ROUTE EV6

Charging an electric car can be fraught in the UK - but how about in the deserts of the USA? Mark Dixon takes Kia's new EV6 GT on a Route 66 road trip to find out

- Mark Dixon

Albert Hammond knew how I'm feeling. In 1972 he had a chart hit when he sang 'Seems it never rains in Southern California' only to be rudely disillusioned further into the song. 'But, girl, don't they warn ya: it pours, man, it pours.' Which is exactly what is happening when I land in Los Angeles. The rain is tipping down, and it's colder than it was in London. Just whose bright idea was this? Never mind, there's a long road trip in prospect. Surely we'll find some sun in Arizona? That's where we're headed: an EV museum in the small town of Kingman, on the historic Route 66. What will we find in an EV museum, especially one so far from the bright lights, big city? And how will the EV we're travelling in cope with the big expanse of sparsely populated desert we'll have to cross to get there?

Our ride is not some 1950s Caddie land yacht but the latest Kia EV6 GT, a new halo model that takes over from the late lamented but fossil-fuelled Stinger. South Korean manufacturer Kia first gained a foothold in Europe with a humble licence-built Mazda (see Octane 222) but now finds itself in the vanguard of the EV revolution, taking the fight to Tesla's Model 3 and others.

It entered the mainstream with the Cee'd back in 2006, developed for Europe with Ford Focus-style driving appeal and Toyota-like reliability, revolutionising the market with a seven-year warranty and budget-conscious pricing. Worthy stuff, but Octane types took more notice when the rear-wheel-drive Stinger arrived in 2017, with a twin-turbo V6 to go baiting BMW's 340i Gran Coupé and the Audi S5 Sportback. The Kia was the exclusive choice, as Octane figured in issue 218.