EV Interior Comparison: Kia EV6 vs VW ID.4 vs Ford Mustang Mach-E

This feature compares the interiors of three of the hottest electric crossovers of the past year: the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Kia EV6, and VW ID.4.

Let’s dive into the finer details of each machine’s interior with a comparison of each to the rest, a look at key pros and cons, and a look at storage and space by the numbers.

Ford Mustang Mach-E

Mustang Mach-E Photo by Justin Pritchard

Headroom (Max): 1,100 mm

Front Legroom: 1100 mm

Rear Legroom: 968 mm

Cargo Volume (Rear Seats Up): 841 L

Cargo Volume (Rear Seats Down): 1,691 L

The Ford Mustang Mach-E was my biggest surprise of early 2021. My tester was the First Edition model, with 346 horsepower, all-wheel drive (AWD), and range pegged around 435 kilometres.

The important thing to know about this five-door electric Mustang crossover is that it’s an excellent machine to drive. Forget the electric side of the equation — the Mach-E quickly became one of my all-time favourite highway cruisers because it rides beautifully, helps you relax and unwind, keeps noise levels very nicely in check, feels very dense and solid, and has what I figure is the best overall road feel of this trio.

Like each of these machines, the Mustang Mach E is two things a lot of customers are interested in these days: first, a roomy and flexible crossover; and second, an electric vehicle.

The Mach-E’s interior is a freshly modernized take on a distinctively ‘Ford’ cabin. There’s a high-end sound bar built into the dash behind a fabric cover, and a decided lack of many buttons and switches. A giant touch-screen interface is used instead, allowing easy access to all common controls on the main screen, easy access to further menus and functions, and is finished with the great-looking floating volume dial.

Mustang Mach-E Photo by Justin Pritchard

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium Photo by Renita Naraine

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E Performance Edition Photo by Chris Balcerak

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium Photo by Renita Naraine

Nearby, the infotainment screen is vertically arranged with clean, crisp graphics, liquid-smooth animations, a slippery polished surface, and a convincingly high-end feel that’s genuinely straightforward and easy to use, while simultaneously great to look at in action. My eyes needed a bit more time away from the road to properly find some functions displayed lower on the screen in this orientation, so you may prefer a horizontal layout instead.

You may also wish for a bigger instrument cluster — this one’s scarcely larger than a big smartphone. On the other hand, a smaller cluster does mean less screen in your face as you’re relaxing and taking in the scenery.

In the back, I noted no issue with space for two adults of average size, and was able to sit behind myself in the rear, with leg and knee room to spare. Like all three models here, the Mach-E has a flat rear floor with no hump, since there’s no need to clear a space underneath for exhaust pipes or driveshafts.

If you like sunroofs, you’ll probably like this. The Mustang Mach-E’s big glass panel is seamless, lets in plenty of light, and visually opens the cabin, though it does not open.

My tester ID.4 had a similar setup: specifically, a great big glass panel that has no seams, and lets in plenty of light. The Kia EV6’s sunroof is smaller and has a seam—though it does open at a button press to let in the breeze, if you like.

To wrap things up with the Mustang Mach E, we’ll let the footage do some of the talking here. I think most drivers will ultimately like the minimal but simultaneously high-tech look the designers have pulled off in here — just make sure you’re comfortable with the small instrument cluster and vertical screen layout.

Kia EV6

2022 Kia EV6 GT-Line Photo by Justin Pritchard

Headroom With Sunroof: 935 mm

Headroom Without Sunroof: 991 mm

Front Legroom: 1077 mm

Rear Legroom: 991 mm

Cargo Volume (Rear Seats Up): 691 L

Cargo Volume (Rear Seats Down): 1,322 L

When it came to screens and interfaces, the Kia EV6 was my favourite machine of the trio. It might very well be yours too, if you prefer a full-sized instrument cluster screen and a horizontal touch-screen interface as an alternative to the vertical layout in the Ford.

My EV6 tester’s wraparound screen saw a big and bright instrument cluster flow directly into a big and bright infotainment system, mimicking the forward display layout I’ve been seeing in more high-end models like the Cadillac Escalade and Mercedes S-Class lately.

The EV6’s cabin is probably the most fiddly of the group. The controls at the forward edge of the centre console are touch-sensitive and easy to activate accidentally with your wrist as you work the dual-mode control panel just ahead. This control panel is actually a 2-in-1 deal, with a contextual button changing the function of the control panel based on what you want to do.

It’s a cool touch, but more complicated than it needs to be. Ditto the USB ports, which are awkwardly located on the seatbacks and down low in a bin near the floor, though the wireless charging pad for your smartphone is nicely integrated within its surroundings.

2022 Kia EV6 GT-Line Photo by Justin Pritchard

Some will appreciate these gripes in exchange for the unique look and techy feel they give to the cabin, but if you prefer more straightforward controls, you’ve got better choices here.

Elsewhere, it’s a playful and fun collection of colours and textures, one layered over the next, to give the cabin an appearance that’s still fairly minimal, but also a little more exciting than the other two machines I’m showing you here. In the EV6, I think you’ve got the best chance of your eyes or fingertips landing on something you’ll like.

With a flat rear floor and a wheelbase as long as the three-row Kia Telluride, the EV6 feels generously roomy in the back, especially where legroom is concerned. Note that this machine’s low roofline means headroom will be at a premium for any taller-than-average occupants.

Displays are clean and sharp, and the touchscreen interface is very logical and easy to find your way around. It looks fancy in action, but you’ll be working it like a pro in no time. If you’re big on infotainment, I do think you’ll find the interface in the Mach-E a little more engaging and fun to use in terms of the graphics and animations, provided you’re okay with that vertical screen.

Of this trio, the EV6 was the only machine with camera mirrors, one of my favourite features of all time, and also a very clever 360-degree parking camera system with augmented reality selfie mode, allowing drivers to take a 360-degree walkaround of the car on the screen.

Volkswagen ID.4

2022 Volkswagen ID.4 Photo by Justin Pritchard

Headroom With Sunroof: 1,031 mm

Headroom Without Sunroof: 1,044 mm

Front Legroom: 1044 mm

Rear Legroom: 955 mm

Cargo Volume (Rear Seats Up): 858 L

Cargo Volume (Rear Seats Down): 1,818 L

Like the EV6 and Mach-E, the ID.4’s interior is clean, tidy, and minimal, while letting a healthy amount of modern tech and interfaces punch through the otherwise quiet scenery.

Of this trio, the ID.4’s interior was my favourite overall — not for styling or finish, but rather because of a few specific features and touches that just make sense to remove steps between you walking up to your car, and ultimately hitting the road.

The styling in here has a unique flair to it, most notably with plenty of gloss finishes and high-quality display screens. This has the smallest instrument cluster of the trio, but a central infotainment system that looks great and delivers a stress-free experience.

Still, the ID.4 is home to one of the most annoying features I’ve ever encountered in a new car. It has two window switches are used to control four windows. To roll down the rear glass, you’ve got to first tap a fiddly, touch-sensitive button and then work the same window switch you’d be using for the windows up front. I swore at these window switches all week long. It’s an annoying extra step, where two simple switches would suffice.

2022 Volkswagen ID.4 Photo by Justin Pritchard

2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Photo by Chris Balcerak

2022 Volkswagen ID.4 Photo by Justin Pritchard

Ghost in the 2022 Volkswagen ID.4 Photo by Justin Pritchard

2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Photo by Chris Balcerak

Elsewhere on gripes, steering-wheel controls are clumsier and less precise than the EV6, since the VW uses embedded touch pads and not hard buttons. This increases the need to feel your way around on the control surface before you click.

Annoying, but not dealbreakers.

Redemption comes from how well almost everything else works in here. With ‘sit-to-start’, you just walk up, open the door, sit down, buckle up, shift into gear, and drive off. There’s no need to touch your key or an engine start button. Exiting and shutting down is just the opposite: click into park, unbuckle, exit the vehicle, and walk off. The ID.4 powers itself off when your bum vacates the seat, and locks itself as you walk away.

If you’re running a day of errands around town with numerous stops, everything feels easy-breezy convenient when it’s time to board and exit.

Add in the clever smartphone storage layout, which sees your phone rest inside the centre console atop a wireless charging pad next to USB hookups, and all beneath a sliding cover to keep everything out of sight and secure. By the way, a cool breeze is always blowing through the centre console storage bin, which helps keep your handset from going thermonuclear as it charges.

Other fun charges include the LED communicator bar, which provides additional visual reinforcements relating to charging, locking, and driving your ID.4, and the gear shifter, integrated to the side of the instrument cluster for very easy access, right next to the steering wheel.

Keyword: EV Interior Comparison: Kia EV6 vs VW ID.4 vs Ford Mustang Mach-E

Ford Mustang Mach-E

Kia EV6

Volkswagen ID.4

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