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New Kia EV6 vs used Jaguar I-Pace: costs
The Kia EV6 is a class-leading new electric SUV, but for slightly less you could have a used version of Jaguar's super-desirable I-Pace. So, which is the better buy?...
Buying and owning
Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security
Such is the huge demand for new electric cars at the moment that you can't get any money off the Kia EV6, even if you buy through our free New Car Buying service. That means it will cost you around £2500 more than a 2019 Jaguar I-Pace in good condition and with average mileage for the year.
Alternatively, if you choose to buy on PCP finance, our Target PCP for the EV6 is £663 per month, assuming a 15% deposit of £7079 and 36 payments at an APR of 5.9%.
At first glance, this looks a lot more tempting than the £1016 per month for 60 months that you'll pay to buy the I-Pace from a dealer on hire purchase; it isn't available on a PCP due to its age. However, bear in mind that no deposit is required and at the end of the agreement, you'll own the I-Pace outright, whereas this requires a final 'balloon' payment of £22,592 with the EV6.
Things look good for both cars when it comes to depreciation. Our experience with the Kia e-Niro suggests that the EV6 will lose very little of its value over the first three years of ownership. Meanwhile, the I-Pace's original owner has already taken the initial big hit in depreciation, and our resale value experts can’t see it losing an awful lot more money over the next few years. In short, there's going to be very little in it with these two.
In terms of running costs, though, the EV6 should be the cheaper option. Our three-year figures show that it will cost around £1000 less to insure than the I-Pace, thanks to its lower insurance group rating, and around £1470 less to service. You’ll also be spending more on electricity with the I-Pace, because its battery is bigger than the EV6’s, and yet you can't go as far on a charge.
In the I-Pace, fully recharging the battery with a 7kW wall box (as you might when plugging in at home overnight) takes 12 hours 45 minutes. A 50kW public charger gets it from 0-80% in 90 minutes, while units that can dispense electricity at the car's 100kW maximum rate bring that down to 45 minutes.
The EV6 is capable of super-fast 235kW charging, which allows its battery to go from 10-80% in just 18 minutes, although such units are rare in the UK at the moment. At the far more common 50kW units, you're looking at 73 minutes for a 0-80% charge. And a 0-100% charge from a 7kW home wallbox requires 9 hours 58 minutes.
Both cars are well equipped, getting everything from dual-zone climate control to lane keeping assistance, although heated front seats were only an option on the I-Pace when it was new, whereas these are standard on the EV6.
Kia also includes a clever device that allows the charging port to double as a 3.5kW three-pin plug socket, which you can use to boil a kettle or even (very slowly) charge another electric car.
The EV6 was too new to feature in the most recent What Car? Reliability Survey, but the I-Pace finished in last place (eighth out of eight) in the electric car category, while the EV6’s sibling, the e-Niro, finished in a respectable third place. Jaguar as a brand ranked a disappointing 21st out of 30 manufacturers featured, too, whereas Kia came ninth.
The EV6 benefits from an attractive seven-year warranty from new, whereas the I-Pace bought at this age will be out of the manufacturer’s three-year warranty period. However, if you buy one from a Jaguar dealer it should offer a year’s warranty.
The I-Pace performed well when crash-tested by the independent safety experts at Euro NCAP, earning the maximum five-star rating. However, the EV6 also received five stars, despite being tested under stricter criteria, as all of the latest cars are.
Alternatives
New rivals, used rivals
One of the EV6's biggest competitors is the closely related Hyundai Ioniq 5, which is competitive when it comes to practicality and range. However, it doesn't strike quite such a good balance between ride comfort and body control.
A cheaper alternative that's worth considering is the roomy Skoda Enyaq iV, while the Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia e-Niro are great used buys; they can be bought for between £30,000 and £36,000 as two-year-old models.
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