I'm tired of the naratives
I'm tired of the naratives that play up a battle between EVs. Tesla vs Bolt vs New Kid on Block.... It is as silly as the supposed rivalry between GM, Ford and Ram 4x4 trucks. (they all look alike to me)
The real epic battle is EV vs ICE. Every attractive new EV is an ally to every other EV. They are working together to build acceptance of the technology and public charging infrastructure.
We own a '17 Bolt and an '18 Model 3. This KIA looks like it was designed to take the best of both cars, while leaving behind their weaknesses. It's not trying to be a Tesla or a Bolt. It's trying to be a Kia.
I would have prefered to get more in the way of specs and less pontificating from the author. In particular, he failed to mention range. Charging from 10 to 80% in 18 minutes is a lot less impressive, if the car only has 150 miles of range.
Also, is the 800V DCFC compatible with the installed base of chargers? Does the battery itself operate at 800V, or did they put a DC-DC converter on board to step the 800V down to battery voltage for charging? (If they did, the car would accept any voltage up to 800V, which is a lot more useful than requiring an 800V charger)