- The Kia EV6 GT and Hyundai Ioniq 5 N were put through a side-by-side highway range test.
- The Kia its EPA-claimed range before it could no longer maintain 70 mph, while Hyundai other fell just short.
- Kia has updated the EV6 for 2025 with the same (larger) 84 kWh battery as the Ioniq 5 N, so its EPA range will go up.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is the newest high-performance EV from Hyundai-Kia. It has a larger battery pack and more power than the mechanically related Kia EV6 GT, and this is reflected in their EPA range ratings. However, their real-world range results are closer than the official estimates suggest, as demonstrated in this 70 mph highway range test comparison.
Out Of Spec Reviews posted this nearly one-hour-long range test video in which they drove the two cars until they were completely out of juice and stopped moving. Both cars have dual-motor configurations, but the newer Ioniq 5 N has a bigger 84-kilowatt-hour battery pack, while the EV6 GT has to make do with 77 kWh.
Kia has recently updated the EV6, equipping it with the same 84 kWh battery as the Ioniq 5. However, the EV6 GT in the video is the pre-refresh model, so it has the smaller battery, giving it a claimed EPA range of 206 miles. The larger-battery Ioniq 5 N is rated at 221 miles.
The result of the range test was surprising, though. The EV6 GT entered low-power mode after 214 miles and could no longer maintain 70 mph, and it was completely out of power after passing the 216-mile mark. The Ioniq 5 N could not maintain 70 mph after just under 212 miles, and it died shortly after, so even though it had a larger and newer battery, it lost to the older EV6.
The Kia was also more efficient, with a displayed average electricity consumption of 2.9 miles/kWh versus 2.7 miles/kWh in the Hyundai. This might come down to aerodynamics (the EV6 has a drag coefficient of 0.28 versus 0.29 in the Hyundai) or the rolling resistance of the different tires they were on.
The takeaway is that both vehicles can achieve (or come close to achieving) their EPA claim while driving constantly at 70 mph. As Kyle suggests in the video, the Ioniq 5 N they used in the video may have been used hard before they got the car, and this could have caused accelerated battery degradation and capacity loss.
With a battery that’s 8.5% larger than before, the updated Kia EV6 GT could get an EPA range rating of over 230 miles or close to 340 miles in the long-range rear-wheel-drive model with 19-inch wheels. The GT variant will also gain the Ioniq 5 N’s 641 hp motors and its simulated shifting, which isn’t as bad as you think. We wanted to hate the fake shifting too, but found it strangely entertaining in the Hyundai.
