The all-new Kia EV9 is the brand's first mainstream 3-row electric crossover SUV. At Kia, SUVs currently comprise more than 70 percent of its sales in the United States. Kia expects to offer as many as seven dedicated electric-vehicle (EV) models by 2027 and derive at least 70 percent of its sales from EVs by 2030. With the new EV9, Kia targets buyers who want the latest technology but are not swayed by a premium brand's badge.
The new EV9 will be available with a manufacturer-estimated driving range of 225 to 300 miles, depending on trim level, tire size, and configuration. Both single-motor, rear-wheel-drive (RWD) and dual-motor, all-wheel-drive (AWD) versions are available. There are two battery sizes (standard and long-range) and five trim levels. Electric motor output ranges from 215 to 379 horsepower and 258 to 516 pound-feet of torque.
Buyers can choose between 6- and 7-passenger seating configurations. Top trims include a connector enabling up to 1900 watts of power-to-load capability, enough to power a campsite or select home appliances during a blackout.
I drove the 2024 EV9 at the Kia California Proving Grounds on the facility's high-speed oval, dynamics pad, ride-and-handling course, and dirt trails.
Photo: Ron Sessions
Kia says EV9 production will start this year in South Korea and move to its West Point, Georgia, U.S. assembly plant by 2024. It will go on sale in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The 2024 Kia EV9 will be available in Light, Light Long Range, Wind, Land, and GT-Line trims. For this review, I drove an EV9 in GT-Line specification.
As of this writing, Kia has not released pricing details for the new EV9. However, considering the SUV's content and midsize 3-row EV competition, the likely price range is from the mid-$40,000s to the low $60,000s, not including options.
Kia EV9 Light highlights include:
Kia EV9 Light Long Range upgrades to:
Kia EV9 Wind trim includes:
Kia EV9 Land trim includes:
Kia EV9 GT-Line trim includes:
Expected mainstream competitors will include the Chevrolet Blazer EV, Ford Explorer EV, Hyundai Ioniq 7, and the upcoming Toyota bZ7X based on the Grand Highlander. Likely premium-brand competitors include the Audi Q8 E-tron, BMW iX, Cadillac Lyriq, Rivian R1S, Tesla Model X, and Tesla Model Y.
Photo: Ron Sessions
Kia could have taken the path some other automakers have and simply offered a battery-electric version of its hot-selling, midsize 3-row Telluride. Instead, the company started with a clean sheet of paper design.
I say clean sheet, but squint a bit and you can see the distinctive, angular lines of the Kia Soul. The standout hatchback/mini-wagon/small SUV made waves with its boxy styling when it first appeared for the 2010 model year.
The EV9 looks like a big, robotized Kia Soul, which, in a way, is the perfect bookend for the brand's latest EV with the same squared-off, function-first shape that also broke through then-existing design norms and expectations of what an SUV should be. Of course, the Soul was more than a boxy, front-drive 4-door hatchback.
Drama awaits in the EV9. In Land and GT-Line trims, the EV9 is available with a digital Tiger face that's customizable and is capable of a mini-Times Square movable light show.
As one of Kia's largest SUVs along with the gas-powered Telluride, the EV9 offers utility on a grander scale compared to the brand's Seltos, Sportage, Sorento, and Soul, as mentioned above.
The EV9's square shape and tall roof aid headroom for all three rows, surpassing that available to third-row Telluriders by 1.4 inches. However, the EV9's third-row legroom falls short of that found in the aft perches of the new Toyota Grand Highlander by a couple of inches despite the Kia's super-long 122-inch wheelbase.
With 20.2 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third-row seat, 43.5 with the third-row seat folded, and 81.7 with both the second and third rows lowered, the EV9 has nearly as much cargo space as its Telluride midsize SUV sibling. And whereas the Telluride has a 3.8-liter V6 gas engine under its hood, the EV9 offers a front trunk or "frunk" with 3.2 cubic feet of space. That may not sound like much, but the frunk will swallow a small airport roller bag plus valuables an owner may want to keep out of sight, such as a purse, laptop bag, briefcase, and AC home charging cord. The EV9's frunk is so large that it has an emergency pull handle to open the compartment from the inside should some tiny human get trapped there. Still more stash space is available under the EV9's cargo floor since the SUV has no spare tire.
Standard fare in all EV9 SUVs is cushy, 8-way power-adjustable heated and ventilated front bucket seats with 2-way adjustable lumbar. The seats prioritize comfort but do offer decent lateral support for lower torsos. Seat coverings across all EV9 trims are of the polyurethane synthetic-leather variety, soft to the touch, and kind to animals. The steering wheel, heated in Wind, Land, and GT-Line trims, is wrapped with the same material and features manual tilt/telescoping functions in Light, Light Long Range, and Wind trims and power operation in the Land and GT-Line versions.
Kia softly pads all front-seat head restraints in the new EV9 and covers them with a breathable open-mesh material. The head restraints never got sweaty in the 100-plus-degree August weather at Kia's California Proving Grounds.
The loaded GT-Line test vehicle featured Relaxation Mode front seats with power-operated lower leg rests, potentially great for chilling out while the EV9 recharges. The GT-Line driver's seat also includes an ERGO-motion massage function that uses a series of air bladders to deliver subtle but effective comfort to the lower extremities.
Moving aft, the second-row seats are a pair of captain's chairs or a three-across, 60/40 split bench seat, depending on the trim. The second-row captain's chairs in the GT-Line test vehicle, although not available with the massage function, were nearly as comfortable as the front buckets, featuring heating and ventilation. GT-Line second-row seat upgrades in the test vehicle included optional 8-way power adjustment and Relaxation Mode with power-operated leg rests. Rear-seat occupants get their own headliner-mounted A/C vents.
A standard second-row one-touch tilt, fold, and slide function improves access to the third-row seats, but it's still a bit of a squeeze for adults. As with most other 3-row midsize SUVs, the third row is best left to kids who relish getting as far away from the adults in the front row as possible.
The 50/50 split-folding third-row seat offers adult-worthy headroom. However, the lower cushion is low and thin, and legroom is tight for adults unless someone in a second-row seat nudges theirs forward a few notches.
Dash displays consist of three high-resolution landscape-format color screens butted end to end: a 12.3-inch driver display, a 12.3-inch touchscreen for infotainment and connectivity, and a 5-inch screen for the standard tri-zone automatic climate control system sandwiched between them.
There are many hard buttons on the dash, steering wheel, and center stack for various functions, which moderates the need to dive through screen menus while driving. This includes three buttons with the word "Mode" on them, the functions of which took me a while to sort out.
Kia smartly arrayed the switchgear, and it is easy to operate. One example is a twist-style column-mounted shifter incorporating the EV9's start/stop button.
The column-mounted shifter frees up space on the center console for storage. The bridge-type console includes a large open shelf at floor level for things like a purse or tablet, a roll-top section for cupholders and the standard wireless phone charger, a small open bin for trip detritus like mints or keys, and a deep cubby under the center armrest. There's also a roomy glovebox that turns into a slide-out drawer in Land and GT-Line trims, plus the usual map pockets and bottle holders in the doors. Land and GT-Line trims add a standard table-top storage bin for second-row passengers that slides out of the rear of the front center console.
Photo: Ron Sessions
For security reasons, Kia's early look at its upcoming EV9 SUV occurred within the boundaries of the brand's California Proving Grounds. Driving exercises were lead/follow, and each leg occurred in different dedicated vehicles with driving directions from one of several Kia test-track employees blaring over an in-vehicle walkie-talkie.
All EV9 test vehicles were loaded GT-Line models equipped with the rich-sounding Meridian 14-speaker premium audio system with volume turned down to better understand the walkie-talkie commands. It includes an AM/FM/HD Radio tuner with a trial of SiriusXM satellite radio.
The infotainment screen is a high-resolution color TFT with bright colors, legible type, and sharp contrasts. Directly under the screen are haptic shortcut buttons for Home, Map, Search, Media, Favorites, and Setup integrated into the dash that vibrate when touched and light up when active. However, I found the haptic switch type hard to see at a glance in bright desert sunlight.
There's even a roller-type audio on/off and volume control knob with excellent gain precision centered on the dash directly above the redundant hard climate-control buttons and accessible by both driver and front passenger, as well as tap-up/tap-down tuning controls on the steering wheel.
Navigation is standard, as is wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as advanced voice recognition, which we will check out during a more extended evaluation period later. In-vehicle Wi-Fi is available via subscription.
There are six USB-C charge ports in the EV9—two for each row. Also standard fare in the EV9 is Kia's latest Digital Key 2, which uses ultra wide-band technology to allow compatible Apple or Samsung smartphones to act as a virtual key for locking, unlocking, and driving. With the new system, you don't need to hold your phone near the door. The EV9 also incorporates a fingerprint sensor on the console, which works with the digital key and stored driver profiles.
Kia's EV9 is the first of its products to offer over-the-air updates. This opens up a new path to get continuously updated standard features and, via the Kia Connect Store, download new features such as different lighting patterns for the grille and other optional entertainment and performance upgrades.
Under the Kia Drive Wise banner, the EV9 launches with 20 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). These systems range from advanced adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance to collision avoidance, active parking assistance, and occupant alerts. During the brief test-track sessions, Kia encouraged us to trust the lane-keeping and lane-following abilities of the EV9 on well-marked sweeping curves and constant-radius turns on the high-speed oval at speeds approaching 100 mph.
One new Kia ADAS technology debuts in the EV9. Standard in GT-Line trim, Remote Smart Parking Assist 2 adds diagonal parking support.
Available sometime after the EV9 goes on sale will be Advanced Highway Driving Assist. This hands-off system uses lidar technology to enhance the accuracy of vehicle-following and lane-centering of the adaptive cruise control.
Photo: Ron Sessions
For the first drive of the EV9, Kia rolled out the most powerful version available—the GT-Line—with dual electric motors, torque-vectoring AWD, and a total system output of 379 hp and 516 pound-feet of torque, which Kia claims is capable of accelerating from rest to 60 mph in as little as 4.5 seconds. The EV9 GT-Line rolls with a 99-kWh lithium-ion propulsion battery with an estimated driving range of 270 miles. Kia rates this EV9 configuration's energy consumption at an estimated 71 MPGe. The EV9 is one of just a handful of battery-electric SUVs in the U.S. with 800-volt fast-charging capability.
Built on the same E-GMP platform that underpins the Kia EV6, as well as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6, the EV9 GT-Line features a MacPherson-strut front suspension, self-leveling multi-link rear suspension, rack-mounted electric steering, 21-inch alloy wheels, and 4-wheel disc brakes. Maximum towing capacity is 5,000 pounds.
With no engine noise to mask ambient sounds on the road, Kia moved to low-noise tires and extra-thick acoustic windshield and front-door glass. Uplevel trims also get the acoustic rear-door glass.
Primarily due to the heavy propulsion battery that weighs more than a half-ton, the EV9 is as much as 1,300 pounds heavier than the similarly sized, gas-powered Telluride. But the EV9 doesn't feel heavy, thanks to the instant torque of the electric-motor powertrain and the fact that the EV9 carries the heavy lithium-ion propulsion battery low in the chassis under the vehicle's floor.
Kia set up an autocross course on the facility's large dynamics pad to exercise the EV9's different drive modes and regenerative braking settings. In the AWD GT-Line, available drive modes include Eco, Normal, Sport, Snow, and My Mode. As expected, Sport mode delivered the crispest launch with as much as 516 pound-feet of torque sling-shotting the GT-Line EV9 out of the starting gate with nary a squeal from the tires. Normal mode also provided a satisfying launch, followed by a more conservative but not lazy trip through the cones in Eco mode. Snow mode provided the most significant variation, trimming the typically vigorous torque spike from the gate to a trickle.
A pair of steering wheel paddles allow the driver to choose between three levels of brake regeneration when lifting off the accelerator, varying the instant deceleration available from none to mild to aggressive. The latter delivers near one-pedal driving but requires a trained foot to remain smooth in traffic and not catch other drivers following behind by surprise.
On the ride-and-handling course, the EV9 GT-Line cornered with little body lean and no discernable tire squeal while remaining calm and stable on the straightaway sections. The proving grounds provided no opportunity to test the ride quality over less well-maintained road surfaces. Still, a short trek over a little-used dirt two-track didn't reveal any untoward ride motions, body creaks or groans, or loss of vertical body control.
In short, the EV9 doesn't feel like a vehicle tipping the scales near the 3-ton mark.
Kia's largest SUV launches as a 3-row EV with robotic styling that channels its smallest stablemate, the Soul, and features premium content that belies its mainstream brand status. From a long-range model that can deliver up to an estimated 300 miles of range to a performance variant capable of 4.5-second dashes from rest to 60 mph, the all-new, all-electric Kia EV9 offers a wide range of models, all with surprising luxury content, up-to-date infotainment and safety technology, and 800-volt quick-charge capability.
Ron Sessions is a seasoned vehicle evaluator with more than three decades of experience. He has penned hundreds of road tests for automotive and consumer websites, enthusiast magazines, newsletters, technical journals, and newspapers.
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