Kia EV6 vs Subaru Solterra

The Subaru Solterra costs £6,870 more than the Kia EV6. On the headline specs that premium buys little measurable advantage - the two are closely matched on range, charging and space. The Kia EV6 is not just cheaper - it also offers 72 miles more WLTP range and 108 kW faster peak rapid charging. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Kia EV6 comes out ahead overall.

The Kia EV6 is £6,870 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £160 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Kia EV6 comes out roughly £6,910 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 301 miles for the Kia EV6 and 241 miles for the Subaru Solterra - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Kia EV6 goes roughly 60 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 18-20 minutes.

The Subaru Solterra is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 30 mm narrower than the Kia EV6. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 540 mm of total clearance for the Subaru Solterra and about 510 mm of total clearance for the Kia EV6. The Subaru Solterra also turns in a 0.4 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 89% battery health for the Kia EV6 and 84% for the Subaru Solterra. That gives the Kia EV6 a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation.