Man, a lot has changed in 12 years. In 2011, we first drove the Nissan Leaf. It was the first mass-market electric vehicle from a major auto manufacturer that you could buy just like any other car (we’re leaving out the GM EV1 because you couldn’t buy one at all.) That car was totally fine and competent and gave you an idea of what an electric drivetrain could offer. But at the end of the day, it was just like the 1970s again: Oh, you want an electric drivetrain? Sure, let’s put it in the goofiest econobox we can develop.

The greatest thing about Tesla isn’t the product. It’s the proof that people other than pure cheapskates would like to drive a car powered by something other than gasoline. For quite a while there, Tesla was the only game in town with a luxurious, fun-to-drive EV providing better than 100-mile range. Those days are over. Today, most auto manufacturers are offering a real car with modern comfort and convenience features and 220 miles of range. Two great contenders are the 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E and the 2022 Kia EV6. 

These cars are as different as they are similar, with completely different customers in mind. Each has significant advantages in performance, comfort, style, and equipment, but both of them deliver on the promise of electric vehicle technology in winter and summer. 

 

Ford Mustang Mach-E vs. Kia EV6 Trim Levels

The 2022 Mustang Mach-E is available in four trim levels:

• Select – $46,895 (Standard Range battery only, eAWD optional)
• Premium – $54,975 (Extended Range battery optional, eAWD optional)
• California Route 1 – $63,575 (Extended Range battery standard, eAWD standard)
• GT – $69,895 (Extended Range battery standard, eAWD standard)

The 2022 Kia EV6 is available in five trim levels, but Kia considers AWD a separate trim rather than an option, so it’s really only three, with the availability of optional AWD: 

• Light – $41,400 (Standard range battery only, RWD only)
• Wind – $47,500 (Extended Range battery standard, e-AWD optional)
• GT-Line – $51,700 (Extended Range battery standard, e-AWD optional)

 

Ford Mustang Mach-E vs. Kia EV6 Battery Options

The Mustang Mach-E is available with two battery sizes: 

• Select and Premium: standard with a 70kWh battery with a max of 247 miles of range
• Premium: Optional with a 91kWh battery with a max 303 miles of range
• California Route 1: standard with a 91kWh battery with a max 314 miles of range
• GT: standard with a 91kWh battery with a max 270 miles of range

The Kia EV6 is available with two battery sizes:

• Light: standard with a 58kWh battery with a max 232 miles of range
• Wind and GT-line: standard with a 77.4kWh battery with a max 310 miles of range

 

Ford Mustang Mach-E vs. Kia EV6 Performance

Both the Mustang Mach-E and the Kia EV6 are capable of pretty surprising acceleration. As you’ve probably read a thousand times by now, an electric motor delivers 100 percent of its available torque from the second you apply the accelerator. Takeoff can be brutally quick, depending on which car you choose. 

Depending on which trim, which battery, and which driveline you choose, the Mustang can offer anywhere from 266hp and 317-lb.ft. of torque in the Select trim with rear drive to 480hp and 634-lb.ft. of torque in the GT with eAWD. 

The GT gets to 60 miles per hour in a blisteringly quick 3.5 seconds. 

The Kia EV6 Light has 167hp and 258 lb.-ft torque. The Wind and GT-line with rear-wheel drive have 225hp and 258 lb.-ft torque. Adding all-wheel drive brings it to 320hp  and 446 lb.-ft torque. 

The EV6 GT-Line gets to 60 mph in a respectable 4.5 seconds. Not yet available is the EV6 GT that promises a 0-60 time that beats the Mach-E GT at 3.37 seconds. 

 

Ford Mustang Mach-E vs. Kia EV6 Driving Impressions

We spent a week in the Mustang Mach-E and the Kia EV6. The days we spent in both cars happened to be during New England snowstorms. Not brutal Nor’Easters, but between four to six inches of the white stuff. 

Both cars were all-wheel drive, or more specifically, “e-AWD.” Unlike a conventional drivetrain, adding all-wheel drive to an EV is simply a question of adding another motor that takes care of the front wheels. 

Both the Mach-E and the EV6 are rear-wheel drive vehicles at the base level. Tipping the scales at 4,800 pounds for the Mach-E and 4,647 for the EV6, both of these vehicles have what used to be known as “road-hugging weight” in the 1960s. With a good set of winter tires, our guess is that you could travel through the snow without all-wheel drive. 

The Mustang Mach-E definitely feels like the more sporty and fun version of an EV. There’s even an “exhaust note” that plays through the audio system if you feel yourself longing for the sound of wasted heat and pollution streaming through the exhaust. 

The EV6 definitely feels more sedate, but it also feels roomier inside, with a much more open and airy interior. Both of these vehicles have high-quality materials and attention to detail inside. They’re loaded with all the advanced safety equipment you’d expect from a car like this: adaptive cruise control, auto emergency braking, lane keeping assist, blind spot monitoring, and more. The Mustang Mach-E has the edge with an infotainment touchscreen the size of a Coke machine if you’re into that kind of thing. All of the controls for climate and infotainment are here, which is fine if you like to control an iPad while driving. The EV6 is more like a conventional Kia. That’s not bad, and we love the infotainment layout and the redundant buttons for controlling things like the temperature. 

On the aesthetic front, both the Mach-E and the EV6 are essentially crossover SUVs. The Mustang Mach-E looks more the part, however. The EV6 is unmistakable on the road. Its wheels are pushed out to the very corners, and there’s almost no overhang between the wheel arch and the front and rear bumpers. It gives the EV6 a long wheelbase and a surprisingly comfortable ride. 

Ford Mustang Mach-E vs. Kia EV6 Price and Value

Your first consideration is whether to buy one of the upper trim levels in either car because you want the extended-range battery. There’s a lot to think about here. 

In the Kia, there’s a $6,100 jump just to go from 232 miles to 310. In the Mustang Mach-E, it’s a staggering $8,600 to go from 247 miles to 310. 

The fallacy with any of these cars is the idea that people are using them to go on cross-country trips on a regular basis. Most people are not. They’re running them in and out of the city to park at work all day. Most Americans live within 30 miles of where they work. 

So the additional $6,100 to $8.600 investment in the EV6’s longer range battery means that you’ll have maybe one more round trip to work before you need to charge. 

But everybody charges every night anyway. You drive the car to work, pull back in the garage and plug the car in and go from something like 70 percent capacity back up to 100, just like you do with your cell phone. The additional 55-some-odd miles just doesn’t seem like all that much of an advantage, given the extra cost.

Verdict

Ford has the right idea offering the Premium with the standard range battery with eAWD. There’s a 50-mile penalty in range, but you’re still at just about what the Kia offers in its rear-wheel drive standard range battery. Anyone looking for one of these on the used market will pay a premium for AWD. The problem with the Kia is that you have to buy the extended range battery to get all-wheel drive, so you’re in it for another $10,000. With the Mustang Mach-E, you can buy the Premium with the standard range battery and eAWD as an option, so the penalty is just $2,700. 

The Mach-E Premium with eAWD and the standard battery seems like the most appealing combination of cost, range, power, and equipment. You can get more performance, but it will cost you upwards of $60,000. And you can get more range, but for the cost per mile, we think plugging it in every night will be the answer.