2021 Subaru Outback vs 2022 Kia EV6

The Outback, like any Subaru, is an old soul in a young person’s body. It embraces a rosier past of automotive history, back when cars were just cars and drivers were concerned only with driving. It’s conservative, unhip to fashion, and slow. Yet the 2021 Outback—a raised, all-wheel drive (AWD) station wagon like the first 1995 model—has all of today’s essentials and extra technology. Subaru just skips the fripperies and focuses on what people really need: Generous space, go-anywhere capability, reliability, low cost, high resale, and safety. It’s not all that innovative or stylish, but a Subaru Outback tackles the everyday banalities of life as few other cars can.

We didn't expect them to go there. But the designers and engineers behind the 2022 Kia EV6 did—and deleted the template of their company's affordable, cost-conscious brand. This is an electric performance car that can genuinely compete with a Tesla Model 3 on everything from tech to style to acceleration to charging time. It's a masterclass of fresh thinking in a market segment dominated by rehashed ideas. And yet, it's hampered by the same major problems that, for decades, remain unresolved. The EV6 would be amazing with battery technology that hasn't yet been invented. For now, we'll tell you what the present life is like with this most unusual and exciting Kia in years.