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There’s an incredible American custom in hitting the highway to seek out one thing, a way of scale, the odor of outdated pine forests, or perhaps only a new solution to take a look at the boundaries of no matter machine now calls your storage house.
For one Reddit consumer, that ceremony of passage took form in a 1,600-mile loop via Sequoia and Yosemite Nationwide Parks behind the wheel of a freshly bought 2025 Kia EV6 Wind RWD. The automotive was new, the panorama historical. It was an ideal pairing, till fashionable visibility met a really outdated boulder.
“Our first EV (of any variety) – a 2025 EV6 Wind RWD. I hadn’t deliberate to purchase till later within the yr, however when the mannequin I wished confirmed up at my most popular supplier, uncertainty about tariffs and tax credit satisfied me to commerce in our Sorento hybrid a couple of months early.
That meant taking our deliberate 1600-mile week-long highway journey to see Sequoia and Yosemite Nationwide Parks as first-time EV homeowners.
Total, I could not be happier with how the EV6 carried out. It wolfed up the miles on lengthy freeway stretches, dealt with the twisty mountain highway via Kings Canyon like a a lot smaller/lighter automotive, and HDA2 was a blessing when crawling via a two-hour accident delay on I-5.
The dangerous got here on the best way again from Yosemite after I doubted the route steering and determined to drag off right into a small parking space to test the map. The driving force’s aspect A-pillar hid a big boulder marking the nook of the doorway, and I drove proper up onto it with the entrance left nook of the automotive. Low-speed affect, however that was sufficient to crush that a part of the fascia and the condenser and coolant traces behind it.
The automotive was drivable after, however rapidly misplaced all of the coolant. We pressed on for a few miles in a determined quest for cell service earlier than the 98°F temps brought on a drop into “turtle mode”. Lowered energy wasn’t sufficient to even climb the grades, however we had managed to succeed in weak cell protection.
Pulled off, contacted roadside help, and so they dispatched a flatbed. Fortunately, the A/C nonetheless labored, so we have been snug on the two-hour watch for rescue. Completed the final two days of the journey in a a lot much less nice Mazda 3 rental, however completed nonetheless!
We can be with out the automotive for a couple of weeks whereas the harm is repaired. Hopefully I can handle the withdrawal signs 🙂”
The second the story hit Reddit’s r/KiaEV6 neighborhood, fellow homeowners rallied behind the publish. One commenter summed it up with comedic brevity: “TL;DR ‘Obtained in an accident.’”
One other added the essential qualifier: “…Of no fault of the automotive’s.” They usually’re proper. This wasn’t a failure of electrification or drivetrain know-how.
It was the sort of freak accident that might occur in a Buick Electra or a BMW M3, although it’s value noting that right now’s bloated A-pillars can disguise a tree trunk with terrifying ease.
2025 Kia EV6: Vary, Cost Time, and Trim Ranges
- The 2025 EV6 gives as much as 319 miles of EPA-estimated vary on the Lengthy-Vary RWD mannequin, with the usual battery RWD variant rated at 270 miles
- Due to its 800 V electrical structure, the EV6 can recharge from 10 % to 80 % in simply 20 minutes on appropriate DC fast-chargers
- Kia’s North American Charging Customary (NACS) port grants EV6 homeowners entry to over 18,000 Tesla Superchargers nationwide (40,000+ DC quick chargers whole through adapter)
- Out there trims embody Mild, Mild Lengthy Vary, Wind, GT-Line, and the high-performance GT, every providing completely different AWD/RWD configurations, battery packs, and energy outputs
As Redditor FeetOfAChicken wryly famous,
“Once I’m turning, it’s like I’m dancing within the entrance seat, having to maneuver my head to ensure I’m not about to show right into a pedestrian.”
And that was echoed throughout the thread. Within the relentless march towards five-star crash scores, the A-pillar has swollen into an architectural hazard, typically turning a look right into a neck exercise.
One consumer put it plainly:
“A pillar today is a lot extra harmful than pop-up headlights have been.”
Nonetheless, the EV6 acquitted itself admirably in almost each measurable approach. It tackled tight mountain passes with the nimbleness of one thing half its measurement. 
It soaked up lengthy freeway stints with composure and confidence.
Is Kia’s HDA2 Helpful?
In line with the unique poster, Kia’s HDA2 (Freeway Driving Help) was invaluable in visitors, easing the grind of a two-hour jam on I-5.
First-time EV homeowners, first main highway journey, no vary nervousness, no charger horror tales. As one other commenter identified, the charging panorama has come a good distance:
“We simply did an analogous highway journey… the complete journey was really easy to cost, such a change from an analogous journey two years in the past.”
2025 Kia EV6 Dimensions
- Entrance legroom: 42.4 inches, offering beneficiant area for the driving force and passenger to stretch out
- Rear legroom: 39.0 inches, comfortably accommodating grownup passengers within the again
- Shoulder room: 57.8 inches up entrance and 55.6 inches within the rear, making certain ample lateral consolation
- Cargo capability: 28 cu ft behind the rear seats, increasing to 54 cu ft with the 60/40 cut up seats folded flat
There’s one thing quietly poetic in regards to the story’s ending. The rescue got here, the A/C saved blowing, and the remainder of the journey, albeit in a rental Mazda 3, nonetheless occurred.
No household meltdown. No Reddit rant in opposition to EVs or fashionable tech. Only one driver, a couple of scars on the bumper, and a tone of reluctant separation. “Hopefully I can handle the withdrawal,” they wrote. You don’t say that a few automotive except it mattered.
And that’s the place the EV6 surprises you. It’s not loud. It’s not attempting to promote nostalgia or brute power. It’s one thing subtler: a real-deal grand tourer in crossover kind.
A automotive that quietly and confidently earns its stripes throughout 1,600 miles, and makes you miss it when it’s gone. That, greater than something, is the mark of an incredible highway journey automotive.
Picture Sources: Kia Media Middle
Noah Washington is an automotive journalist primarily based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys protecting the most recent information within the automotive business and conducting evaluations on the most recent vehicles. He has been within the automotive business since 15 years outdated and has been featured in distinguished automotive information websites. You’ll be able to attain him on X and LinkedIn for ideas and to comply with his automotive protection.
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