The EV6 offers four trims and two battery sizes. A 63.0 kWh pack powers the Light with 167 horsepower, and an 84.0 kWh pack serves the Light Long Range, Wind and GT-Line with 225 horsepower in rear-wheel drive or 320 horsepower and 446 lb-ft with all-wheel drive, which cuts the run to 60 mph to 5.0 seconds.

The Ariya was offered with a 66 kWh or 91 kWh battery in four grades. Front-drive versions made 214 or 238 horsepower with 221 lb-ft in both cases, and the dual-motor e-4ORCE all-wheel-drive versions made 335 or 389 horsepower with up to 442 lb-ft, reaching 60 mph in a Nissan-estimated 4.8 seconds.

Charging is where the two separate most clearly. The EV6 is built on an 800-volt E-GMP architecture and accepts up to 240 kW on its long-range battery, which Kia rates at 10 to 80 percent in 20 minutes on a 350 kW charger. It also carries a native NACS port, so Tesla Superchargers are reachable without an adapter.

The Ariya used a 400-volt system with a peak DC rate of 130 kW, which Nissan quoted at 35 minutes for the 66 kWh battery and 40 minutes for the 91 kWh battery. It used a CCS port, and Supercharger access required Nissan's own NACS adapter. Both cars fit twin 12.3-inch displays as standard. The Ariya included a head-up display on every grade, and on the EV6 it comes with the GT-Line.

Kia fits its Drive Wise suite to every EV6: Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection, Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keep Assist, Lane Following Assist, Smart Cruise Control with Stop and Go and Highway Driving Assist. The Wind and GT-Line step up to Highway Driving Assist 2 with turn-signal-activated lane changes plus a Surround View Monitor and Blind-Spot View Monitor.

Nissan Safety Shield 360 was standard across the Ariya range, and ProPILOT Assist came on every grade, with the hands-free ProPILOT Assist 2.0 reserved for the Platinum+ e-4ORCE. The EV6 also carries rear seat-mounted side airbags in addition to the usual front and curtain bags.

Both seat five. The EV6 rides a 114.2-inch wheelbase and offers 42.4 inches of front legroom and 39.0 inches in the rear, with 24.4 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats and 46.7 cubic feet with them folded.

The Ariya sat on a 109.3-inch wheelbase with 42.3 inches of front legroom and 37.0 inches in the rear. Its cabin leaned on a flat floor and a sliding center console, and Nissan fitted heated rear outboard seats to every grade. The EV6 counters with heated front seats standard on all trims and ventilated front seats available higher up.

The EV6 measures 184.8 inches long and 74.0 inches wide on a 60.8-inch roofline, with flush pop-out door handles and a full-width rear light bar. Wheels run 19 inches on most trims, with 20-inch alloys arriving on the GT-Line with all-wheel drive.

The Ariya was shorter at 182.9 inches and slightly taller at 65.4 inches, with a closed-off grille panel carrying an illuminated Nissan badge. Range is where the two diverge again: the EV6 reaches an EPA-estimated 319 miles in rear-wheel drive, while the Ariya's best figure is 289 miles, achieved in front-wheel drive.