There’s been a number of exercise within the mid-sized electrical SUV section, however massive electrical SUVs – at the least these with out luxurious nameplates – are few and much between.
Enter the hulking 2024 Kia EV9, which measures simply over 5.0 metres lengthy – across the identical dimension as a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series – and is priced above $100,000 drive-away, even in base guise.
Whereas some manufacturers appear to wish to make their EVs both appear to be blobs or simply facsimiles of their combustion-powered vehicles, Kia has taken a distinct route.
The EV9 seems to be remarkably just like the idea that previewed it, with its squared-off strains and bulging fenders. Our tester’s matte blue exterior end makes it look much more like the unique idea.
This SUV has critical presence, and it’s bluff and imposing with out simply trying like a field on wheels.
If the design is a deal-breaker for you however you need an electrical three-row SUV proper now, you’re out of luck. You may get a significantly smaller Mercedes-Benz EQB, or a significantly costlier EQS SUV.
The Tesla Model X is useless in Australia, and the EV9’s Ioniq-badged platform-mate isn’t due in Hyundai Australia showrooms till later this yr.
The Kia and its upcoming Hyundai sibling, previewed by the 2021 Seven idea, are the most important autos on the Hyundai Motor Group’s E-GMP devoted electrical car (EV) structure.
They’re significantly bigger than platform-mates just like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 and Kia EV6.
How does the Kia EV9 examine?
View an in depth breakdown of the Kia EV9 in opposition to equally sized autos.
Kia
EV9
How a lot does the Kia EV9 value?
There are three EV9s on provide.
2024 Kia EV9 pricing:
- 2024 Kia EV9 Air: $97,000
- 2024 Kia EV9 Earth: $106,500
- 2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line: $121,000
Costs exclude on-road prices
To see how the Kia EV9 compares with its rivals, use our comparison tool.
The EV9 is an electrical counterpart of kinds to the Kia Telluride, a big three-row crossover, carefully associated to the Hyundai Palisade, which isn’t offered right here.
There’s no Telluride or Palisade that gives the sort of acceleration on provide with the EV9, and the electrical Kia – which is totally unrelated mechanically – additionally boasts some unique options.
Nonetheless, for comparability’s sake, the $121,000 earlier than on-roads value of our GT-Line, which works out to be $140,200 drive-away, is simply over $41,000 greater than the most costly Hyundai Palisade.
What’s the Kia EV9 like on the within?
The Kia EV9’s inside is clear and trendy however, whereas it doesn’t really feel low-cost, it isn’t what we’d name luxurious by way of supplies.
Nonetheless, it manages to keep away from trying like every other Kia.
There’s a number of smooth-grained, soft-touch plastic, harking back to a Hyundai Ioniq 5. Whereas it’s nicer than a Kia EV6 with its exhausting plastic sprint, there’s not a sea of leather-based and neat stitching particulars such as you may anticipate in a $100,000+ SUV.
Cloth inserts will be discovered on the doorways, sprint and on the perimeters of the centre console within the GT-Line, and serve to interrupt up this plastic. There are additionally metal-look accents on the sprint, in addition to gloss gray trim.
In contrast to the opposite members of the EV9 vary, the GT-Line encompasses a black suede (as a substitute of gray material) headliner. There are additionally alloy pedals and sill plates.
Additionally bettering the atmosphere is the in depth ambient lighting, which lets you choose colors for 2 totally different zones for a reasonably Mercedes-Benz-like impact. The illuminated Kia emblem on the steering wheel is a neat contact, too. Each of those options will be discovered on the mid-range Earth.
The entrance seats have a beautiful two-tone therapy, distinctive mesh headrests, and have heating, air flow and, for the driving force solely, a wonderful therapeutic massage perform.
The GT-Line uniquely will get ‘Premium Leisure’ seats with two-way energy leg rests, four-way energy lumbar and power-adjustable bolsters. Meaning they’re each snug whenever you’re driving, but in addition a delight whenever you’re enjoyable in your automobile ready for it to complete charging.
There’s a subtly patterned trim piece stretching throughout the sprint that incorporates touch-capacitive shortcut buttons for features just like the satellite tv for pc navigation. These are backlit when the automobile is on, and have haptic suggestions whenever you press them – although you’ll want to present them a agency press.
There’s nonetheless some conventional switchgear on the sprint, together with easy buttons for adjusting fan pace and temperature, and a metallic curler wheel for adjusting quantity. On the doorways, you’ll discover bodily switches for options just like the heated and ventilated seats.
These are all tactile, as are the metallic switches on the steering wheel.
Talking of the steering wheel, the illuminated Kia emblem is a neat contact.
Whereas the switches for fan pace and temperature are simple to entry and use, the local weather management display itself isn’t. It sits between the infotainment touchscreen and digital instrument cluster, which suggests it’s blocked by the steering wheel… except you’ve got a really, very totally different seating place to me.
The digital instrument cluster has neat graphics however there’s no map view such as you’ll discover in varied European autos. You might not have a look at all of it that a lot, although, as there’s a wonderful head-up show.
The infotainment system is great, other than the peculiar absence of wi-fi connectivity – at the least for now – for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Each properly replenish the 12.3-inch display.
Response occasions are fast and menus are intuitive. All that must be fastened is the annoying consumer profile display that seems whenever you begin the automobile and which takes too lengthy to go away.
We additionally famous a few attention-grabbing messages. When cleansing the windscreen, a message appeared on the touchscreen advising the scent of the washer fluid was mechanically prevented from coming into the cabin, whereas on one other event the display suggested us the rear air-conditioning had been turned off because the car (appropriately) didn’t detect any rear-seat occupants.
By way of storage, there’s an expansive shelf beneath the centre console which helps make up for the pretty small centre console bin underneath the centre armrest subsequent to the wi-fi charging pad.
There are two cupholders within the centre console which will be retracted to kind a extra open storage cavity, or hid beneath a curler cowl.
The second-row ground is flat, and the ambient lighting carries by way of to the again. There are USB-C retailers on the entrance seatbacks and air vents within the B-pillars, whereas there’s an unusually voluminous but darkish storage space on the rear of the centre console.
There’s loads of room in each route, and the second-row bench is snug. There’s a fold-down centre armrest with cupholders, plus handbook sunblinds.
Automobiles on devoted EV platforms are sometimes touted as providing packaging superior to combustion-powered autos.
Maybe that’s why I used to be anticipating an enormous third row, which the EV9 doesn’t have. A Palisade or Grand Cherokee L is arguably extra snug again right here for adults.
You may make it work, although. The third-row occupants of the EV9 might want to ask their associates within the second row to scooch their seat ahead a bit. It’s doable to have adults sit in each the second and third rows, offered they’re not NBA gamers.
With the second row in its common place, I couldn’t sit within the third row with out my knees being pressed firmly in opposition to the second row seatbacks, and I’m 180cm tall.
Headroom is nice, nonetheless, owing to the automobile’s boxy form.
By way of facilities, there are two cupholders and one USB-C outlet on both facet, plus air vents. There are top-tether factors for all second and third row seats, plus 4 ISOFIX anchor factors throughout these rows.
Boot house is common. You’ll be able to match a big suitcase and a carry-on with the third row up, with the house measuring 333L. Dropping the third row, which is finished by pulling the straps on the seatbacks, will increase house to 828L.
You’ll be able to drop the second row seats with the press of a button, additional growing cargo house to 2318L.
Within the boot, you’ll discover a 250V 16A outlet – useful if you wish to, for instance, cost a laptop computer – in addition to a 12V 180W outlet, and switches to drop the second-row seats. In contrast to different EV9s, the GT-Line additionally options an exterior vehicle-to-load (V2L) outlet.
As with most EVs, there’s no spare tyre. As an alternative, all you get is a tyre mobility equipment.
Beneath the bonnet, there’s an illuminated 52L storage compartment. That’s down on the 90L within the rear-wheel drive Air, with the presence of a entrance electrical motor necessitating a smaller compartment. It’s additionally rated to hold solely 20kg, as a substitute of 40kg, and goes with out an adjunct internet.
What’s underneath the bonnet?
The GT-Line shares its dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain with the mid-range Air, although Kia claims a 0.7-second faster 0-100km/h time.
| Mannequin | Kia EV9 GT-Line AWD |
|---|---|
| Drivetrain | Twin-motor electrical |
| Battery | 99.8kWh lithium-ion |
| Energy | 283kW |
| Torque | 700Nm |
| Pushed wheels | All-wheel drive |
| 0-100km/h time (claimed) | 5.3 seconds |
| 0-100km/h time (as examined) | 5.21 seconds |
| Weight | 2636kg (tare) |
| Vitality effectivity (claimed) | 22.8kWh/100km (WLTP) |
| Vitality effectivity (as examined) | 20.8kWh/100km (metropolis, freeway, suburban loop) 22.2kWh/100km (over the course of every week) |
| Claimed vary | 505km |
| Max DC cost fee | 270kW |
To see how the EV9 compares with its rivals, use our comparison tool.
How does the Kia EV9 drive?
Kia engineers ought to be counseled for making a automobile on large 21-inch wheels trip this effectively with out adaptive or air suspension.
We’ve pushed some Hyundai Motor Group merchandise on bigger wheels that may have a stiff really feel over bumps and ruts, and but have a floaty really feel to their suspension.
Not so the EV9. As you trip over bumps and ruts, there are simply muffled thumps with no impression harshness, whereas the car additionally feels properly tied down. Pockmarked roads are dispatched with no drama.
It will get just a little extra terse on an unsealed highway, nevertheless it’s nonetheless snug. There’s little if any penalty on trip consolation exacted by the 21s in contrast with the 19-inch wheels on the bottom Air.
For one thing that weighs over two and a half tons and rides a 3100mm wheelbase, the EV9 can also be impressively nimble.
It appears to shrink round you, as a drive alongside a winding mountain highway proved. The steering has a pleasant, progressive weighting to it, even when it mightn’t be the final phrase in highway really feel, and you’ll throw this massive bus into tight corners with out issues going pear-shaped.
However the place the EV9’s outsized dimensions are painfully obvious is in a car parking zone. That lengthy wheelbase makes this automobile a ache to park, even when the steering is sufficiently mild. The turning circle is 12.4m.
There’s an automatic parking system that may establish and manoeuvre into each parallel and perpendicular spots. You can even have it find a spot and get out of the automobile, holding down a button on the important thing fob to observe it manoeuvre into the spot. It’s a neat social gathering trick, even when it’s not all that helpful.
The GT-Line is correctly fast, doing the 0-100km/h sprint in 5.3 seconds. That’s speedy for one thing this massive and heavy, and but Kia nonetheless plans to launch an virtually actually faster GT mannequin!
There’s speedy torque on faucet in typical EV trend, and the EV9 will get its energy to the bottom easily and effortlessly.
You’ll be able to activate a faux propulsion sound, which was cool for about 10 minutes. I then turned it off and by no means activated it once more.
As an alternative, I simply loved the nearly imperceptible whir of the electrical motors. The cabin is quiet, with wind and tyre noise effectively suppressed.
There’s just a little tyre roar on coarse-chip roads, however not a lot that you could’t simply have a dialog together with your passengers.
The GT-Line will get three extra drive modes, with Snow, Mud and Sand becoming a member of Eco, Regular, Sport and My Drive Mode.
In Kia trend, the lane-keep help and lane centring are reasonably over-eager, however they know what they’re doing; even curvy off-ramps aren’t any downside for the latter.
The Freeway Driving Help, which mixes the adaptive cruise and lane centring methods, makes the freeway commute virtually senseless.
As with different latest Hyundai Motor Group merchandise, there’s an annoying overspeed alert that received’t shut up. It bings when it detects a brand new pace restrict, it dings should you exceed it even solely barely, and is simply an all-round ache within the behind. It additionally defaults to on, so it’s a must to manually flip it off every time.
Kia’s useful star shortcut buttons will be programmed to take you to the driving force help methods menu so you possibly can flip off this method (you possibly can flip off the sounds and maintain the pace signal readout lively).
I went to program the star button to take me there, and located the earlier driver had already executed it. Clearly I’m not the one one who finds this method annoying.
The motive force consideration monitoring system precisely identifies whether or not you’re paying consideration, although I discovered it chided me a few occasions for not trying forward after I was merely trying down on the digital instrument cluster.
Kia’s Blind Spot View Monitor is a superb concept, with digicam footage of your blind spot showing within the instrument cluster whenever you point out along with the standard indicator lights within the exterior mirrors.
There’s a digital rear-view mirror, permitting you to drag a tab beneath the mirror to modify it to displaying digicam footage of what’s behind you. That’s useful when you have a automobile loaded up with individuals and their belongings.
The digital digicam mirrors are much less helpful. Positive, they’re a fantastic dialog starter, however I’m struggling to consider one benefit they maintain over typical mirrors.
Whenever you go to vary lanes, useful pointers seem, so there’s that. However absolutely there aren’t any effectivity features right here, given they stick out simply as a lot as common mirrors and don’t notably look any extra aerodynamic.
Sadly, should you get the GT-Line, you’re caught with them.
On a blast by way of the mountains, I noticed power consumption of round 33kWh per 100km. Over a loop comprising inner-city, suburban and freeway driving, we recorded consumption of 20.8kWh/100km, and this elevated barely to 22.2kWh/100km over the course of every week.
That’s near the official WLTP declare of twenty-two.8kWh/100km.
With 100 per cent cost, the EV9 GT-Line displayed vary of 552km, although the official WLTP declare is 505km.
You’ll be able to modify the extent of regenerative braking utilizing the paddle shifters, although you’ll have to have interaction i-Pedal – Kia’s one-pedal driving mode – every time you begin the car. Once more, that is executed by way of the paddles.
i-Pedal will convey the automobile to a cease, nevertheless it’s not among the many extra aggressive one-pedal methods on the market.
Lastly, we’ve got to reward the adaptive LED headlights which not solely look nice, however work beautifully by casting mild far and large with out dazzling oncoming motorists.
What do you get?
There are three trim ranges within the EV9 vary, with the GT-Line sitting on the high for now.
EV9 Air highlights:
- Car to Load (V2L) inside socket
- Battery conditioning with warmth pump
- Eco, Regular, Sport and customized drive modes
- 19-inch alloy wheels in Kumho/Nexen 255/60 R19 tyres
- Tyre strain monitoring
- Tyre mobility equipment
- Electrochromic rear-view mirror
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Automated high-beam
- Automated LED headlights
- Keyless entry and begin
- Distant begin
- Seven seats
- Leatherette upholstery
- 8-way power-adjustable entrance seats with 2-way energy lumbar
- Sliding and reclining second-row seats
- Energy-folding second row
- 60:40 cut up/fold second-row seats
- 50:50 cut up/fold third-row seats
- Reclining third-row seats
- Heated steering wheel
- Heated entrance seats
- Ventilated entrance seats
- 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Kia Join Telematics
- Satellite tv for pc navigation
- Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- 5.0-inch local weather display
- 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
- 8-speaker sound system
- Tri-zone local weather management
- DAB digital radio
- Fingerprint authentication
- Wi-fi telephone charger
- 6 x USB-C retailers (two for every row)
- 2 x 12V retailers (one up entrance, one within the boot)
- 9 x cupholders
EV9 Earth:
- Terrain Mode Choose (Snow, Mud, Sand modes)
- 64-colour ambient lighting
- Gloss Black wheel arch extensions
EV9 GT-Line:
- Car to Load (V2L) exterior adaptor
- Energetic Sound Design (synthetic propulsion sound)
- 21-inch alloy wheels in Continental 285/45 R21 tyres
- Digital Aspect Mirrors
- Digital rear-view mirror
- Matrix LED headlights
- Twin sunroofs
- Rear privateness glass
- Gloss Black window surrounds
- Distant Good Park Help 2
- Two-tone leatherette upholstery
- ‘Premium Leisure’ entrance seats with two-way energy leg rests
- Driver’s reminiscence
- Heated and ventilated outboard second-row seats
- Black suede headliner
- Augmented actuality head-up show
- 14-speaker Meridian sound system
- Illuminated steering wheel emblem
- Alloy pedals
- ‘GT-Line Cloth’ sprint, door and centre console trim
- Debossed, backlit touch-capacitive controls
Is the Kia EV9 secure?
The Kia EV9 has but to be examined by ANCAP or Euro NCAP.
Commonplace security tools throughout the vary consists of:
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Automotive, pedestrian, bicycle owner detection
- Junction turning/crossing help
- Direct/oncoming lane change detection
- Adaptive cruise management with cease/go
- Blind-spot help
- Lane-keep help
- Lane Following Help (lane centring)
- Freeway Drive Help 2 with Lane Change Help
- Rear cross-traffic help
- Protected exit help
- Clever pace restrict help
- Driver consideration monitoring
- Main car departure alert
- Rear occupant alert (sensor-based)
- Entrance and rear parking sensors
- Reversing digicam
- Twin entrance airbags
- First- and second-row facet airbags
- Entrance centre airbag
- Curtain airbags for all three rows
EV9 Earth provides:
- Parking Collision Avoidance Help – Reverse
- Encompass-view digicam with 3D mode
- Blind Spot View Monitor
The GT-Line additionally options facet and ahead variations for the Parking Collision Avoidance Help.
How a lot does the Kia EV9 value to run?
The Kia EV9 is backed by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre car guarantee, with a seven-year, 150,000km guarantee for high-voltage parts just like the battery and electrical motors.
Kia gives a selection of three-, five- and seven-year pre-paid service plans. These are priced at $706, $1351 and $1997, respectively.
CarExpert’s Tackle the Kia EV9
The EV9 is the most important car Kia has ever offered right here and the most costly.
It’s additionally arguably essentially the most spectacular car ever from the Korean model, which has produced some genuinely interesting, aspirational autos just like the Stinger, K9 and EV6.
From its show-stopping seems to be to its spectacular know-how, the Kia EV9 feels extra like an idea automobile than your typical three-row SUV.
And but it’s not simply flash. There’s loads of real substance right here, from the surprisingly snug trip to the agile dynamics and the lengthy checklist of security tools.
Our gripes are few, however embrace a reasonably small third row and overbearing security assists.
Nonetheless, whereas the EV9 has primarily no direct rivals, there’s nonetheless no getting round that lofty price ticket.
The excellent news is cheaper EV9s are equally spectacular. Even the entry-level Air, regardless of being slower and missing a few of the GT-Line’s devices, is effectively price taking a look at if you wish to transfer to an electrical SUV.
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