A Kia EV6 Owner Says It’s Way More Efficient Than His 2017 Prius Prime, Using Just 10 Miles of Range for a 30-Mile Drive, But "I Can't Believe a Car at This Price Lacks Basic Prius Features Like Touch-to-Unlock Doors"

The transition from a 2017 Prius Prime to a Kia EV6 should feel like a clean technological leap. New platform, more power, more range, more money. And yet, as one new EV6 Wind owner discovered, progress does not always move in straight lines. 

In a post shared with the KIA EV6 Owners USA group, the owner praised the EV6 for its efficiency and refinement, while expressing genuine disbelief that a $50,000 electric crossover lacks everyday conveniences his six-year-old Prius handled without drama.

The comparison begins with efficiency, and here the EV6 makes a strong case for itself. On a roughly 30-mile round trip that included a movie outing and a few extra stops, the car reported using only about 10 miles of displayed range. For a vehicle that is larger, heavier, and significantly more powerful than a Prius Prime, that result is striking. It shows how far EV efficiency has come, especially in real-world, mixed driving, where regenerative braking and steady cruising can quietly stack the odds in the driver’s favor.

“We just purchased a 2023 wind. And so these are my thoughts on the car at the moment, after having it for a few days. Previously, I had a 2017 Prius Prime, which is a PHEV.

A few things that I miss from my Prius that I cannot believe are not on a $50,000 car.

On the Prius, I walk up, and I can unlock the car simply by touching the door handle. Same thing to lock the car. I just tap it it locks.

You can walk up to the car and have the tailgate automatically open, but you can’t have the doors automatically lock and unlock. I don’t get it. 

Heated steering wheel. I know you can get it on the. EV6 AWD, but why do I have to purchase the all-wheel-drive in order to get a heated steering wheel?

What I love 

I realize it’s EV, but it’s still quiet road noise-wise. I always seem to have trouble with tires. I always get tires that produce awful road noise, especially on the highway. 

The heated seats. I’ve had heated seats in the last three cars I’ve owned, but they never get hot. They get decently warm. This car gets downright hot. I love it. 

Ventilated seats, I have never had a car with that before, and in the hot, humid Oklahoma Summers it’s gonna come in handy

The mileage is impressive. Today, the wife and I went to the theater, which is about 12 miles each way. Plus a few extra places, so probably close to 30 miles yet, when we got back, the mileage that the car said we could go was down only 10 miles.

I do like the sort of self-driving. However, it still amazes me that Tesla has been doing this for years, and I can’t believe that somebody else has not come up with something close. 

We were going to do the digital key, but realized it’s a subscription and didn’t want to do that. 

I love the styling. It’s so sleek, and it stands out.

Can’t wait to drive it more.”

The surprise comes not from what the EV6 does well, but from what it does not do at all. The owner points out that his Prius allowed simple touch-to-unlock and touch-to-lock on the door handles, no buttons, no extra thought required. Walk up, grab the handle, get in. Walk away, tap, lock. In the EV6 Wind trim, that basic interaction is either missing or inconsistently implemented, even though the vehicle will automatically open the tailgate when approached. To the owner, the logic feels backwards. If the car knows you are there, why stop halfway?

Kia EV6: Unexpected Ergonomics

• The EV6’s low seating position relative to other crossovers alters driver sightlines, creating a more car-like feel that may surprise buyers expecting SUV ergonomics.
• Thermal management systems play a noticeable role in performance consistency, with power delivery remaining stable across repeated acceleration rather than tapering quickly.
• Interior storage prioritizes open console space over enclosed compartments, which affects how small items are secured during aggressive driving.
• Rear-seat comfort benefits from the flat floor, though the combination of low cushion height and sloped roof shapes long-trip ergonomics.

The frustration deepens with feature bundling. A heated steering wheel, something Prius owners have taken for granted in colder climates, is locked behind all-wheel drive on the EV6. Want warm hands in winter? Buy another drivetrain. That kind of packaging may make sense on a spreadsheet, but it clashes with the expectation that a modern, premium-priced EV should allow buyers to choose comfort features without dragging in unrelated hardware.

And yet, when the EV6 gets something right, it really gets it right. Road noise, often a sore spot for drivers who are sensitive to tire selection, is notably low. The owner mentions a long history of battling noisy tires, only to find the EV6 calm and composed at speed. The heated seats earn special praise as well, not for having the feature, but for actually delivering heat. These are seats that get genuinely hot, not politely warm, and in daily use, that matters.

Ventilated seats are another revelation. For drivers in hot, humid regions like Oklahoma, this is not a luxury gimmick but a quality-of-life improvement. Once experienced, it is hard to give up, and it highlights how the EV6 sometimes feels ahead of mainstream expectations while simultaneously lagging behind them in simpler areas.

Driver assistance also lands in a familiar middle ground. The owner appreciates the semi-autonomous features but cannot help noticing that Tesla has normalized this experience for years. The EV6 works, but it does not redefine expectations. It feels competent rather than transformative, which is fine, until you remember the price point and the pace at which competitors are moving.

The digital key discussion adds another wrinkle. The feature exists, but it lives behind a subscription. Rather than feeling futuristic, that model pushed the owner away entirely. The technology was not rejected because it failed, but because it asked too much for too little. That decision reflects a broader fatigue among buyers who increasingly bristle at paywalls for hardware already built into the car.

Community responses filled in some gaps. Other owners pointed out that pressing the indentation on the door handle will lock and unlock the car, and that higher trims offer self-presenting handles that remove much of the friction. That clarification helps, but it also reinforces the original point. These features exist, just not consistently across trims, and not always communicated clearly at purchase.

The EV6 leaves a mixed but honest impression. It is efficient to a degree that would have seemed impossible a decade ago. It is quiet, stylish, and genuinely comfortable. But it also stumbles over small, human details that Toyota solved long ago with far less fanfare. The result is not disappointment so much as confusion. How can a car feel so advanced and so oddly incomplete at the same time?

For this owner, the verdict is still optimistic. He likes the car. He wants to drive it more. But the experience serves as a reminder that progress is not just about range, power, or screens. Sometimes it is about whether a door unlocks the way your hand expects it to.

Image Sources: Kia Media Center

Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.