Kia EV6 vs Toyota bZ4X

The Kia EV6 costs £5,640 more than the Toyota bZ4X. For that premium it adds 85 miles more WLTP range, 108 kW faster peak rapid charging and 43 kW more power. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Kia EV6 comes out ahead overall.

The Toyota bZ4X is £5,640 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £144 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Toyota bZ4X comes out roughly £5,720 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 230 miles for the Toyota bZ4X - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Kia EV6 goes roughly 71 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 18 minutes in the Kia EV6 and 30 in the Toyota bZ4X, so the Kia EV6 loses less time at each stop. That makes the Kia EV6 the stronger long-distance car.

The Toyota bZ4X 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 Toyota bZ4X and about 510 mm of total clearance for the Kia EV6. The Toyota bZ4X 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 Toyota bZ4X. 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.