Unveiled to the world this time last year, the flagship all-electric Kia EV9 has since won numerous awards for its design and technology. The EV9 can be configured as a six- or seven-seater, but despite being a fraction over 5m long, nearly 2m wide and 1.78m tall, it actually drives pretty well.
The entry-level 200bhp Air model’s one-speed automatic powertrain propels this family car to a reasonable 0-62mph in 9.4 seconds. If you want more swiftness and gadgets, then the 378bhp all-wheel drive GT-Line and GT-Line S variants make the same sprint in 5.3 seconds and crucially, with power delivered to all four wheels, help the EV9 feel more sure-footed.
Kia EV9 review: a very fine vehicle package
Whichever version you choose, the high-seating position and large windows make it easy for the driver to see where the vehicle’s edges are and for passengers in all of the seats to get a good view out.
The distinctive angular exterior and excellent geometric wheel designs still look great, but if you plump for the 21-inch wheels and (heavier) all-wheel drive GT-Line or GT-Line S versions, the EV9’s headline 349-mile range drops to 313. That higher figure is only possible with 19-inch wheels and the (lighter) less luxurious Air trim.
The large cabin has a clean and restrained interior design with few buttons, although subtle coloured ambient lighting lifts and enhances some of the physical design details that remain (especially around the doors). It has a huge centre console, which will swallow and hide numerous valuables and there’s a tray underneath on the flat cabin floor big enough to place a decent-size handbag.
The three-row seating is very flexible – like you’d get on an MPV – and able to fold and flatten on the seven-seat versions. And as part of the six-seater GT-Line S spec, the two second-row seats can swivel 180 degrees to face backwards towards the third row, with space in-between to slot a sliding console table.
All of which creates a lounge-like space to promote face-to-face passenger interaction and conviviality when parked-up and perhaps recharging. Aside from still rare ultra-fast 350kW chargers – that boost the EV9 from 10-80 per cent in 24 minutes – more usual fast (50kW) charging takes about 75 minutes and via normal AC home or street chargers just over nine hours.
Depending on configuration, the EV9’s luggage capacity ranges from 333 litres minimum to a huge 2,393 litres on the six-seat version, with up to 90 more litres under the front bonnet. Space all round is good.
The EV9’s cabin has a wide triple-screen infotainment system offering a wealth of options and a good haptic response. It’s also simple to pair your phone with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto if you prefer. The biggest annoyance on the EV9 is the number of safety bleeps the car can emit. The various noises aim to inform the driver of local speed limit changes, camera locations and infringements, keep eyes on the road and stay (exactly) in lane.
These are all laudable features in isolation, but within busy urban and suburban environments with frequently changing conditions – including potholes, pedestrians, cyclists and speed limits – it can be hard to know which bleep is for what and potentially distract from the task of careful real-world driving.
Luckily, a customisable physical button can mute many of these bleeps, but this de-activation has to be made before every journey. A near-future software update where such preferences become part of individual driver memory settings (like has been commonplace with seat positions for years) would get my vote. At least such software changes are now possible on the EV9 and other modern vehicles ‘over the air’, rather than via a visit to the dealer.
Bleeps aside, the EV9 is a very fine vehicle package. Judges at the 2024 World Car Awards obviously thought so too, naming it both World Car of the Year, and awarding it the World Electric Vehicle award. Prices start from £65,025 for the Air RWD and rise to £77,025 for the GT-Line S AWD 6-seater. Big money for a Kia, but arguably, in the EV9, it has a more convincing all-round electric SUV than many more notionally premium – and expensive – rivals from BMW to Tesla.
Kia EV9, from £65,025, Kia.co.uk
