Kia EV6 vs Volkswagen ID.4 GTX: running costs and warranty

While neither cars tested here sit at the very top of their respective line-ups – the more powerful EV6 GT will be arriving later in 2022, while the higher-spec ID.4 GTX Max is the most expensive version of the Volkswagen. Regardless, the GTX has a starting price of £49,025, although with a heat pump (£1,020) and three-pin charging cable (£185) added, our car’s as-tested price was £50,895. Meanwhile, the EV6 we drove came in at £51,945.

Both cars will be incredibly cheap to run, like most electric vehicles. Company-car drivers specifically will love the 1% Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax rate, meaning a 20% earner need only pay around £100 a year to run either model. Both are also zero-rated for road tax, as well as exempt from the London Congestion Charge and other clean-air zone fees, for the time being.

We expect the Volkseagen will be the cheaper of two to insure for most, as it undercuts the Kia by a few groups. While the entry-level EV6 matches the ID.4 GTX’s group 34 rating, our high-spec AWD, GT-Line S model falls into group 40. If you decide to go for the ID.4 GTX Max with all the bells and whistles, that lands in group 36.

However, that’s balanced against the fact that the Kia was the more efficient on test, returning 3.1 miles per kWh. As a result, it'd cost you around £666 a year to cover 12,000 miles in, if you charge at home on a typical energy tariff of 13p per kWh. The Volkswagen, meanwhile, would cost slightly more, as it returned 2.7 miles per kWh, which equates to around £764 a year to cover 12,000 miles at the same rate. Of course, both of those figures can be reduced even further if you're on a dual-rate tariff.

The EV6 is also covered by Kia’s industry-leading seven-year/100,000-mile warranty, which easily trumps the VW’s rather ordinary three-year/60,000-mile guarantee. Although that should be enough for people who decide to lease or finance their ID.4 GTX on a typical three-year plan.