OK, now I have your attention, KIA’s giant-killing EV6 range is to gain the much-awaited GT halo model.

Some brands don’t bother to set a vehicle up for Australian conditions, but KIA holds the Great Southern Land in such high esteem that on occasion,  Australian settings have been used in other markets.

After travel restrictions eased, Graeme Gambold, KIA Australia’s local man with a spanner, was back to being able to give KIAs a bit of love, so EV6 GT got the full Gambold laying-on-of-hands.

Normally, the work starts at the Namyang centre in Korea. However, the unavailability of the Korean test car switched focus to the Nürburgring facility, with a pre-production car provided by Kia’s European test centre (Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center) instead.

The process involved work at the famed Nürburgring itself, and extensive driving in and around quiet German back roads in order to simulate the Australian environment.

During this assessment, the ride and handling were put under a microscope, after which the parts bin was raided. Graeme chose dampers and tyres to suit Australian roads, as well as hooking a laptop up to sort out the finer steering settings.

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ABOVE: Testing KIA’s EV6 GT in Australia and at the Nürburgring

The active damping starts with finding the softest and hardest settings, then tuning what happens in-between. Much of the assessment is done on local roads where marques like Porsche, BMW and Mercedes can also be seen hurtling through the countryside. Graeme’s light touch uses engineering knowledge to set rates on the fancy active dampers, with the majority of the work done prior landing downunder.

Once in Australia, Graeme is able to fine tune the steering further, thanks to settings available through the electric assistance system. Then, there is extensive road testing to work out any final bugs.

While electric cars make greater use of low-down torque to pull them through corners and out the other side, the brakes have to be up to the challenge. Nothing escapes attention.

While many road-going vehicles do the job on an average day, many aren’t up to being pushed on a racetrack. The real talent comes in being about to produce a comfortable ride for daily use, and something that will be fun for the driver when the feeling arises. Once Graeme is happy with the job, the KIA team signs off on the final settings, and that is what makes it into showrooms.

Graeme has localised the ride of over 50 Kia models during the last 11 years, and is enthusiastic about the EV6 GT’s dynamics and performance.

“We had a solid platform to work with and spent time in both Germany and locally, ensuring the GT can cope with our harsher conditions.  Compliance on rough country roads and importantly grip on uneven surfaces which is more prevalent in Australia, has been addressed.

“At all times we were mindful of the existing EV6 range, which is already dynamically capable.  The GT had to raise the bar substantially and is a testament to how far Kia has come from a vehicle dynamics and performance perspective.

“It is a confident GT which can be pushed hard, driven spiritedly, is forgiving on our roads and equally for the performance enthusiasts, a very capable GT on the track when flicked to GT mode.”

General Manager of Product at Kia Australia, Roland Rivero, is particularly proud of the local tuning program conducted on the EV6 GT.

“Being given the opportunity to add a new dynamic halo to our range, it was important we developed an Australian tune and not simply adopt a spec from another market.

“The importance of our requirement for a localised and unique tune is supported by headquarters and allows Kia Australia one of only four Global Tuning Specs available for EV6 GT.

“Despite the hurdles that confronted us, from the lack of availability of a test mule in Namyang to the impracticalities of Covid-19 restrictions in Korea requiring 7-days isolation, we negotiated an unprecedented new process of initial tuning in Germany and then fine tuning in Australia.

“We are thankful for the support from HMETC (Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center) for allowing us to utilise their pre-production vehicle and their facilities in Nürburg,” he said.

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