Thinking about getting the EV6. It looks like it’ll work great for everything I need, but I’m wondering about hauling my mountain bikes. I ride 3-4 times a week and need to put a hitch on to carry the bikes, but that’s all—no towing. Do you guys think the EV6 is good for this? Anyone else here using it for biking?
Yep, totally works. You can go with the dealer-installed hitch (kind of ugly but works), or check out the Stealth Hitch—it’s invisible when not in use and pretty easy to install.
Christopher said:
Yep, totally works. You can go with the dealer-installed hitch (kind of ugly but works), or check out the Stealth Hitch—it’s invisible when not in use and pretty easy to install.
You can actually remove the dealer-installed hitch, too.
@abidemi
Wait, what?
Christopher said:
@abidemi
Wait, what?
Yeah, mine was installed by Kia. You can take off the protruding part when you don’t need it.
Christopher said:
@abidemi
Wait, what?
Yeah, mine was installed by Kia. You can take off the protruding part when you don’t need it.
@Christopher
Hmm, mine doesn’t look like that at all. You can’t even see the hitch when it’s removed. The part where you hook up the electrics folds out of sight. But I’m in Europe, so maybe it’s different here.
@abidemi
Yeah, sounds like the US version is not nearly as sleek.
We’ve got a bike rack on the hitch, works perfectly. The boot can still open fine, and it only affects energy consumption a little.
zendaya said:
We’ve got a bike rack on the hitch, works perfectly. The boot can still open fine, and it only affects energy consumption a little.
I use a Kuat rack with two large mountain bikes. My energy efficiency drops to 2.7 mi/kWh on the highway.
@Connie
I’ve got a Thule rack with three regular bikes. I usually get 5.2 km/kWh instead of 5.5 km/kWh, so not much of a drop without the bikes.
zendaya said:
@Connie
I’ve got a Thule rack with three regular bikes. I usually get 5.2 km/kWh instead of 5.5 km/kWh, so not much of a drop without the bikes.
Interesting, I usually get 3.7 mi/kWh (5.9 km/kWh) without the bikes on the highway at 70 mph. What speed do you drive at? Surprised you don’t see more of a difference, it’s like a 37% drop for me.
@Connie
Maybe it’s the AWD vs. RWD thing? I usually drive between 80-100 km/h (50-62 mph) in normal mode.
One thing to keep in mind is efficiency. The EV6 is super dependent on aerodynamics, so you’re going to lose range with a hitch, bike rack, or roof rack. If you’re basing your expectations on the advertised range, you might be disappointed. It’s a great car, just know that anything added to the car’s exterior will hurt the range.
@Thomas
That looks awesome! What kind of speeds were you driving at? I’ve heard the range drops off faster at highway speeds because of the air resistance.
I put a hitch on from eTrailer.com (large receiver). It required a bit of modification to the rear fascia (some cutting). I was rear-ended before I could install it myself, so I just paid the body shop a bit extra to do it while they replaced the bumper fascia. The mods aren’t visible unless you get under the car.
Two minor issues: I got the larger receiver for flexibility, but using an adapter with my bike rack adds a bit of complexity. Also, the hitch sits a bit low, and I’ve scraped it a couple of times driving over steep parking lot entrances. No damage so far, but it’s still a bit jarring.
Other than that, no issues hanging 20-30 lbs off the back of a 4500-lb EV!