I have been dismissive of the Hyundai Ioniq 5’s styling, so I should talk about its more aesthetically successful sibling, the Kia EV6. They share a platform and have similar exterior dimensions but look radically different. Whereas the Ioniq 5 suffers from overamped industrial-strength angularity, the EV6 sports the soft roundedness of cars from the 1960s.
Some of the EV6’s stylistic details strike me as too quirky to declare it an instant classic, but this Kia is an admirable attempt to explore the new design opportunities made possible by the transition to electric power.
EV6 has a sportier stance than the Ioniq 5
The lack of an internal-combustion engine up front allows the EV6 to adopt an unusually sloping fascia like a mid-engined sports car — albeit with a strikingly small overhang and cab-forward windshield. The relatively boxy greenhouse and long wheelbase allow a roomy interior more akin to a crossover, but the car’s wedge-shaped beltline and rounded flanks look exceptionally muscular.
The Kia’s new-fangled proportions can stand out in a crowd, but the coke-bottle fenders and center crease remind me of a first-generation Chevrolet Camaro.
Among the design touches that make an EV6 immediately recognizable are “feathered” lights that wrap around the car’s swept-back front fenders. This is a clever use of lighting to give the car a unique personality.
Somewhat like the Ioniq 5, the EV6 has grating in the lower portion of its fascia as well as around the wheel cutouts. Notice how the side-marker lights are integrated into the trim pieces.
The EV6 is the same width as the Ioniq 5 — 74.4 inches — but two inches lower. This, along with more rounded side sheetmetal, gives the Kia a sportier presence. Styling details include flush-mounted, body-colored door handles.
One of the most complex parts of the EV6’s styling is the roofline above the C-pillar. A spoiler was presumably included to improve aerodynamics. However, miniature “wings” behind the rear-quarter windows look a little odd.
Those taillights, grinning from ear to ear
The most iconic part of the EV6’s styling is arguably its taillights, which arch from the rear wheel cutouts across the top of the deck. It’s surprisingly clean for such a dramatic break with typical taillight design.
You can see more easily in the photo below how the diagonal angle of the taillights is carried over from an upward zig of rocker-panel trim. It’s quirky but, at least to my eyes, holds together reasonably well (at least with models that include black-out trim).
The EV6’s more rounded rear may be the biggest reason why the car is two inches longer than the Ioniq 5 but has a four-inch-shorter wheelbase.
Even so, the Kia still has a relatively long wheelbase for its length (114.2 and 184.8 inches, respectively) compared to traditional mid-sized sedans such as the Toyota Camry (111.2 and 192.7 inches).
All in all, the EV6 provides a fascinating mix of new and old design touches that I suspect will wear much better than the Ioniq 5’s brutalistic look.
NOTES:
Specifications are from Irwin (2024a and 2024b) and Ramsey (2024).
RE:SOURCES
- Irwin, Austin; 2024a. “2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5.” Accessed July 4.
- ——; “2024 Kia EV6.” Car and Driver. Accessed July 4.
- Ramsey, Jonathan; 2024. “2024 Toyota Camry.” Car and Driver. Accessed July 4.
The car’s styling is indeed striking. Kia certainly has had a number of good looking designs of late!
The door handles themselves are wonderful on an aerodynamic basis. But l wonder how wonderful they are to operate on a stormy winter morning in Buffalo? Maybe they’re electrically heated – but that would negate their wonderful eco-friendly styling. Will digging bugs out of that grill be as hard as it potentially looks to be?
A l961 Studebaker Cruiser had a wheelbase of 113 inches and a length of 179 inches.