Compare the2026 Kia EV6VS 2026 Lexus ES

Both the EV6 and ES 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 ES’ 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.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the EV6 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The ES doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Kia EV6 achieved a “Acceptable” rating - the second highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Lexus ES has not been tested.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the EV6 has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning with Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Rear Cross-Traffic Braking costs extra on the ES.

Both the EV6 and the ES have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

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 ES’ 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the EV6 4 years and 30,000 miles longer than Lexus covers the ES. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the ES ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

There are over 3 times as many Kia dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the EV6’s warranty.

The EV6 has more powerful engines than the ES:

The EV6 can travel longer on a full charge than the ES on electricity, only, on a full charge:

For better traction, the EV6 GT-Line e-AWD’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the ES (255/45R20 vs. 235/55R19).

The EV6 is 1 foot, 5.5 inches shorter than the ES, making the EV6 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

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 ES doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The EV6 has .8 inches more front headroom, .6 inches more front legroom, .3 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom and 1.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the ES.

The EV6 was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2023. The ES 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 ES has never been chosen.