Kia EV9 review: pricey people-mover has acres of space
This carmaker has built a solid following in Australia by offering value-for-money cars, but its latest offering drastically strays from that formula.
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Kia’s giant EV9 is one of the few electric SUVs offering seven seats. Here are five things you should know.
It’s the most expensive Kia you can buy
Bring a bulging wallet if you want a seven-seat electric SUV. Mercedes has its triple-row EQS and EQB, and your only alternative for now is Kia’s EV9 whopper.
It’s the priciest of all the Korean’s offerings, starting from $97,000 for the Air model and soaring to $121,000 for the flagship GT-Line, before on-roads. All three are above the Luxury Car Tax threshold, so there’s no FBT exemption under a novated lease here.
The EV9 looks expensive and exudes road presence. Longer than a Toyota LandCruiser and heavier (2636kg) in GT-Line grade, the Blade Runner styling, shuriken-like alloys, pop-out door handles and colossal LED lights make them look like giant toys. Albeit pricey ones.
The cabin needs its own postcode
You’ve got acreage inside. Front occupants enjoy a giant slab of dashboard with two 12.3-inch screens in a panoramic display, while storage holes and bins are large enough for the kids to bathe in.
The second row offers incredible head and leg room, while adults can tolerate the two rearmost seats in fair comfort. The third row rises and folds with a simple strap pull (much better than fussy electric seats) and with five seats down you’ve got van-like internal space. We squeezed in three bicycles sitting upright thanks to the tall roof.
The entry-level Air has a few cheaper-feeling plastic bits, but with artificial leather, a power tailgate, wireless phone charger, tri-zone climate control and a V2L socket, it’s hardly poverty-spec.
It needs a big battery and rapid charging
The EV9 Air has a single rear-mounted 160kW/350Nm motor fed by a 76kWh battery, offering 443km range. Earth and GT-Line models are 282kW/700Nm dual-motor AWDs, use a giant 100kWh battery and offer 512km and 505km range respectively.
Few EVs charge as fast as the EV9: it accepts 240kW and goes from 10-80 per cent charge in just 20 minutes using an ultra-rapid public charger. But so large is the battery, it will take a couple of days to fill using a domestic socket. A home wall box is a must.
It recharges on the go, offering five different regeneration levels. Select the strongest iPedal Max and it’ll come to a complete stop without needing to touch the brakes.
On test, our energy use was just over 19kWh/100km in both the Air and GT-Line. This bettered official figures, so range proved trustworthy.
It’s good to drive but tricky to park
Twin motors somehow haul these behemoths to 100km/h in 5.3 seconds, but the single motor Air feels rapid off the mark too. The Air’s up to 300kg lighter so feels more agile, and rides more comfortably on its balloon-like tyres and bespoke suspension tune. All EV9s handle respectably, but the all-wheel-drives offer better control in the wet.
You cruise in wafty comfort and near-silence on highways, enhanced by cushion-like seat headrests. Why don’t all cars have these? But the EV9’s so massive, keeping it between the lines isn’t easy, and as with most Kias, nannying driver monitoring means a tugging steering wheel and choirs of warning chimes.
Its turning circle is Road Train-like, and you pray for large parking spaces. The Air lacks the GT-Line’s front and overhead cameras, resulting in nerve-racking manoeuvres.
Digital side mirrors are rubbish
Aside from the terrifying $140k drive-away price, the range-topping GT-Line should be avoided due to digital side mirrors, which you can’t de-option. These use cameras to project rear vision through door-mounted screens. They’re cool in principle, but not in practice.
The brain finds it harder to trust digital over glass, while the screens flashing in your peripheral vision gets annoying and can even make you nauseous.
If it’s range-topper or nothing for you, the GT-Line overflows with goodies. There are 21-inch Tron-like alloys, a dual sunroof, matrix LED headlights, incredible Meridian audio, an augmented reality head-up display, massage and memory front seats, heated and cooled rear seats, a 360-degree camera and it’ll remotely self-park.
For ultimate extrovertness, striking matt blue paint’s a no cost option on the GT-Line only. But really, the entry-level Air gives you most of the spectacular for $24,000 less.
Originally published as Kia EV9 review: pricey people-mover has acres of space
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