2023 Kia EV6 vs 2024 Polestar 2

What's the difference?

A hundred thousand dollars used to be big money. And for a family SUV, it still is. But don’t make the mistake of confusing the Kia badge with pedestrian motoring. The EV6 GT is proof that Kia can make high performance cars that work, and make the most of modern EV tech in the process.

We’re a bit disappointed in the real-world range of the car, and there’s no doubt the vast majority of drivers neither need nor want a car as focussed as this one. But as an example of how a modern, digital electric car can feel more like an old-school analogue performance car, the GT is Exhibit A. And for those of us for whom it’s about the journey, not the destination, this is indeed good news as EVs continue to take over the world.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

Improved across the board with more features, a longer driving range, and vast upgrades to driving dynamics and comfort, while the 2024 Polestar 2 is no longer the affordable EV it once was when it first launched, it is the car it always should have been.

Perhaps the most poignant element of the GT’s design is that Kia has lavished lots of Australian input into the final product.

Like Kias before it, the EV6 GT benefits from plenty of Nth-degree local suspension tuning which, given the way some imports buck and crash on Aussie roads, is commendable and clever.

It’s also interesting that Kia has remained committed to this approach, especially since the new GT features the brand’s 'Electronically Controlled Suspension' (ECS) the first for an all-electric Kia.

By looking at real-time road speed, cornering forces, braking and acceleration forces and the actual road surface, the ECS can tailor the dampers’ behaviour to maximise dynamics, grip and ride quality. For some carmakers that would be enough, so full marks to Kia for taking the next step with local calibration input.

Perhaps the other design element of note is the fact that Kia sees the GT as not just a high performance family car, but also a vehicle that it is happy to describe as 'track worthy'.

And even with the straight-line speed involved, that’s a big statement for any car weighing north of 2.1 tonnes. Testing at the infamous Nurburgring in German underlines Kia’s determination to give the GT the smarts to handle a track day.

The use of high-performance Michelin tyres backs this up when a conventional EV tyre would improve range but at the expense of grip in corners.

To further underline how serious Kia is about that claim, the GT features a completely different steering set-up to lesser EV6 models.

The GT gets a variable ratio steering rack with a faster ratio than the other EV6s and variable levels of power assistance to improve feel. There’s even additional bracing on the GT to stiffen the body and make full use of that sportiness.

Another big part of any track-day car revolves around the braking system, and to that end Kia has fitted the GT with huge brakes.

The knock-on effect, of course, has been the requirement to fit 21-inch wheels for rotor clearance as well as a new front suspension system that features a double ball-joint design to complete the clearance for the 380mm front discs. Four-piston front calipers are also part of the GT braking package, identifiable by the bright green hardware.

In specific detail terms, other design standouts include the sequential LED indicators, flush-folding door handles, solar glass, intelligent headlight system and 64-colour ambient interior lighting.

If there’s a design disappointment it’s that the GT looks pretty much like any other EV6.

Yes, the 21-inch wheels and tyres are pretty easy to spot, but from the front, only a slightly different grille, lower bumper and matrix headlights give the game away.

That doesn’t make it an unattractive car (by any means) but it doesn’t automatically mean onlookers will know you’ve spent the extra gold for the extra performance.

And over in the Swing-and-a-Miss column is the synthetic soundtrack Kia has chosen for the GT. There are three different, selectable background noises linked to motor speed, but, to us, they simply sound like three different stages of wheel-bearing failure.

The Polestar 2 was already a slick, chiselled design, a work of pure Scandinavian minimalism, which effortlessly communicates its performance credentials through sturdy wheel arches and an athletic stance.

The brand hasn't wasted any dollars on changing things up this time around, with the car looking almost identical to its predecessor, aside from the filled-in-grille, a choice made to bring the 2 more in-line with the look of the incoming 3 large SUV and 4 mid-sizer. It's a little more science fiction and a little less Volvo, and that's all it needs to be.

Aside from this, it continues to exist in the new world of segment-bending electric cars, being part crossover, part sedan, and part hatch. I like it.

The only other change for this iteration is a new wheel design for the performance pack - too bad if you were expecting more.

This extends to the interior which has not changed for better or worse.

It's a great-looking space with its simplistic colour scheme, subtle ambient lighting, choice of interesting textures, and recycled materials, elements which pair nicely with the simple but functional user interface on the digital panels.

Like before, it's an advantage the Polestar even has a digital dash when compared to its Model 3 rival, although it would be nice to see further customisation available to the driver. As it is, the simple functionality is reduced to the bare minimum.

The same can be said for the main multimedia panel. It's a shame there are limited physical controls for the climate system, but it's a clever execution, almost all core functions are just one or two presses away. The same can't be said for most automotive software.

Perhaps the biggest practicality hurdle is the car’s range. At an optimum 424km, it’s okay but not stellar. And if those kilometres are highway ones, you can forget about 424km; it’ll be a fair bit less than that.

Meantime, the long wheelbase of the basic EV6 platform means there’s lots of legroom in the rear, making the car a comfy four-seater (the rear-centre seating position is decidedly last place) with enough knee space for adults in the rear.

The cabin is dotted with USB and charging points and there’s wireless charging in the double-layer centre console. There’s a also a bottle-holder in each door, map pockets in the front seat-backs, a luggage net and retractable cargo cover.

Kia’s insistence that the GT be capable of track-day work means the headrests on the front seats allow for a helmet to be worn, while the lack of power adjustment for the front seats mean they can be mounted closer to the floor.

Even so, the sunroof gobbles up precious headroom, and the cabin is a bit tight in that direction even without a helmet.

The digital dash and head-up display is clear and legible and the menu system contained within the touchscreen has a positive action and is logically laid out. Only the gear selector makes us wonder with its dim indicator lights that are hard to discern in some ambient light conditions.

The silver steering wheel buttons are also a bit hard to fathom when light reflects off them. The starter button is also not where you instinctively look for it.

One of the major drawbacks of no interior design changes this time around means none of our complaints about the first version of the car have been addressed. By design, the Polestar 2 continues to offer a low, sporty driving position, and a relatively compact cabin, but it is one of the least functional and open of its rivals in this EV space, particularly those that take advantage of their fully electric platforms.

For example, the large raised centre console in the Polestar 2 continues to keep the space cosy and engaging, allowing your arm to rest close to the wheel, light control stalk, and multimedia panel, but offers precious little in the way of storage.

There are two small cutaways on either side, and a small tray for your phone and maybe a wallet, but no large pass-through storage area underneath like many of its rivals offer. There's also only one immediately accessible cupholder in the centre, with the second one inside the armrest console box, forcing you to choose between the two. Annoying on days you want to grab a coffee with your passenger on the go. For further storage, there are two bottle holders and map pockets in the doors.

The centre console area is also clad in a hard plastic material, so if you have longer legs your knee is forced to grate up against it, which can become uncomfortable on longer drives.

Still, no matter which of the three seat trims you get, they're all comfortable, and a driving position is very easy to find. It's also nice that heated seats and four-way power adjust are standard, and a central dial for volume control has not been forgotten.

The rear seat is comfortable for outboard passengers, with the same soft trim in the doors, and cosy seats. Behind my own driving position at 182cm tall, I have plenty of room for my knees, and width feels sufficient, although headroom might be an issue if you're any taller than me.

The rear door also doesn't open very far, and the descending coupe roofline means access isn't the easiest for less mobile passengers, and could be inconvenient for fitting a child seat or loading bulky luggage. The centre seat position is also compromised by a tall raise, an unfortunate necessity thanks to the Polestar's CMA platform which it shares with combustion Volvos.

Amenities aren't bad in the rear seat, however, with a large bottle holder in each door, a further two flexible holders in the drop-down armrest, two elastic pockets on the backs of the front seats, a power outlet, and dual-adjustable air vents. Cars with the Plus Pack equipped even get heated outboard rear seats, a nice touch.

The boot is unchanged this time around, continuing to offer a solid 405-litres (VDA) of space, with an under-floor cavity useful for keeping charging cables, and a pop-up divider, which is handy for stopping smaller luggage from being thrown around. The frunk is a uniform 41 litres, regardless of variant. It's big enough for a duffel bag perhaps, but it might be better to store things you don't need to access often, as I find frunks are a bit more difficult to access than under-floor areas in the boot.

When the original Polestar 2 launched it was a stand-out in a much less crowded EV market. An early $60,000 starting price was the norm, and the bar to beat was the entry-level Tesla Model 3.

So much has changed since then. The main issue this new 2024 model faces is it's more expensive, and people keen to hop into their first electric car can now choose the significantly more affordable MG4, BYD Atto 3, or GWM Ora. And at the Polestar 2's performance level, there's also now the choice of the Cupra Born or further discounted Model 3 and its Model Y SUV companion.

No longer able to stand out due to scarcity, the Polestar 2 now has to stand on its own, which is no doubt why a lot of the upgrades for this deeply facelifted version are far more than skin deep and serve to address many of our main complaints about the original version.

The blockbuster news is the range has switched from primarily front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive, which should have a significant bearing on both driving dynamics and efficiency, as well as upgraded and more powerful motors, with larger batteries for the whole range.

Unfortunately, this also comes with a price-hike of $3500 for the base Standard Range (now from $67,400 before on-road costs and state-specific EV discounts), or $3000 for the Long Range ($74,400) and Long Range Dual Motor ($76,400) variants. It seems reasonable given the significant upgrades, but it does serve to increase the price difference between this car and its closest competitors. However, the whole range still lands well under $100,000 which is not bad for a semi-premium EV proposition.

The Standard Range had important once-optional equipment added, including blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, a surround view monitor, and a wireless phone charger.

This adds to its carryover standard equipment list of 19-inch wheels, LED headlights, cloth seat trim with four-way power adjust and heating for the front passengers, an 11.15-inch portrait-oriented multimedia touchscreen running the Android Automotive operating system, Apple CarPlay connectivity, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, keyless entry and start, and dual-zone climate control.

The three option packs remain the same as before, although with a slightly altered set of inclusions.

The Pilot Pack ($3500) now adds adaptive cruise control, upgraded pixel LED headlights with fog lights, and emergency stop assist which can bring the car to a halt when the driver is unresponsive.

The Plus Pack ($6000) adds an energy efficient heat pump, premium harmon kardon audio system, a heated steering wheel, heated rear outboard seats, 'weavetech' seat upholstery, upgraded interior ambient lighting, an upgraded air filter, a panoramic fixed sunroof, upgraded trim for the cargo area, rear tinted windows, a foot sensor for the powered tailgate, and access to the digital key via the phone app.

Finally, the Performance Pack ($9000) continues to only be available on the top-spec Long Range Dual Motor version. It ups power to 350kW via a software tweak, adds 20-inch forged alloy wheels and a Continental SportContact tyre package, as well as Brembo brakes and dual-flow manually adjustable Ohlins dampers in the suspension. It also features a gold theme for the seatbelts, valve caps, and brake calipers.

Individual options include ventilated Nappa leather seat trim (which Polestar says is animal welfare approved) in a 'light ash' colour scheme, a set of 20-inch V-spoke wheels, metallic paint choices, and a folding towbar.

It's no longer one of the cheapest EVs on the market, but I'd argue the price increases are only moderate for a significant upgrade this time around. I'm particularly intrigued by the Standard Range, which now might be the pick (depending on your needs) with its significantly increased battery capacity.

A purely electric car, the EV6 GT is all-wheel-drive courtesy of having one electric motor across the front axle, and a second motor driving the rear wheels.

Add it all up and at maximum power, you have 430kW/740Nm at your disposal.

It’s worth remembering those numbers are precisely the same power and torque as that produced by the last of the locally made muscle-cars, HSV’s final, 6.2-litre, supercharged V8 F-Series line-up back in 2015.

Compared with the non-GT versions of the EV6, that output is almost double the 239kW of the EV6 AWD Dual Motor.

There’s no multi-ratio transmission (just a single-speed arrangement) but there is an electronically operated rear differential to make the most of the 270kW contributed by the rear electric motor.

There’s also a Drift mode built into the car which, as well as courting controversy from the authorities, manages to shift 100 per cent of torque to the rear wheels at small steering inputs to allow the car to be driven sideways.

As the car exits the turn in question, some torque is shuffled forwards to the front wheels to pull the vehicle straight.

A set of paddle shifters control not the gearbox ratios (there are none) but instead the rate of regeneration on deceleration, and turned up to its maximum, can make the Kia a one-pedal car once you get the hang of it.

The GT also features drive models, which tailor the car’s behaviour in terms of steering feel and aggressiveness, suspension firmness, throttle sensitivity and even the stability control’s intervention threshold.

There’s also a steering-wheel mounted GT button which ramps all those settings up to DEFCON 3, placing them at their most dynamic calibrations in the interests of an exciting drive.

In fact, the GT button is the only way to get the full 430kW of power, too.

In the other drive modes, the spare Kilowatts are stored away for you, just waiting for that GT button to be pressed.

The biggest changes for the 2024 Polestar 2 are ones you can't see, including the big switch to rear-wheel drive for 2WD variants.

But there are also new motors, outputting 200kW/490Nm in the base Standard Range, or 220kW/490Nm in the Long Range, a significant upgrade of 50kW/160Nm over the outgoing car.

Meanwhile, the Dual Motor version has been boosted by 10kW/80Nm for totals of 310kW/740Nm unless you splash for the Performance Pack which adds an additional 40kW via software tweak.

The 0-100km/h times range from 6.4 seconds for the Standard Range, to 4.2 seconds for a Dual Motor equipped with the Performance Pack. Solid numbers.

Like the other electric Kias on sale now, the EV6 GT has a Lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 77.4 kWh. Located under the floor, the battery-pack accounts for no less than 479 of the GT’s 2185kg.

The on-board charger can handle 10.5kW and takes about seven-and-half hours to go from 10 per cent to 100 per cent charge.

Using a 50kW fast charger, you’re looking at 73 minutes to go from 10 to 80 per cent charge and if you can find a 350kW fast charger, that time drops to just 18 minutes.

On a full charge, Kia claims a combined range of 424km which is okay, but not exactly stellar. That range will also fall pretty quickly if you start to use the awesome stomp on offer.

And let’s not forget that, in running-cost terms, the GT is front-loaded. That is, the car itself costs more, but it’ll be cheaper to run over the years.

Meantime, as oil-based fuels cost more and renewable electricity becomes more prevalent, the financial and environmental running cost of an EV starts to fall.

Okay, so the jury is still out in terms of the environmental impacts of a 77-plus kWh battery, and if the power you’re using is not the green variety, things change again. It’s a moving target, to be sure.

Either way, Kia claims energy consumption of 20.6kWh per 100km which is higher than many EV rivals but reflects the dual motors and even elements like the 21-inch performance tyres (Pirelli Pilot Sports) rather than the lower-resistance EV-specific tyres of most others.

The GT is also a bit of a hero when it comes to regeneration during braking. The car is capable of producing 0.6G from regeneration alone, and as much as 320kWh of regenerated energy during full braking.

But wait, there are even more invisible changes, including new batteries for every variant, while the switch to rear-wheel drive has made the drive units more efficient too.

The base Standard Range battery is now sourced from South Korea's LG Chem and continues to offer 69kWh, which this time translates to a 532km range according to the WLTP standard. This is a significant increase from the outgoing Standard Range, which could travel 440km between charges.

Meanwhile, the Long Range and Long Range Dual Motor variants can travel 654km and 591km between charges on their 82kWh CATL-sourced battery respectively.

The batteries have also come with charging capability upgrades, with the Standard Range now charging at up to 135kW on DC for a 10 - 80 per cent charge time of 34 minutes, and the Long Range versions charging at 205kW for a charge time in 28 minutes.

Both are able to top-up at 11kW on the slower AC standard, a nice amount to make it worthwhile plugging in at your local supermarket.

Let’s cut to the – literal – chase: Acceleration. Any car with a nought to 100km/h time of 3.5 seconds is a serious performer, but even then, the first time you launch the GT, the sheer ferocity of the car’s response will surprise you.

It’s more like being shot out of a cannon than leaving the start-line, thanks to that instant torque, but the Kia also does it incredibly easily and fuss-free.

Where a lot of truly powerful cars struggle with grip, scrabbling and fighting against the traction control as they battle to get moving, the Kia simply takes off for the horizon.

There’s little squat, no loss of grip and just a seamless supply of Newton-metres. Your grandmother could launch this car as hard and fast as Lewis Hamilton could.

But where a lot of electric cars offer similar levels of traction and acceleration, the EV6 GT adds a whole new dimension.

Where much of the competition becomes a victim of its own kerb mass and the weight shift that comes with it, the Kia is an altogether more dynamic contraption, putting to the sword the theory that EVs are for straight-line stuff only.

The big, sticky Michelin tyres and the beautifully considered damper calibrations (the local experts’ work) combined with the quick steering rack and better-than-average steering feel and feedback, means the GT can not only be driven quickly around corners, it can also maintain its composure (and pace) even on a patchy, lumpy surface.

Where its velocity and steering angle suggests it should start sliding, it doesn’t. Where a corner-exit bump and lots of throttle would make other cars lift a front wheel, the Kia almost senses the road before it and tailors its damper responses.

In fact, that ability to predict the road surface is closer to reality than you might think. While the GT’s adjustable suspension remains passive (or reactive) rather than truly active (seeing into the future) the algorithms that control the dampers are smart enough to look at steering angle, speed, throttle position as well as examine the road surface in ultra-quick real time and adopt a posture that irons out the worst and keeps the wheels on the road.

Talking to the engineers who achieved this feat reveals a lot about what goes into making a two-tonne, high-horsepower car behave itself. As in, hundreds of passes over the same piece of road with full instrumentation on board and the brain power to interpret that data.

But if a car with so much roll stiffness can also offer the ride composure that this one does on 21-inch tyres, then those hundreds of passes have been well worth the effort.

As per Kia’s claim of track-readiness, we also got the chance to drive the EV6 GT at the tight, twisting, narrow Haunted Hills hillclimb circuit in Victoria’s Gippsland.

Frankly, the Kia simply has too much power for this track and we reckon it’s better left in Sport rather than GT mode where the power is a little softer and the car is not as fervent in chasing torque from the front axle to the rear and back again to dial out sliding.

It would be a different matter on a faster, flowing circuit like Phillip Island, but at Haunted Hills, driving the GT was a bit like trying to land a four metre shark in a three metre tinny.

Either way, however, the car’s on-road encouragement and dynamic poise is enough to convince us that this is one of the first EVs to actually speaks the same language as the enthusiast driver. And you can pretty much thank the Aussie suspension engineers for that.

Let's be clear: The new Polestar 2 feels like a completely different car, and all in a good way.

I was fortunate enough to test a previous Long Range Single Motor for four months just prior to this one launching, and it was bizarre to have the car feel so completely different with the same touch points.

Acceleration feels completely different, with the main thrust emanating from the rear rather than the front resulting in a smoother experience from the get-go despite increased power, and the regenerative braking has also been dialled back slightly, making for an easier flow when starting and stopping.

The steering also feels completely different, although it continues to consist of the same three computer determined weight settings. With the primary drive axle removed from the front though, all three settings feel instantly lighter.

One area Polestar is completely under-selling for this update is the vastly improved ride. The brand says only very minor changes have been implemented to the suspension itself, with the main benefit coming from a weight re-balance thanks to the change of primary drive axle. Whatever they've done, it's improved the car out of sight.

What was once an overly firm and stilted ride has become much more gentle and forgiving, particularly over the front axle, and is now much more competitive with the better EVs in this space, or even some of its combustion price-rivals.

It still manages to maintain the firm, controlled edge, while shaving off some of the brittle unpleasantness the previous car had.

The only area where it hasn't seemed to have improved is road noise. The large wheels and skinny tyres combine for a bit of a racket in the cabin on coarse-chip surfaces or when cruising above 80km/h, which is a bit of a shame.

The rear-drive dynamics though are superb. This car is now far nicer to swing into the corner. The feeling of control that could be broken by understeer at any moment is replaced by the joy of a more subtle feedback from the rear, and a car which has suddenly become a lot more playful. I would say it's a fair bit more locked down than the more flick-able Cupra Born, but finally backs its finely tuned steering with a bit of smile-inducing attitude.

The extra power on offer makes the Polestar feel a little stronger than before, but not outrageously so. The stock electronic stability settings keep the acceleration notably tame when you put your foot down, to discourage the rear-driven axle losing traction when the full 490Nm is at play. It's powerful, but ultimately sensible, so while it might not scare your passengers quite like higher-grade versions of the Model 3 or Model Y, it keeps a good balance between sportiness and safety.

The mildly upgraded Dual Motor meanwhile continues to be a complete weapon of a car, with absurd levels of grip backed by a very proactive torque vectoring system. It still maintains a sense of control when you plant it, but it's also deceptively fast as it surges forward in complete silence. The ride is even significantly improved on the Performance Pack-eqiupped Dual Motor versions, with a different stock damper setting applied.

More forgiving, faster, and even more fun? It's rare for a manufacturer to actually apply all the learnings from the previous car for a next-generation offering, let alone a mid-life facelift. Bravo.

Safety equipment is largely the same for the updated Polestar 2, although key items like blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert have finally moved off the options list and become standard equipment on base cars, joining the existing suite of auto emergency braking with pedestrian, cyclist, and intersection detection, lane keep and lane departure systems, as well as driver attention alert and traffic sign detection.

The very good adaptive cruise control suite is still behind the $3500 Pilot Pack paywall, but this will also net you upgraded LED headlights.

An impressive suite of eight airbags is also standard fit alongside dual ISOFIX child-seat mounting points on the outboard rear seats. The pre-facelift Polestar 2 secured a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating to the 2022 standards.

Like all modern EVs, the Kia should be cheaper to maintain than conventional cars purely because there are fewer moving parts.

Energy costs will come down to where you charge from and whether you have access to home solar panels.

The warranty is typically Kia-good, though, with seven years and unlimited kilometres on the basic car and seven years and 150,000km on all high-voltage components.

Kia offers a three-year, five-year and seven-year servicing plan at $733, $1371 and $2013, respectively.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

The Polestar 2 is covered by a five-year and unlimited kilometre warranty, up to the industry standard, and also nets a complimentary five year/100,000km service plan.

Servicing is fulfilled at select Volvo workshop locations, and the interval is 24 months or 30,000km whichever occurs first. This means at least your first two services will be free. Hard to beat.

The car can even improve over time thanks to over-the-air updates, which have thus far tweaked and improved front-wheel drive versions, as well as adding features and apps to the software suite.