DEPTH CHARGERS

THERE'S MORE TO EV PERFORMANCE THAN EXPLOSIVE STRAIGHT-LINE SPEED. ONE OF THIS PAIR HAS A DEEPER GRASP OF THAT THAN THE OTHER

- JOHN LAW

SO, YOU'VE GOT $100K burning a hole in your pocket and you want to go fast. Real fast.

Turns out, you can crack the ton in under four seconds for that outlay- and not by buying some spine-compressing rally rocket or depreciated exotica. No, you can go that fast in SUVs with space for five adults in comfort.

For that, we can thank the instant output and efficiency of electric motors, but as Wheels readers will know, outright speed is not enough. In fact, it gets boring pretty quickly. Performance cars - which the Tesla Model Y Performance and Kia EV6 GT profess to be - must deliver more than just face-melting acceleration.

The flagship Kia EV6 GT has plenty going for it on paper. Its twin electric motors churn out 430kW to get it to 100km/h in 3.5 seconds - and that's backed up by ensconcing bucket seats, Australian-tuned adaptive dampers, and a clever torque-vectoring limited-slip rear differential.

Tesla's Model Y Performance? As usual, it's devoid of any official outputs, leaving us with only Tesla's 0-100km/h claim of 3.7 seconds, and 514km WLTP driving range.

For half the price, both tested cars eclipse an Audi RS6 in a straight line, but which is best? Additionally, for nearly $30K more, are these hi-po battery bandits really better than the more prosaic variants on which they are based? In terms of pricing, the Kia and are Tesla are neatly aligned.

The EV6 GT starts at $99,950 before on-road costs, while the Model Y Performance is a little cheaper at $98,955.