New Kia EV9 2023 review

The seven-seat Kia EV9 electric SUV redefines the Korean firm as a premium player

Verdict

One thing’s for certain: the EV9 is going to be a smash hit. It’s a sensational car and does the job of moving Kia upmarket, allowing it to compete with the car world’s biggest names. A full five-star verdict is still possible if our slight concerns over ride comfort back in the UK come to nothing, but even so, this is a brilliant family car and a great EV. It’s the all-electric seven- seat SUV everyone else must beat.

Kia’s march upmarket is gathering pace with the arrival of the world’s first all-electric seven-seat SUV: the Kia EV9.

The fast-growing company, which topped 100,000 UK sales for the first time in its history in 2022, has been edging closer to premium-brand status for years now. But it was its first all-electric-only model – the EV6 – that really cemented its position in challenging the world’s automotive elite.

Want proof? Buyers aren’t baulking at paying the £60,000-plus price tag for the top-of-the-range EV6 GT – and which brand’s cars do you think are most likely to be part-exchanged for EV6s? It’s Audi.

The EV9, first revealed in concept form at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show, shares much with the EV6, including its E-GMP platform, now stretched to give the new SUV a sizeable 3,100mm-long wheelbase and a body that’s just about 250mm shy of a Range Rover’s, at 5,100mm long.

The Range Rover comparisons don’t stop there. Not only will the EV9 go on sale by the end of this year, beating the British brand’s all-electric SUV to market by about a year (and going on sale before the Volvo EX90, too), its minimalist look on the inside and outside is also very much along the same lines as the big Brit.

Quality is the best we’ve seen from Kia – and it was already pretty good. The choice and standard of interior materials is spot on, while the paintwork and panel fit on the outside is a match for the Range Rover’s, too. And you don’t get a seven-year warranty with a Range Rover, either.

All this comes at a price that might shock, unless you’ve already bought into the premium look and feel of an EV6. The EV9 is expected to start from around £65,000, rising to £75,000 for a bells-and-whistles GT-Line S model with four-wheel drive and 380bhp. But with the EX90 currently starting at £96,255 on Volvo’s website and the electric Range Rover expected to go well beyond £100,000, the appeal of the EV9 – even with the Kia badge on its nose – starts to grow.

It’s no surprise, then, that more than 17,000 people have already expressed an interest in buying an EV9. How many will snap up the 3,000 to 4,000 cars available each year will remain to be seen, but it’s time to deliver an early verdict.

Our first sight of a row of EV9s was quite a breathtaking moment. It’s a striking-looking car, with its squared-off shape, futuristic detailing and prominent, upright LED running lights. Beautiful? No – it’s an SUV after all. But modern, interesting to look at and hugely appealing – to our eyes, at least.

Flush door handles glide out to greet you and a gentle tug opens the big front door to reveal an equally smart, modern and posh-looking interior. Sustainable fabric is used across the dash and doors to add a touch of warmth, while a classy, wood-effect strip runs across the middle of the dash, with the triple-screen set-up sitting above and air vents below.

The widescreen display features two 12.3-inch panels – one for the driver, one for infotainment – split by a small 5.3-inch touchscreen for heating and ventilation information, all blended into one unit. Separate heating and fan speed controls are on the dash, along with a metallic scroll wheel to control audio volume that feels satisfying to use.

Less successful are the haptic buttons on the wood-effect panel, with fast keys for the infotainment display. As with other haptic buttons, it’s difficult to know when you’re pressing them or how hard you should push – especially because the screen’s reaction time isn’t always instant. We’d prefer proper buttons that could look even better than just the graphics.

What’s really clever, though, is the family-friendly thinking that’s gone into the storage inside the car. The door bins aren’t massive, but the glovebox is a good size and pulls forward instead of dropping down onto your legs. There’s a large centre storage solution that houses swing-out cup-holders, a wireless phone-charging pad and a hidden compartment further back, while from the second row you can pull out a tray and another large storage compartment.

Back up front, there’s a big storage area between the front seats, too, with the first of many USB points. They’re also located on the front seat backs for row-two passengers and at the sides of the third-row seats, along with more cup-holders.

The front seats are really comfortable, and the passenger chair on our car featured a leg rest that enables you to sit back, lift your legs and lie back against some of the nicest head rests we’ve ever used. They feature fabric mesh so the rear passengers can see through them. Our car also had a massaging driver’s seat that will spring to life automatically if you’ve been driving for a while and the car thinks you need a pummel to liven you up.

The benefits of an EV’s flat floor have been put to good use in row two. Our car had two ‘captain’s’ chairs that could swivel to face row three, although most buyers will choose a more traditional three-seat row.

Legroom is hugely impressive; there’s acres of it, which enables middle-row passengers to pull their seats forward to give those in the third row more space. That makes it quite comfortable for an adult in the proper seats in row three, although some flexibility is needed to get there.

Wherever you sit, visibility is excellent. The three big mirrors mean the driver gets a good view behind, and they’re supported by plenty of cameras, while deep side windows and stadium-style rear seats mean there’s a fine view out for rear passengers, too.

We are a little disappointed that a full-length panoramic sunroof isn’t available – our car had an eighties-style opening sunroof up front with a fixed glass panel in the back. The pay-off is classy, circular vents in the roof with separate controls.

There’s no sign of cost-cutting as you move further back. Even in the rearmost row the seats are nicely trimmed, and there are soft-touch materials where you’re most likely to rest your arms.

Boot space is a handy 333 litres when all seats are in use, with 828 litres when the back row is folded (electrically in our car). There’s also a frunk under the bonnet with an extra 90 litres of space, or 52 litres when the dual-motor all-wheel-drive set-up is fitted.

So far, so good, and that story continues when you drive off. It’s quiet – very quiet – thanks in part to laminated side glass. But there’s only a whisper of tyre, road and wind noise, even at motorway speeds. You’re more likely to hear one of the fans running in the cooled seats than anything from outside.

UK cars will get a choice of two or four-wheel drive, with the latter adding an electric motor on the front axle to the one on the rear and increasing the power output from 201bhp to 380bhp. Torque sits at 350Nm for a two-wheel-drive car and 600Nm for the all-wheel-drive model, although owners can opt for an over-the-air boost package that adds another 100Nm of torque to the more powerful variant. This drops the 0-62mph time from 6.0 to 5.3 seconds; the 201bhp two-wheel-drive car will get from 0-62mph in 9.4 seconds.

Whatever speed we were doing in our AWD car, a prod of the throttle gave us the usual electric-car kick in the back. It’s a little more pronounced in Sport mode, which also firms up the already pretty meaty-feeling steering.

Together with a thick-rimmed, square-topped steering wheel, the EV9 is an enjoyable car to pilot – not sporty in any way other than acceleration, but grippy and composed, with not much body roll.

We like the brakes, too. They feel confidence-inspiring and linear in their application, when many other EVs struggle with regenerative braking. Not so the EV9.

You can also use the paddles behind the steering wheel to adjust the amount of regenerative braking, going as far as being able to drive using just the right-hand pedal.

The ride is a touch firm, but not uncomfortable on our car with 21-inch wheels – 19s or 20s will likely be fitted to lesser Air and GT-Line models in the UK. Our test car was an odd spec but seemed to be close to what we’d expect on GT-Line S.

Ultimately, we’d need to reserve final judgement on ride quality until we get the car in the UK. E-GMP cars tend to ride firmly, but the EV9 appears to be slightly more comfort-orientated, as a family car should be.

Much of our drive was on motorways – never the most efficient place for an EV to run – but we managed to register around 3.1m/kWh, which with a 99.8kWh battery, would mean a range of around 300 miles. We’d expect much more with mixed driving; Kia claims around 309 for our car, but we suspect more is possible, especially around town. Kia says the two-wheel-drive car will cover 336 miles between charges. And when you come to plug in, 149 miles of range can be added in just 15 minutes. There’s bi-directional charging, too.

Our motorway mileage meant we made good use of the adaptive cruise control that would automatically adjust to changing speed limits – clever stuff.

But when it comes to tech, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s everything you can think of on board and plenty of stuff you never knew you needed. You can use your mobile phone as a car key, play your music through a Meridian sound system and  personalise the lighting. There’s one of the most extensive suites of safety systems we’ve ever seen, too.

Keyword: New Kia EV9 2023 review