I think the core future for most brands will be cars just like this.

After months of teasing, and even divulging photos and select specifications of the car, Kia has officially and completely taken the wraps off its first dedicated electric vehicle, the EV6. The sporty crossover is the first of 11 new electrified models promised by Kia globally by 2026. Offered in rear- and all-wheel-drive configurations, with up to 576 horsepower and around 300 miles of driving range, the EV6 will go on sale in early 2022.

The EV6 uses the E-GMP modular platform shared with Hyundai and will offer single- and dual-motor powertrains, as well as two battery options. The base EV6 will be a single-motor, rear-drive version with a 58.0-kilowatt-hour battery and 160-kilowatt motor providing up to 167 horsepower. Another rear-wheel-drive model will offer a 77.4-kWh battery and 160-kW motor providing 218 hp. Moving further up the lineup is an all-wheel-drive model with 77.4-kWh battery, with a 70-kW motor up front and 160-kW motor in the rear providing a total of 313 hp and 0–60 time of 5.1 seconds. The all-wheel-drive EV6 GT, coming in late 2022, features the same 77.4-kWh battery, with a 160-kW front motor and 270-kW rear motor providing 576 hp and the aforementioned 0–60 time of under 3.5 seconds.

We’ve already talked about the EV6’s looks in previous posts, with styling that blends crossover and hatchback. It features what Kia calls a “Digital Tiger” nose (which sounds like it could be the title of a Wu-Tang Clan album), with a taut fascia and scowling headlights emphasized by dramatic hood creases. The raked windshield leads the glasshouse, which tapers toward the C-pillar and rear roof spoiler. The rear comes to a point below the rear window and features a horizontal light bar across the liftgate at the most outstretched extreme of the sheet metal. Those lighting elements angle down toward the rear wheels to visually connect with the lower character line across the EV6’s side sills.

Inside, the design of the EV6 looks clean and high-tech, with a pair of curved screens serving as the digital instrument panel and infotainment interface. Below that on the lower dash is a horizontal, full-width air vent array. A floating center console separates the front occupants and is home to cupholders, a drive-select dial, and what appears to be a storage spot for a phone — we’d guess this is where the standard wireless charger resides.

What isn’t necessarily apparent in the photos is that the interior makes extensive use of recycled plastics throughout its 100% vegan interior. The EV6 features all-LED lighting both inside and out. Thin, “giga-steel” seat frames maximize legroom for the rear passengers. There’s 27.7 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, and folding them yields a maximum of 53.5 cubic feet. There’s also a frunk under the hood for additional storage.

In terms of tech, the EV6 dash houses those dual integrated 12-inch instrument cluster and infotainment screens, which feature a blue-light filter. An augmented reality head-up display provides information in a large three-dimensional image over the hood of the car. The EV6 also features over-the-air updates, in-car commerce from various merchants and an available Wi-Fi hotspot. It even has smartwatch accessibility, allowing you to get battery status and other notifications, and even control some vehicle functions remotely from your wrist.

The list of standard safety and driver-assistance features in the EV6 is long and includes a surround-view monitor, parking collision avoidance, rear occupant alert, remote smart parking assist and safe exit assist. It also includes the "Highway Driving Assist II" adaptive cruise control with lane-centering and, now, assistance with positioning within the lane during lane changes. "Navigation Based Smart Cruise Control-Curve" automatically lowers the vehicle’s speed ahead of curves. The EV6 also includes blind-spot collision avoidance, forward emergency braking, rear cross-traffic collision avoidance and automatic high beams as standard.

Charging the EV6 won’t take long. It supports 400- and 800-volt charging, with DC fast-charging rates ranging from 50 to 350 kW. That top charging rate adds up to 70 miles of juice to the battery in less than five minutes. For Level 2 charging, either at home or in public, the EV6 features an 11-kW onboard charger capable of charging the 77.4 kWh battery from 10% to 100%.

The EV6 also features what Kia calls “vehicle-to-load” functionality, which allows it to serve as a mobile power source, with up to 1,900 watts to power tools or appliances. It can also perform vehicle-to-vehicle charging at 1.1-kW, the equivalent of a 110-volt outlet.

Kia will offer an EV6 First Edition with reservations starting June 3. This model, limited to 1,500 units, features all-wheel drive and the 77.4-kWh battery, black wheel arches, the augmented-reality HUD, remote smart parking, a panoramic sunroof, 20-inch wheels, a 14-speaker Meridian premium audio system, illuminated First Edition door sills and a numbered interior badge. It can be had with three unique color combinations: Glacier with dark green seats, Urban Yellow with black seats and Steel Gray Matte with black seats.

You may have noticed we’re still awaiting one final detail for the EV6 lineup: Pricing.

... Kia has officially and completely taken the wraps off its first dedicated electric vehicle, the EV6.