2024 Kia EV9 First Drive: 3-Row Electric SUV Asks Tough Questions About Range & Price
When Kia showed off the new EV9 this past summer at The Quail, A Motorsport Gathering, a big, boxy electric SUV looked entirely out of place in a show dedicated to swooping, stunning seven and eight-figure supercars. Maybe a concept from Genesis might have fit in better, yet the EV9 undoubtedly lent a new presence to the event and, after all, even supercar and hypercar owners need to haul around the family every now and then.
In an similarly fitting introduction to the EV9, my first experience with the new SUV came when a Kia rep chauffeured me to the Auberge hotel in Napa, California. OEMs typically don't pick up journalists in the exact make and model they will test the following day, but as I sat resplendent in the reclining rear captain's chair, I imagined the life of a Bugatti Mistral or Bentley Bacalar owner on the way to a swanky restaurant or automotive auction.
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Even though the EV9 definitely steps upmarket for Kia—almost to Genesis territory, in fact—that kind of use seems unlikely. Instead, with this full-size three-row, Kia aims to lure tentative buyers into the electric revolution with the first real EV offering that can compete across a wider swath of American SUV buyers.
Four trim levels escalate quite quickly
Part of that strong step into luxury territory explains the EV9's pricing, which may prove as something of a sticking point. At the lower end of four trims, the "Light RWD" starts at $54,900 with a 76.1-kWh battery pack that allows for an estimated 230 miles of range. All three higher specs receive a larger 99.8-kWh battery, allowing for up to 304 miles of range with rear-wheel drive or 280 miles with all-wheel drive. Tacking on further options, not including subscription-based features to come later, can escalate that starting sticker up to $73,900. Most EV9s currently at dealers sit in a sweet spot in the low-sixties, but eventually the price will likely eclipse $80,000—no exaggeration, serious money for a Kia.
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That sweet spot typically builds on the so-far best-selling GT-Line, which critically is not a GT as available for the smaller, sportier EV6 GT. Instead, think of Audi's S-Line or BMW's confusing non-M M cars, which add subtle enhancements without graduating to true S or M status. Both the EV9 that picked me up from the airport and the one that I tested on the following day came in GT-Line spec with all-wheel drive, to best demonstrate those performance gains and all-season traction on the winding, wet roads of a Northern California winter.
Impressive driving dynamics for a boxy electric SUV
Even pushing moderately hard, given a grain of salt due to the cold asphalt and eco-friendly tires, the EV9 nails a level of spirited dynamics that large skateboard-chassis electrics can manage better than similarly sized body-on-frame ICE vehicles. Kia's rating of 379 horsepower might not wow on paper, given the EV9's curb weight of 5,886 pounds, but the total 516 lb-ft of torque delivers plenty of low-end punch up to about 40 miles an hour. Once at highway speeds, any little tip into the "throttle" pedal brings on rapid, if not gut-wrenching, acceleration.
In corners, the thick-rimmed steering wheel contributes to the sportier aspirations with far less assist than expected from most commuter cars these days. Especially with Sport mode selected, a tight turning radius responds to smaller inputs, even if feedback from the road and tires entirely evaporates somehow. But the low center of gravity and firm suspension prevent body roll without sacrificing too much compliance on bumps and ripples in road surfaces.
Real-world range beats expectations
Perhaps the most surprising stat that absolutely blew my mind: Despite that oversquare, upright profile, the EV9 manages a 0.28 drag coefficient. And over the course of the day, real-world range bore out that figure despite the typical smattering of journalistic drag pulls and triple-digit experimentation. Doing it entirely for the science, I noted that the EV9 went through an estimated 155 miles of remaining range to travel 164 miles. Not bad, especially on a chilly day—possibly thanks to a heat pump system that Kia included to keep the big battery pack in its optimal temperature range.
The EV9's engineering clearly prioritizes comfortable cruising over such shenanigans, though. Lifting off the go pedal revealed excellent modulation from acceleration to each level of regenerative braking, and Kia cleverly attempts solves our "throttle" confusion by printing a "+" on the right pedal and a "-" on the brake. Paddles on the steering wheel allow for adjustment of four levels of regen, from almost pure coasting to full one-pedal driving.
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With regen turned down, the EV9 drives almost exactly as a standard ICE SUV might, which should help to convert those remaining hesitant EV adopters (and it's even got a real on-off button!). But without an engine to mask untoward noises from entering the cabin, significant efforts to enhance NVH need to match the luxurious seats and interior appointments. Here, despite those Hankook ion Evo AS tires, the EV9 perhaps falls a bit short as road hum and wind noise clash within the otherwise sumptuous cabin. My GT-Line wore 21-inch wheels and 285-millimeter wide tires, so perhaps lower trims on smaller wheels and narrower rubber will benefit from further decibel reductions.
A clean dash with frustrating UI
A clean dash design, which looks almost directly borrowed from the Lucid Air, stands out as the main highlight. Captain chairs for the first and second row take a bit of extra adjustment to dial into the perfect position, thanks to strange controls that tilt the entire seat at once and a unique button that controls both the extending footrests and lower cushion's rear leveling. Mesh headrests for the front seats move up and down, meanwhile, but not fore and aft. Fiddling around for five minutes or so, I ended up in a semi-reclined position with the adjustable bolsters just about as wide as possible.
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On the big touchscreen, which actually divides into three separate displays on closer inspection, Kia's latest generation of user interface left me fairly frustrated most of the time. Clearly, I wasn't the only one, either, since the drive route instructions came printed on paper rather than entered into the vehicle's navigation. But as usual, and expected in an SUV at this price point, I just connected to the wireless Apple CarPlay and flicked on Waze to keep an eye out for police (yes, wireless Android Auto is also supported). But before Waze popped up, I accidentally pushed the haptic buttons built into the dash surface multiple times while trying to steady my hand, causing various unintended menus to pop up repeatedly.
EV packaging always prioritizes interior volume
Efficient packaging for the EV9's interior can be largely traced to a wheelbase almost nine inches longer than the Telluride, despite similar exterior dimensions. The second row can therefore stretch out, and even the third row's headroom allowed me to sit fully upright at 6'1" tall.
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With the third row seats up, the trunk still offers 20 cubic feet of storage, and with both rear rows folded down, up to 82 cubic feet. Only a tiny front trunk points to the primary goal of maximizing interior volume. Coincidentally, I even slipped a large ski bag between the second row seats without needed to impinge on elbow room of the front center console.
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Not that I drove the EV9 up to Tahoe or got a chance to test any other traditional SUV performance features, including the available 5,000-pound tow rating. In the Tahoe snow, a "4WD Lock" button on the steering wheel might have been useful to fake locking a center differential electronically via programming for the electric motors. I also can't comment on Kia's claimed 10-80% charge time of under 25 minutes.
Charging and range concerns crop up
Charging made up a big portion of the EV9 conversation throughout the day, given the somewhat disappointing range for those equipped with the smaller battery pack. The reality is that 230 miles of range should be entirely sufficient for most buyers, or at least those already accustomed to charging at home and making the lifestyle choice to find charge stations on longer drives. Infrastructure concerns clearly fit into range anxiety—distance between chargers but also chargers that don't work—and until the grid takes another step, the longer 304-mile RWD EV9 could probably also use a few more electric miles.
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Kia hopes to entice EV9 buyers into using a home energy solution from a partner company called Wallbox, which for $4,500 to $6,000 (plus installation) offers the Quasar 2 that combines standard charging with reverse powering of home electricals from the car's battery during periods of high demand or power outages. Using such a system, the EV9 can serve as a massive battery pack about 10 times the size of a Tesla Powerwall, with up to 1,920 watts available—the futuristic vision of an entire network of homes and cars reducing higher loads on the entire grid still looks a ways off, though.
Slotting in versus traditional luxury automakers
And yet, Kia reps also happily pointed out, the EV9 has already managed to attract pre-orders in all 50 states, with North Dakota as the final holdout until one convert took the leap of faith. Production began last year, and I even spotted a customer EV9 on the road from behind the wheel of my test car. Whether more buyers will flock to this first real three-row EV once production at Kia's Georgia plant begins later in 2024, which for income-eligible customers will likely introduce rebate incentives, remains a question. Or are most EV9 buyers coming to Kia hoping to save a bit of money versus buying a big SUV from more traditional luxury manufacturers?
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If so, some of the EV9's interior materials come across as a notch below the tactility of a Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Rivian, or even Lucid. At least the interior on the GT-Line gets absolutely zero piano black plastic. Lower spec trims might do the trick better for the semi-luxury family that needs the seats and space that only an EV9 offers in an electric SUV, while prioritizing just the right amount of premium touches to help make hollering rug rats in the third row a bit less stressful. Seen from that perspective, the EV9's range and performance, as well as the purposeful interior design, combine to create a solid new entrant into a market segment that has perhaps expanded slightly more slowly than expected in the past year or so.