No doubt about it, the Kia EV6 is a revolutionary vehicle; it wouldn’t have won the number of awards it did if it wasn’t. A quick Google search shows it to be an efficient, capable, long-range battery electric vehicle. But a quick drive reveals that it passes two criteria sought more by Filipino buyers: it’s wholly entertaining and great looking.

Exterior-wise, the EV6 wasn’t designed to “out-sci-fi” the competition. Surely, Kia designers could have make it seem like a production extra from Star Trek, but they didn’t. Instead, they designed it to appeal to buyers here and now. For that, its sportier design is far more approachable and can be appreciated by just about anyone. Best yet, it doesn’t stray too far from the ultra-successful crossover formula; but take note: while it appears small in pictures, in person, the 2,900 mm wheelbase makes it longer than even the mid-sized Sorento.

So, what does it mean for interior space? The EV6 is certainly cavernous but because of the thick pillars, it can make navigating through the tight confines of a place like Intramuros challenging. After a while though, you adjust for that extra girth and once you do, you’ll award it points for a well-thought-of execution. Like its exterior, the cabin’s more conventional and focused with none of the futuristic weirdness carmakers try to force down the throat of EV buyers. Having said that, the perforated suede seats with white leather inserts aren’t the ideal trim, at least locally. It doesn’t seem to play well with sweat. Despite just being a couple of months old, this tester is starting to smell funky.

Now, if there’s something truly weird about the EV6’s interior, it’s the dual-purpose control touch bar at the bottom of the center stack. Kia designers seem to have prioritized minimalism by combining the controls of both the audio and climate control with a single button that switches the functions between the two. In theory, it should work, but unfortunately, if you don’t know where to look, you might have trouble figuring out which button does what.

For the Philippine market, Kia Philippines is offering just one single variant: the GT-Line Long Range RWD. This setup not only gives you 229 horsepower and 350 Nm of torque, but more importantly, the larger 77.4-kWh battery. This allows the EV6 to cover around 528 kilometers on a single charge based on its U.S. EPA test. Furthermore, because it runs on an 800-volt battery architecture, the EV6 draws less current reducing heat while allowing it to top up faster (ultra-fast DC charging takes just 18 minutes from 10 to 80 percent using a 350-kW charger). Meanwhile, AC charging, at 11 kW takes 7 hours and 20 minutes.

The silent operation of the motor coupled with the impressive NVH insulation initially conjures up a general feel of disconnectedness when driving the EV6. However, once your other senses compensate for the lack of aural feedback, it is a surprisingly fun car to drive. On the straightaways, it offers a high level of acceleration confidence. It simply excels at dealing with intersection pull-aways and gap-threading. Through corners, it may not have sportscar levels of directness, but it’s well-connected and precise enough to transition from corner to corner with poise.

For those considering to go battery electric, the Kia EV6 is hard to beat. Kia Philippines has yet to reveal the final pricing, but as it stands, especially in terms of specs, it’s a brilliant EV. Not only does it have long range and the ability to charge quickly, but most important to Filipino buyers, it looks great and drives well too. In the end, these two, decidedly very emotional factors could very well give it a leg up the competition.