LAS VEGAS — In 2015, videos appeared on YouTube of Tesla Model S sedans blowing away Corvettes and Mustang GT500s on drag strips. The videos remade electric vehicles’ image as objects for enthusiasts, not just tree huggers. The Tesla numbers were staggering. The all-wheel-drive Model S P90D was shredding the quarter mile in less than 12 seconds at 116 mph. Also staggering was the sticker price: $140,000 for the top line trim.
It’s 2022 and I just smoked the quarter-mile at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in an EV at 11.6 seconds at 117 mph. A Tesla? Nope, a $62,000 Kia EV6 GT.
Like Tesla before it, Korean automaker Kia is determined to make a brand statement with its first electric vehicle. Unlike the Silicon Valley startup which achieved meteoric success — not through advertising or media tests, but through a rabid fan base on social media — Kia invited a pack of journalists to Vegas to put its top-trim EV6 to a test.
