The Kia EV6 GT is one of our favorite electric vehicles and the Tesla Model Y Performance is one of the world’s most popular. Now, they’re going head to head in the creative race format that is a U-drag race. These very similar electric vehicles perform very differently.

A U-drag race is what Edmunds calls “the race to there and back” and that’s a succinct way to put it. Basically, both cars start off just as they would for a traditional drag race. After flying through the end of a quarter-mile stretch at full throttle they have to slow down, turn around, and race back to the start. It’s a great test that shows off handling, acceleration, and braking.

On paper, these cars are pretty similar. Both use dual electric motors, both are red, and both cost north of $60,000. They do have a few slight differences though. The Tesla makes 456 hp (340 kW) and weighs 4,419 pounds. That’s considerably less than the 576 hp (429 kW) and the 4,793 pounds of the Kia EV6 GT.

More: 2024 Kia EV6 Adds Two New And More Affordable Long Range Trims

The weight savings isn’t enough to help the Tesla keep up with the Kia off of the line in race one though. Despite a great launch, the Model Y Performance gives up more and more of a gap to the EV6 GT throughout the drag race portion. It appears to catch up a touch during the braking section but can’t close the gap entirely. It ends up losing race one by several car lengths.

Race two kicks off a bit differently. This time the Tesla gets an outstanding launch and puts a small gap on the Kia initially. The extra horsepower in the Korean EV is enough for it to reel the American crossover in by the end of the drag race though. The drivers attack the braking zone completely differently and the Kia gets a bigger gap.

It never lets it go and manages to snag a 2-0 record in the pair of U-drags. In the end, the Kia EV6 GT managed a best time of 34.2 seconds while the Tesla Model Y Performance was nearly a second back at 35.1. The results seem pretty clear, both are downright quick considering how much practicality they offer.

Just two electric SUVs with supercar speed head-to-head in the ultimate test of handing and performance pic.twitter.com/FZzJYErxfZ

— Edmunds (@edmunds) October 27, 2023