The 2025 Kia EV6 GT’s ‘Digital Shift’ And ‘Engine’ Sounds Are Wild

I believe it is truthful to say that 2024 was the Hyundai Ioniq 5‘s 12 months. It led Hyundai to the coveted no. 2 spot behind Telsa in U.S. electrical car gross sales, ended up the fourth-best-selling EV in America, and gained scores of awards—plus beforehand anti-EV hearts and minds—with the debut of the rowdy Ioniq 5 N. 

Now, you did not assume its cousin, the Kia EV6, was simply gonna take all that mendacity down, did you? 

For anybody on the market who enjoys EVs which can be quick, succesful and enjoyable, the reply, fortunately, is “no.” The up to date 2025 Kia EV6 is shaping as much as be one thing actually particular too. It will get a facelifted entrance finish, an even bigger battery with extra vary, a Tesla-style NACS plug and Supercharger entry and a closely revised GT efficiency variant. The brand new EV6 GT even will get simulated engine sounds and kit shifts identical to the Ioniq 5 N does. 

Picture by: Kia

Kia EV6 GT (2025): Exterior

So how is it going to drive? Nicely, the brand new EV6 is already on sale in its native South Korea, and that features the EV6 GT. And these video shorts from Korea’s MotorWeekend YouTube channel give us a fast style. Flip this up good and loud:

We will hear it “rev” in place with a pleasant baritone that sounds, to me at the least, roughly equivalent to the simulated turbo four-cylinder sounds within the Ioniq 5 N. In that automotive, the sound is predicated on Hyundai’s personal high-performance four-pot within the Elantra N and different automobiles, so it isn’t surprising that the Korean conglomerate stayed in-house right here. 

Now let’s examine how the Digital Shift system works. (It is a take a look at that seems to happen in Seoul, so I am glad I am not the one who did this as a result of I’d’ve been despatched to Korean Pace Jail nearly instantly.)

The driving force shifts into sport mode, then identical to on the Ioniq 5 N, makes use of the steering wheel paddles usually used to regulate regenerative braking to cycle by the completely different simulated “gears.” As with the Ioniq 5 N, the thought is to simulate an inner combustion-style efficiency feeling and management over the facility output, simply with none emissions. 

The channel additionally has an extended POV drive right here if you wish to sit by the entire thing.

The thought of simulated engine sounds and “gear shifts” for EVs is a controversial one. Many EV drivers, myself included, love the silence of electrical energy and quick torque supply that eliminates the necessity for a multi-gear transmission. However many people—once more, me included—additionally benefit from the distinctive sensations that include old-school ICE efficiency driving. The Ioniq 5 N, and now the brand new EV6 GT, help you take pleasure in all of that with out utilizing any gasoline. And if the sounds and kit shifts aren’t your jam, you possibly can flip them off fully. What’s to not like? 

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The final EV6 GT was a powerhouse in its personal proper even with out these options. It had 576 horsepower and 545 lb-ft of torque going to all 4 wheels, good for a zero to 60 mph sprint in simply 3.4 seconds, making it a legit supercar-killer that may additionally haul your children and all their gear. The revised GT now delivers 601 hp, boosted all the best way to 641 hp and 568 lb.-ft. when the full-force GT Mode is switched on. The tradeoff earlier than was vary; all that energy meant the GT was rated solely at 218 miles of vary.

The U.S. EPA vary specs on the brand new EV6 GT haven’t been disclosed; nor has the automotive’s launch date. The opposite tradeoff is that in contrast to the remainder of the lineup, the Korean-built GT model is not going to have a NACS charging inlet, so you will be utilizing an adapter to juice up at Tesla Supercharger stations right here. 

We’ll provide the particulars on the up to date EV6 and EV6 GT as we get them, however to this point, it appears to be like promising. Do I have to improve? Completely not, however imagine me once I say I am contemplating it. 

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