
This is one of the aspects of EV’s that really changes how you drive.
Especially in the Hyundai/Kia/Genesis cars that give you paddle shifters that let you change the level of regen on the fly.
Like shifting gears.
I had thought that these paddle shifters would quickly become essential.
I was right.
As noted above, we came over Beverly Glen Canyon because the 405 was backed up.
Ran from the top of the mountain range down to the flats of Beverly Hills barely having to touch the brake or the accelerator.
Only used the brake to come to a stop at a stop sign or traffic light and accelerator to get back up to speed.
Came down most of the way with the regen at level 2 to provide engine braking.
Dropped down to level 0 when the road was less steep and I wanted to pick up speed.
Up to Level 3 when needed to avoid closing up on the cars in front.
On the 101: never had to touch the brakes all the way down the big hill that drops about 800 ft into the coastal plain before Camarillo — mostly stayed in regen level 2.
When on regen the car feels very controlled.
Driving experience
As I had expected that the combination of a smooth EV with very linear throttle response and very good Level 2 driving assist makes a big difference in stress and fatigue on the freeway stretches.
And, by this time, I already knew how responsive and confident the EV6 feels on a curvy back road.
What I hadn’t expected was how much easier and less stressful it is to drive in city traffic
The power comes on so smoothly and evenly — as does the regen when you want to slow down.
Again, the paddles really help modulate the slowing from regen as you need to.
You find yourself just easily ghosting along.
And, as on the Interstate, the situational awareness provided red blind spot warnings in the heads-up display, the excellent side mirrors — and the blind spot camera views on the driver’s screen — give you a ton of confidence.
Bottom line
We are in love with this car.
We have not driven either of our ICE cars since we got the EV6.
No reason to ever do so — unless we plan a long road trip.
(The Audi has an honest 450 mile range at a 85mph — which is great when you want to make a 900 mile trip on one day.)
So, we will probably keep that car around for a little while.
Until we admit to ourselves that we probably won't be making many more 900 - 1200 mile road trips.
I agree with your paddle analogy to shifting, I am finding I am using them like a downshift control. I wish I could adjust while in cruise control. I have a tough time wrapping my head around the climate control options. I get it but I am not used to the concept of having to tell the auto-climate to use heat. If the desired temp is greater than cabin temp then the system should just use the heater, right? Am I missing something?
