EV6 Vs MME

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

so, it arrived today, finally. I test drove it. I ended up walking away, because they couldn't do Kia Retail Advantage (the Kia answer to Ford Options; supposedly it's only certain dealers that can do it, which the finance guy only said after he told me it didn't exist, called the regional finance guy in front of me to prove it, then had to say "oh oops").

Short thoughts from the test drive:

• the instrumentation part of the dash is a lot more like many of you have asked for; live power information, for example. I didn't completely work it all out in the test drive though.
• The paddle regen buttons are really, really bad; in particular, when you remove your finger from the "+" the car immediately goes into coasting mode. This might be a driver education thing but it wasn't what I'd want at all because it meant the deceleration dropped immediately and that's not good at all.
• I noticed no drive handling difference in the three modes. The ride quality was the big thing that I wanted to see change and it just didn't seem to do anything of note. The ride wasn't really that much better (although it was a little better) than the Mach-E, not enough to matter in my opinion in any of the three driving modes.
• The Kia owner app and web site are trash. They have been down repeatedly; right now, I have the car I walked away from registered, but I can't unregister it because the site it broken. Allow me to share this from a Kia forum:
  
  
  Yes, EV6 owners put Ford on the same level as Tesla on this. That should give you an idea of just how awful their current setup is.
• If I didn't have the Mach-E, I'd be a lot more open to buying it as a "first EV". But as an impulse-y sort of thing, without the balloon financing option? No way.
• The handles stay open, supposedly, when the door is unlocked; you have to lock the doors to get them to go in. They are just screaming "break me off" in a really bad way.
• The cabin sound insulation is not anywhere near as good as the Mach-E (2021, with the better glass).
• There was something rattling around badly in the back. It looks like it was maybe the V2V charging adapter, but it's not completely clear. Since I walked, it ultimately didn't matter.
• The dealer is sure they will sell my left behind car with an ADM and I bet they will. So good on them I guess. They made sure they understood how nice they were being by following Kia's letter to them (that I'm sure they didn't realize I knew about) and not charging me a markup.
• They added the $1000 charger (that's worth like, $400) and a $1300 extended warranty despite my telling them not too. They took them off easily enough but it was still annoying.
• They tried to tell me that the tax credit would go to me on a lease, which it wouldn't, and didn't take it off the lease payments or adjust the residual, so pretty much the $7500 would vaporize completely on the lease. Yeah, no.
• The salesperson called me back about 20 minutes later to try to salvage the deal - "we can get it to $900-something at 66 months" and I was like, "no, you know the number I was looking for." They know because they ran the lease (again without the $7500 accounted for) so they have the exact number I was expecting.

Anyway, dealers gotta be dealers I guess. But be warned if you're interested in this car, and want the Ford Options equivalent, you should know if your dealer will do it ahead of time. Unlike Ford Options where it's a dealership education thing, it's apparently a lot worse than that in Kia land.

I admit to being disappointed, but ultimately this is probably the right outcome. ?

LOL - the salesperson literally just called me - "we're trying to turn on that program, we have ten days from the car arriving to sell it to you before it's released".

I think the latter is the real reason but we'll see. I laughed and said "I haven't spent the down payment yet, so let me know."

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[Neil4Real]

so, it arrived today, finally. I test drove it. I ended up walking away, because they couldn't do Kia Retail Advantage (the Kia answer to Ford Options; supposedly it's only certain dealers that can do it, which the finance guy only said after he told me it didn't exist, called the regional finance guy in front of me to prove it, then had to say "oh oops").

Short thoughts from the test drive:

• the instrumentation part of the dash is a lot more like many of you have asked for; live power information, for example. I didn't completely work it all out in the test drive though.
• The paddle regen buttons are really, really bad; in particular, when you remove your finger from the "+" the car immediately goes into coasting mode. This might be a driver education thing but it wasn't what I'd want at all because it meant the deceleration dropped immediately and that's not good at all.
• I noticed no drive handling difference in the three modes. The ride quality was the big thing that I wanted to see change and it just didn't seem to do anything of note. The ride wasn't really that much better (although it was a little better) than the Mach-E, not enough to matter in my opinion in any of the three driving modes.
• The Kia owner app and web site are trash. They have been down repeatedly; right now, I have the car I walked away from registered, but I can't unregister it because the site it broken. Allow me to share this from a Kia forum:
  
  
  Yes, EV6 owners put Ford on the same level as Tesla on this. That should give you an idea of just how awful their current setup is.
• If I didn't have the Mach-E, I'd be a lot more open to buying it as a "first EV". But as an impulse-y sort of thing, without the balloon financing option? No way.
• The handles stay open, supposedly, when the door is unlocked; you have to lock the doors to get them to go in. They are just screaming "break me off" in a really bad way.
• The cabin sound insulation is not anywhere near as good as the Mach-E (2021, with the better glass).
• There was something rattling around badly in the back. It looks like it was maybe the V2V charging adapter, but it's not completely clear. Since I walked, it ultimately didn't matter.
• The dealer is sure they will sell my left behind car with an ADM and I bet they will. So good on them I guess. They made sure they understood how nice they were being by following Kia's letter to them (that I'm sure they didn't realize I knew about) and not charging me a markup.
• They added the $1000 charger (that's worth like, $400) and a $1300 extended warranty despite my telling them not too. They took them off easily enough but it was still annoying.
• They tried to tell me that the tax credit would go to me on a lease, which it wouldn't, and didn't take it off the lease payments or adjust the residual, so pretty much the $7500 would vaporize completely on the lease. Yeah, no.
• The salesperson called me back about 20 minutes later to try to salvage the deal - "we can get it to $900-something at 66 months" and I was like, "no, you know the number I was looking for." They know because they ran the lease (again without the $7500 accounted for) so they have the exact number I was expecting.

Anyway, dealers gotta be dealers I guess. But be warned if you're interested in this car, and want the Ford Options equivalent, you should know if your dealer will do it ahead of time. Unlike Ford Options where it's a dealership education thing, it's apparently a lot worse than that in Kia land.

I admit to being disappointed, but ultimately this is probably the right outcome. ?

I really would just like the HUD and cooled seats. Faster charging, V2V - don't factor for me right now, but V2V might be cool. No wireless CarPlay and the screens just look so janky compared to the MME. While I sometimes see an I5 or EV6 in a color that actually makes me go, hmm, not that bad, the interior is just not something I like.

I've read a lot of people saying the ride is "oh my God, so amazing" so I'm happy to hear it is good but only slighter better than the MME and probably not better than the GTPE.

That's interesting that the cabin insulation isn't as good as the MME. One thing I've noticed so much is that apparently NO ONE PAYS ATTENTION TO IT!! Drives me nuts.

Before my last car, I was planning on getting a Model S and drove a few and they were all SO LOUD on the highway, especially compared to the MBZ (while at the same price point...) ended up getting the MBZ. Now that I have the MME, so many people ask why not a Tesla (Model S, no 3 or Y, can't stand the looks of those), and I tell them I'd love to but the wind noise is atrocious. Apparently, it has been somewhat fixed, but still really loud on the highway. All the test drives I've done, you have to talk in such a raised voice it is tiring! People in the backseat? Forget about it.

But when I mention this to other Tesla owners, they're like, hmm, I haven't noticed. We drive my MME and they're like ... whoa. Text me later when they drive their car home and say "I know what you mean now." I guess I'm just shocked people never took that into account. That's always been one of my top things when looking in cars. I hate the headache I get from wind noise and from talking over it, drives me nuts!!

Rant over.

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

I really would just like the HUD and cooled seats. Faster charging, V2V - don't factor for me right now, but V2V might be cool. No wireless CarPlay and the screens just look so janky compared to the MME. While I sometimes see an I5 or EV6 in a color that actually makes me go, hmm, not that bad, the interior is just not something I like.

I ordered it in yellow. It is very yellow. ?

Th HUD is nice, but it can be a little busy with all the stuff turned on, IMHO. Ventilated seats are good though for sure and considering the ICE Mustang has had them forever, it is a Mach-E miss.

I've read a lot of people saying the ride is "oh my God, so amazing" so I'm happy to hear it is good but only slighter better than the MME and probably not better than the GTPE.

I haven't driven a GT PE at all. But I do think a lot of people have overstated the ride quality of the EV6 based on my test drive.

That's interesting that the cabin insulation isn't as good as the MME. One thing I've noticed so much is that apparently NO ONE PAYS ATTENTION TO IT!! Drives me nuts.

I notice it all the time driving the gf's C-Max now. It doesn't help that I came from the Fusion Energi which was not quite as quiet but was still very quiet.

It's not unbearable in the EV6 or anything, it's just not as good.

I didn't mention driver assistance features, but they definitely seemed well below the Mach-E with all updates to 2.5.3. But I expected that going in. There could also be a driver education issue there, though.

If they come through with the proper financing, I'll probably take delivery and we can see for sure.

 

[voxel]

I really would just like the HUD and cooled seats. Faster charging, V2V - don't factor for me right now, but V2V might be cool. No wireless CarPlay and the screens just look so janky compared to the MME. While I sometimes see an I5 or EV6 in a color that actually makes me go, hmm, not that bad, the interior is just not something I like.

I've read a lot of people saying the ride is "oh my God, so amazing" so I'm happy to hear it is good but only slighter better than the MME and probably not better than the GTPE.

That's interesting that the cabin insulation isn't as good as the MME. One thing I've noticed so much is that apparently NO ONE PAYS ATTENTION TO IT!! Drives me nuts.

Before my last car, I was planning on getting a Model S and drove a few and they were all SO LOUD on the highway, especially compared to the MBZ (while at the same price point...) ended up getting the MBZ. Now that I have the MME, so many people ask why not a Tesla (Model S, no 3 or Y, can't stand the looks of those), and I tell them I'd love to but the wind noise is atrocious. Apparently, it has been somewhat fixed, but still really loud on the highway. All the test drives I've done, you have to talk in such a raised voice it is tiring! People in the backseat? Forget about it.

But when I mention this to other Tesla owners, they're like, hmm, I haven't noticed. We drive my MME and they're like ... whoa. Text me later when they drive their car home and say "I know what you mean now." I guess I'm just shocked people never took that into account. That's always been one of my top things when looking in cars. I hate the headache I get from wind noise and from talking over it, drives me nuts!!

Rant over.

The Mach-E isn't that quiet to be honest. I measured db levels of the ID.4, RAV4 Prime (EV mode - gas mode was 7-10 db louder), Mach-E, Model Y on the highway... all pretty similar with maybe a slight notch to the ID.4 being quieter (could be ground clearance and being higher above the road noise) and the RAV4 being the worst with the wind noise off the windshield or top. The Model 3 is the nosiest of the Teslas but I never measured the db levels on the highway.

https://insideevs.com/news/527846/hyundai-ioniq5-bjorn-noise-test/

The Ioniq 5 is instantly noticeably quieter on my test drive. You immediately feel you are in a sound proof booth. I was unable to drive it on the highway though.

 

[mmejersey]

I have both the cars. EV6 has close to 5000 miles on it and just 300 on Mach-E. So far I feel EV6 drives better than the Mach-E. It is better planted on the road, especially on corners. Could be the wider tires on the EV6. I have the CA Route 1. So not sure how well insulated it is compared to a premium. The GT-Line AWD I have is noticeably quieter than the Mach-E.

I like how EV6 regen settings are more configurable. When I first test drove I5 and EV6, I didn't like the fact that I have hold the paddles to get any kind of regen. That was from lack of understanding how it works. You can set 5 levels (0, 1, 2, 3 and Max) of regen using the paddles. When you are the Max it switches to i-Pedal which is similar to 1-pedal in Mach-E and also drives similar and no longer needs to use the paddles to get the regen and breaking. Also, you could press and hold the right paddle to set the regen to Auto mode which works like Adaptive cruise depending on the proximity and speed of the car in front of you and applies enough breaking and regen to slow down or speed up. You can add more regen by holding down the left paddle when in Auto.

Mach-E has a better implementation of the drive modes. Sport mode on EV6 has no effect on the steering. But the Unbridled actually tightens the steering and makes it feel more connected to the road. Also, EV6 skimped on the Frunk. I really like the utility of the Frunk in the Mach-E

Edit to add the driver assist details: Lane Keeping assist (LKA) in Mach-E wouldn't keep the car in lane properly unless ACC is on. The LKA and Lane Centering Assist (LCA) together in EV6 always keeps the car in the lane and I can drive handsfree for some distance on a well marked road. BlueCruise on Highways are superior to the HDA2 in EV6 except for the lane change assist. But on an inner city road the driver assists works better in the EV6. Not saying it is perfect in EV6. It still wobbles here and there, but not like it is in Mach-E which bounces between the lines and need constant input. On EV6 I just need to keep my hands on the steering wheel so that it won't nag me and correct the course with little effort the very few times the LKA/LCA gets a little confused when the lane spilts or merges

PS: My experience could also be lack of understanding of Mach-E. EV6 is my second car with similar infotainment and same driver assists (Genesis GV80). So, I know a lot more about the settings. I haven't had a Ford car other than a 2012 Focus which has a completely different infotainment system and driver assists if there were any. I might be completely missing some settings and could find them with time

 

[LincolnLuvr]

BlueCruise on Highways are superior to the HDA2 in EV6 except for the lane change assist.

Why is Blue Cruise better on highways than HDA2?

 

[Socalsp3]

Why is Blue Cruise better on highways than HDA2?

the mapping helps it take curves a little better than HDA and allow handsfree. blue cruise will still nag you though on curves.

 

[voxel]

Edit to add the driver assist details: Lane Keeping assist (LKA) in Mach-E wouldn't keep the car in lane properly unless ACC is on. The LKA and Lane Centering Assist (LCA) together in EV6 always keeps the car in the lane and I can drive handsfree for some distance on a well marked road. BlueCruise on Highways are superior to the HDA2 in EV6 except for the lane change assist. But on an inner city road the driver assists works better in the EV6. Not saying it is perfect in EV6. It still wobbles here and there, but not like it is in Mach-E which bounces between the lines and need constant input. On EV6 I just need to keep my hands on the steering wheel so that it won't nag me and correct the course with little effort the very few times the LKA/LCA gets a little confused when the lane spilts or merges

Now that I own a Telluride and it is the same system I can confirm that LKA on the Kia is incredible. On my ID.4, it was utter garbage with false positives on local roads near me. Toyota's Safety Sense 2.5 also had LKA enabled on my RAV4 Prime and that was just acceptable. I had to disable LKA on Teslas because it freaks out all the time with warnings.

And yes.. the Kia/HDA system gets confused on lane splits.

I still prefer BC because it is hands free - even with the lane wobbling.

 

[Petey]

I have both the cars. EV6 has close to 5000 miles on it and just 300 on Mach-E. So far I feel EV6 drives better than the Mach-E. It is better planted on the road, especially on corners. Could be the wider tires on the EV6. I have the CA Route 1. So not sure how well insulated it is compared to a premium. The GT-Line AWD I have is noticeably quieter than the Mach-E.

I like how EV6 regen settings are more configurable. When I first test drove I5 and EV6, I didn't like the fact that I have hold the paddles to get any kind of regen. That was from lack of understanding how it works. You can set 5 levels (0, 1, 2, 3 and Max) of regen using the paddles. When you are the Max it switches to i-Pedal which is similar to 1-pedal in Mach-E and also drives similar and no longer needs to use the paddles to get the regen and breaking. Also, you could press and hold the right paddle to set the regen to Auto mode which works like Adaptive cruise depending on the proximity and speed of the car in front of you and applies enough breaking and regen to slow down or speed up. You can add more regen by holding down the left paddle when in Auto.

Mach-E has a better implementation of the drive modes. Sport mode on EV6 has no effect on the steering. But the Unbridled actually tightens the steering and makes it feel more connected to the road. Also, EV6 skimped on the Frunk. I really like the utility of the Frunk in the Mach-E

Edit to add the driver assist details: Lane Keeping assist (LKA) in Mach-E wouldn't keep the car in lane properly unless ACC is on. The LKA and Lane Centering Assist (LCA) together in EV6 always keeps the car in the lane and I can drive handsfree for some distance on a well marked road. BlueCruise on Highways are superior to the HDA2 in EV6 except for the lane change assist. But on an inner city road the driver assists works better in the EV6. Not saying it is perfect in EV6. It still wobbles here and there, but not like it is in Mach-E which bounces between the lines and need constant input. On EV6 I just need to keep my hands on the steering wheel so that it won't nag me and correct the course with little effort the very few times the LKA/LCA gets a little confused when the lane spilts or merges

PS: My experience could also be lack of understanding of Mach-E. EV6 is my second car with similar infotainment and same driver assists (Genesis GV80). So, I know a lot more about the settings. I haven't had a Ford car other than a 2012 Focus which has a completely different infotainment system and driver assists if there were any. I might be completely missing some settings and could find them with time

If you had to choose one vs the other - which one would it be? Just got MME scheduled for premium AWD ER, and I have a EV6 GT Line AWD already in the garage. I like the kia, I think it is very practical, is a blast at stop lights... but the looks of the MME are better. I have a couple of months to choose, thanks for any extra input. These stories help a lot.

 

[Neil4Real]

I have both the cars. EV6 has close to 5000 miles on it and just 300 on Mach-E. So far I feel EV6 drives better than the Mach-E. It is better planted on the road, especially on corners. Could be the wider tires on the EV6. I have the CA Route 1. So not sure how well insulated it is compared to a premium. The GT-Line AWD I have is noticeably quieter than the Mach-E.

I like how EV6 regen settings are more configurable. When I first test drove I5 and EV6, I didn't like the fact that I have hold the paddles to get any kind of regen. That was from lack of understanding how it works. You can set 5 levels (0, 1, 2, 3 and Max) of regen using the paddles. When you are the Max it switches to i-Pedal which is similar to 1-pedal in Mach-E and also drives similar and no longer needs to use the paddles to get the regen and breaking. Also, you could press and hold the right paddle to set the regen to Auto mode which works like Adaptive cruise depending on the proximity and speed of the car in front of you and applies enough breaking and regen to slow down or speed up. You can add more regen by holding down the left paddle when in Auto.

Mach-E has a better implementation of the drive modes. Sport mode on EV6 has no effect on the steering. But the Unbridled actually tightens the steering and makes it feel more connected to the road. Also, EV6 skimped on the Frunk. I really like the utility of the Frunk in the Mach-E

Edit to add the driver assist details: Lane Keeping assist (LKA) in Mach-E wouldn't keep the car in lane properly unless ACC is on. The LKA and Lane Centering Assist (LCA) together in EV6 always keeps the car in the lane and I can drive handsfree for some distance on a well marked road. BlueCruise on Highways are superior to the HDA2 in EV6 except for the lane change assist. But on an inner city road the driver assists works better in the EV6. Not saying it is perfect in EV6. It still wobbles here and there, but not like it is in Mach-E which bounces between the lines and need constant input. On EV6 I just need to keep my hands on the steering wheel so that it won't nag me and correct the course with little effort the very few times the LKA/LCA gets a little confused when the lane spilts or merges

PS: My experience could also be lack of understanding of Mach-E. EV6 is my second car with similar infotainment and same driver assists (Genesis GV80). So, I know a lot more about the settings. I haven't had a Ford car other than a 2012 Focus which has a completely different infotainment system and driver assists if there were any. I might be completely missing some settings and could find them with time

Why not drive the MME a bit to give a real accurate accounting of it? 300 miles vs 5,000, I'd most definitely bet you'd favor everything the Kia has as that's become your daily driver. I did almost 300 miles right after I bought my MME, that's no way enough time to know which is better all around.

 

[krafty81]

Took some pix of the an EV6 next to my MME. EV6 sits lower.

 

[Electric Goat]

Thanks for the write-up. The Mach-E still has a long way to go to become an amazing car but it's currently the 2nd best EV on the market that anyone can buy. The Taycan is #1 IMO.

 

[Triggerhappy007]

If you had to choose one vs the other - which one would it be? Just got MME scheduled for premium AWD ER, and I have a EV6 GT Line AWD already in the garage. I like the kia, I think it is very practical, is a blast at stop lights... but the looks of the MME are better. I have a couple of months to choose, thanks for any extra input. These stories help a lot.

I would take delivery of it, drive it for at least a month, then make your decision.

 

[mmejersey]

If you had to choose one vs the other - which one would it be? Just got MME scheduled for premium AWD ER, and I have a EV6 GT Line AWD already in the garage. I like the kia, I think it is very practical, is a blast at stop lights... but the looks of the MME are better. I have a couple of months to choose, thanks for any extra input. These stories help a lot.

It is a very hard choice. As I said my time in Mach-E is very limited compared to EV6. The likes and dislikes are very subjective. What I like in EV6 may not be how you want your car to drive. So the best advice will be to take delivery of the car if you can and give it shot before deciding. As for me, I am keeping both the cars

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