Introducing the largest electric passenger vehicle in the New Zealand market. This is the Kia EV9, a full-size seven-seater and arguably the most advanced Kia ever.
It’s an award winner too: ‘Family Car of the Year’ at the 2023 TopGear.com Awards, shortlisted for the final round of the 2024 Car of the Year in Europe award, winner of the 2024 Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year Awards SUV category, Golden Steering Wheel 2023 ‘Family Cars’ category, ‘German Luxury Car of the Year 2024’ and the dual 2023 Good Design Award in Transportation and Interactive Media for the infotainment system.
With all those awards, Kia needs all the space the EV9 has to offer, and that’s a lot. The EV9 is a behemoth among giants and – being electric even with RUC’s – is the most affordable when it comes to running costs!
And if that wasn’t enough, the cherry on the icing is the drag coefficient (Cd – or how easily the vehicle slips through the air) of 0.28; the Ford Everest has a 0.38Cd, the Grand Cherokee 0.35 and the Hyundai Santa Fe (2023 model) 0.33 drag coefficient.
All of this goes a long way to answering the question of how Kia justifies the EV9 GT-Line’s price, which is higher than we have ever seen from the brand once known to be chipper, cheerful and cheap, and yet, the extraordinarily low running costs only tell a fraction of the story.
The EV9 is Kia’s technology showcase, and the GT-Line is the shining star, featuring as it does, Fingerprint Recognition to start the vehicle, augmented reality, heads-up display for speed, navigation guidance, and lane safety information, Remote Smart Parking Assist, Digital Side Mirrors and a Digital Centre Mirror.
Add to this an array of advanced ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) including, but not limited to, navigation-based Smart Cruise control which automatically reduces speed into a corner then accelerates to the preset speed once through the bend, Highway Driving Assist 2 which uses adaptive cruise control with stop and go assist AND incorporating lane following assist.
Alright, but what about the essential electrics? The GT-Line can do a 0 to 100km/h sprint in 5.3 seconds, which is impressive considering the physical size and weight (2,301kgs. 2,540kgs) of the vehicle.
And those stats lead nicely into the fact that the EV9 is not only able to tow, the GT-Line can haul up to 2500kg on a braked trailer, something few other electric vehicles can claim.
As to ‘how far you can go’, Kia claims a 505km range WLTP (and yes, that claim was proven on our time with the GT-Line) thanks to the fourth generation 99.8kWh battery mounted in the Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) which allows for a flat floor and well-positioned centre of gravity to assist in handling.
As one might expect of a family-friendly SUV – which the EV9 most certainly is – there is the ability to handle vehicle-to-load applications from the SUV itself.
Ok, but seven-seaters typically lose out on cargo space, is that the case with the EV9? Not so much, no.
With all seats up, you have 33 litres of boot space. Fold down the third row and you get a comfortable 828-litres. If all seats are down, welcome to the 2318-litre cave that is the EV9!
And to drive? Well, it IS electric so there’s a refinement overall in terms of sound deadening – no squeaks or rattles anywhere, which is quite a trick considering the sophisticated suspension setup, and out on the open road, the EV9 munches miles with ease and almost contempt for range.
In town and suburban areas though, the EV9’s greatest attribute is the greatest potential handicap. The EV9 is big and the digital mirrors give a somewhat distorted image, while the parking display tends to be overly conservative. Still, better to be short in the carport than adding an EV9 conservatory to your house!
Going into underground parking structures can also be something of a heartstopper.
For all these considerations however, the EV9 delivers as a flagship product with fantastic on-road presence, guilt-free performance and luxury appointments never seen before in Korean autos.
By Sean Willmot
