The KGM Torres EVX is one of the most practical electric cars on the market.
KGM bought over SsangYong last year and the Torres is one of the first new vehicles to be launched under its stewardship.
It’s available with petrol power or in the fully electric EVX version tested here
A 73.4kWh battery powers an electric motor that drives the front wheels. One of the first questions anyone asks about electric cars is: what is the range?
The Torres EVX will cover 287 miles, according to the official WLTP measurement.
My week with the Torres EVX came in August and in mild temperatures I found it was good for about 240 miles.
In winter expect a range of 180-200 miles and it will charge at speeds of up to 120kW.
Exploring some roads in Fife and Angus
The KGM Torres EVX drives nicely enough but can’t match the best of its opposition when it comes to dynamics and refinement. I did a lot of driving through rural Fife and Angus in my test car.
The soft suspension does a good job of soaking up bumps but the trade off is the body rocks and rolls around on undulating roads or during hard cornering.
Driving between Ceres and Upper Largo the car wasn’t as composed as I would like navigating twists in the road.
It’s well suited to dual carriageway or motorway driving, however. I did several journeys along the A90 from Dundee to Forfar and Brechin and it cruises smoothly and quietly at 70mph.
The high-up driving position gives a good view of the road as well.
Speed and towing capacity
A 0-62mph time of 8.1 seconds is below average for electric cars but it should be fast enough to satisfy most users.
There’s a bit of wheelspin on wet roads so you have to go easy when conditions are tricky.
It pulls well, even when fully loaded with passengers and luggage.
With a towing capacity of 1,500kg, it’s one of the better electric cars when it comes to towing.
Caravan owners or those who regularly haul trailers may want to take a look at it.
It’s a good-looking car, too. KGM have borrowed styling cues from Jeep and Land Rover to come up with a car that looks sleek but rugged at the same time.
Inside, you get a smart, minimalist interior with leather seats (faux leather in the entry-level version) a large touchscreen and lots of copper trim.
Price-wise, the Torres EVX costs £44,495 for the entry-level K30 model and £47,495 for the K40 version I drove.
That pitches it in the same price bracket as talented EVs such as the Kia EV6, Tesla Model Y, Skoda Enyaq and Hyundai Ioniq 5.
KGM also offers one of the best warranties on the market. The Torres EVX comes with a seven-year, 90,000-mile warranty.
The battery, meanwhile, has a warranty of 10 years or one million kilometres – an astonishing 621,000 miles.
Even when the odometer shows such stratospheric numbers KGM guarantees the battery will still have 70% of its original capacity.
KGM Torres EVX is super-practical
Without doubt, the KGM Torres EVX’s biggest strength is practicality.
There’s more space in it than there was in some of my student flats.
Rear-seat passengers have acres of leg and head room, even if the front seats are slid all the way back.
At 703 litres, the boot is gigantic. By comparison, the Nissan Ariya has 466 litres, the Kia EV6 has 480 and even the super-practical Skoda Enyaq only has 585.
Tesla claims 850 litres for the Model Y but they measure all the way to the roofline instead of to the parcel shelf like everyone else. The Torres EVX has a much bigger boot than the Model Y.
Sluggish touchscreen
My biggest issue with the KGM Torres EVX is not its looks, its range or how it drives. All these aspects are fine. It’s the sluggish, poorly designed user interface.
The car would frequently ignore my attempts to change radio station, only to then scroll through half a dozen stations a minute or two later.
Another time, I tried to increase the volume on the radio but nothing happened and I gave up after a few attempts. A couple of minutes later the volume roared all the way up to maximum, almost deafening me.
I hammered the ‘volume down’ button but it ignored that input as well and I had to drive with the music blaring at ear-splitting levels until it blessedly quietened down about a mile along the road.
Apologies to the people of Ceres who had to endure Absolute 80s radio booming through their peaceful village.
If you connect to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, you can’t change the climate control without being taken away from the smartphone mirroring screen.
A redesigned touchscreen with a more responsive and intuitive user interface would do wonders for my opinion of the KGM Torres EVX.
Verdict
Other than that it’s a pretty solid car. Range and efficiency aren’t bad. It’s a stylish SUV that has a nice interior. And it has generous passenger space and a gigantic boot.
There are plenty of very talented electric cars for similar money but none of them offer as much passenger and cargo space as the KGM Torres EVX.
KGM Torres EVX review – facts:
Price: £47,495
0-62mph: 8.1 seconds
Top speed: 109mph
Range: 287 miles
CO2 emissions: 0g/km
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