Compare the2025 Kia EV6VS 2025 Nissan Ariya

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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Both the EV6 and Ariya have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The EV6 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Ariya’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

Both the EV6 and Ariya have rear cross-traffic warning, but the EV6 has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Ariya’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the EV6 and the Ariya have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Kia EV6 is safer than the Nissan Ariya:

	EV6	Ariya
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	122	179
Neck Injury Risk	19.2%	45.3%
Neck Stress	191 lbs.	387 lbs.
Neck Compression	20 lbs.	57 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	202/276 lbs.	272/267 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	170	314
Chest Compression	.7 inches	.8 inches
Neck Injury Risk	32.5%	43.4%
Neck Stress	98 lbs.	226 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Kia EV6 is safer than the Nissan Ariya:

	EV6	Ariya
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	77	85
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	82	89
Hip Force	367 lbs.	529 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Hip Force	731 lbs.	1022 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the EV6 is 1.7% to 2.5% less likely to roll over than the Ariya.

Warranty

The EV6 comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Ariya’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the EV6 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Nissan covers the Ariya. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Ariya ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Nissan vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, Nissan is ranked 6th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in long-term dependability. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Nissan is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 3 places higher in reliability than Nissan.

Engine

The EV6 has more powerful engines than the Ariya:

	Horsepower	Torque
EV6 Light Short Range electric motor	167 HP	258 lbs.-ft.
EV6 Long Range electric motor	225 HP	258 lbs.-ft.
EV6 Long Range electric motors	320 HP	446 lbs.-ft.
EV6 GT electric motors	641 HP	568 lbs.-ft.
Ariya Engage electric motor	214 HP	221 lbs.-ft.
Ariya Evolve+ electric motor	238 HP	221 lbs.-ft.
Ariya Engage electric motors	335 HP	413 lbs.-ft.
Ariya Engage+/Evolve+/Platinum+ electric motors	389 HP	442 lbs.-ft.

As tested in Consumer Reports the EV6 Long Range electric motors is faster than the Ariya Engage+/Evolve+/Platinum+ electric motors:

	EV6	Ariya
Zero to 30 MPH	1.8 sec	2.6 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	4.7 sec	5.4 sec
Quarter Mile	13.4 sec	13.8 sec

As tested in Car and Driver the EV6 Long Range electric motors is faster than the Ariya Evolve+ electric motor:

	EV6	Ariya
Zero to 60 MPH	4.4 sec	7.5 sec
Quarter Mile	13.1 sec	15.9 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	103 MPH	92 MPH
Top Speed	118 MPH	118 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

The EV6 can travel longer on a full charge than the Ariya on a full charge:

			Miles
EV6
	RWD	Long Range Electric Motor	319 miles
		Light Short Range Electric Motor	240 miles
	AWD	19" Wheels Electric Motors	295 miles
		20" Wheels Electric Motors	270 miles
		GT Electric Motors	231 miles
Ariya
	FWD	Evolve+ Electric Motor	289 miles
		Engage Electric Motor	216 miles
	AWD	Engage+/Evolve+ Electric Motors	272 miles
		Platinum+ Electric Motors	267 miles
		Platinum+ 20" Wheels Electric Motors	257 miles
		Engage Electric Motors	205 miles

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the EV6’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Ariya:

	EV6	EV6 GT	Ariya	Ariya + e-4ORCE
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	15 inches	11.7 inches	14.3 inches
Rear Rotors	12.8 inches	14.2 inches	11.33 inches	13 inches

The EV6 stops much shorter than the Ariya:

	EV6	Ariya
100 to 0 MPH	331 feet	342 feet	Car and Driver
70 to 0 MPH	159 feet	176 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	114 feet	122 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	136 feet	139 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the EV6 GT-Line e-AWD’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Ariya (255/45R20 vs. 245/45R20).

The EV6 GT’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Ariya Platinum+’s optional 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the EV6 GT has standard 21-inch wheels. The Ariya’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

Suspension and Handling

The EV6 offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Ariya’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the EV6’s wheelbase is 4.9 inches longer than on the Ariya (114.2 inches vs. 109.3 inches).

The EV6 GT handles at .92 G’s, while the Ariya pulls only .85 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The EV6 GT executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the Ariya Platinum+ (25.1 seconds @ .77 average G’s vs. 26.3 seconds @ .71 average G’s).

Chassis

The front grille of the EV6 uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Ariya doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The EV6 has .1 inches more front legroom, .7 inches more front shoulder room, 2 inches more rear legroom and .7 inches more rear hip room than the Ariya.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the EV6 easier. The EV6’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 28.6 inches, while the Ariya’s liftover is 30.6 inches.

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the EV6’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Ariya doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Nissan Ariya is limited to 1500 pounds. The EV6 offers up to a 2300 lbs. towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The EV6 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Ariya uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The EV6 has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Ariya doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The EV6’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Ariya’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The EV6’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Ariya’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

The EV6 offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the rear seat, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Ariya doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The EV6 GT-Line/GT’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Ariya Platinum+’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Economic Advantages

The EV6 will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the EV6 will retain 51.38% to 51.88% of its original price after five years, while the Ariya only retains 49.41% to 50.01%.

Recommendations

J.D. Power and Associates rated the EV6 first among compact suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Ariya isn’t in the top three.

The EV6 was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2023. The Ariya has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the EV6 as the 2023 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Ariya has never been chosen.

The Kia EV6 outsold the Nissan Ariya by 9% during 2024.

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