Kia EV9: up to 541 kilometers of range, up to 383 hp

Highlights Kia EV9

• Kia’s largest SUV
• Rear or four-wheel drive, 204 hp or 383 hp
• Up to 541 kilometers range thanks to 99.8 kWh battery
• Kia Sorento stays
• 100 Nm extra to download

The EV9 is not only Kia’s largest electric SUV, but also the brand’s largest SUV. The Kia EV9 takes that title from the Telluride, an exactly 5 meter long SUV that the Koreans offer in the United States. That Kia Telluride is exactly 5 meters long, but in terms of size, it has to recognize its superiority in the Kia EV9. With its length of 5.01 meters, it is exactly one centimeter longer. That makes the EV9 considerably longer than Kia’s largest European SUV: the 4.81 meter long Sorento. Even more interesting is the wheelbase. That of the Kia EV9 measures a more than generous 3.1 meters and exceeds that of the EV6 and Telluride by no less than 20 centimeters. Kia’s electric top model even has 10 centimeters more between its front and rear axle than Land Rover’s Range Rover!

Kia EV9 is certainly not a small SUV.

All those meters of SUV must of course be propelled and it is now also known which electric powertrains are responsible for this. Kia’s top electric model with three rows of seats and up to seven seats will be available with two different powertrains. The EV9 adventure starts in the Netherlands with a rear-wheel drive Long Range RWD flavor with a single electric motor on the rear axle that generates 204 hp and 350 Nm, enough to drive the SUV – the weight of which we do not yet know – in 9.4 seconds to a speed of 100 km/h. The only other engine version that has been confirmed for the Dutch market for the time being has four-wheel drive thanks to two electric motors and is 383 hp and 600 Nm strong. As a Long Range AWD, the Kia EV9 pounds to a speed of 100 km / h in just 6 seconds and is therefore considerably faster than the rear-wheel drive version.

Regardless of the chosen electro heart, the Kia EV9 in the Netherlands always has a 99.8 kWh battery pack between its front and rear axles. The Kia EV9 RWD Long Range squeezes out a range of up to 541 kilometers (WLTP). Mind you, this is the version with 19-inch light metal. The EV9 is also available with 20 and 21-inch large slippers, but with those larger wheels it doesn’t get as far. Elsewhere in the world, Kia also offers the rear-wheel drive EV9 with a smaller 76.1 kWh battery. , but Kia does not yet mention a final payload. Depending on the market, the EV9 can pull up to 2,500 kilos and will be available with an Auto Terrain Mode, depending on the market.

Design

We have already written a small book about the design of the Kia EV9. For more information about the interior and exterior of Kia’s latest electric eyeball, read this article. Nevertheless, there is also now news about the design of the EV9 to report. For example, we know that the SUV with a width of two centimeters and a height of 1.76 meters has a relatively low drag coefficient of 0.28 behind its name. Of course, the sturdy Kia doesn’t cut through the wind as efficiently as a Mercedes-Benz EQS that has a Cd value of 0.20, but the EV9’s Cd value is nicely lower than cars like the previous generation Mercedes-Benz CLA (0.30) or the previous Kia Niro (0.29), just to name a few. The EV9 owes this to, among other things, the way in which the bottom of the car is designed and the design of the wheels and air vents.

The Kia EV9 GT-Line has a different front than the regular version.

Kia will soon supply the EV9 in the Netherlands in two versions, including a GT-Line that you can recognize by the black finish of the roof rails and details in the bumpers and wheels. Also, the specific lighting pattern in what Kia is the Digital Pattern Lightning Grille mentions a landmark of the GT-Line.

Interior Kia EV9

As we wrote earlier, the Kia EV9 is equipped with seven seats, but a six-seat configuration is also available for the EV9 GT-Line. In this variant you will find two separate seats on the second row of seats that you can rotate 180 degrees. The front seats have what Kia calls a relax function, a position in which you can doze off completely while the EV9 is on the charger, just to name a few.

You can forget about a completely black interior. Kia does not deliver that, the EV9 has always been carried out in two shades. Whatever you can write on your stomach: leather upholstery. Kia does not deliver that either in the EV9. The brand is gradually reducing the availability of cowhide in its models. In addition, Kia uses biomaterials in the EV9, including materials obtained from corn and sugar cane. Depending on the version, Kia processes 70 to 100 PET bottles in the interior of the EV9, Kia told AutoWeek.

Kia EV9: nice opposite each other.

Security systems and gadgets

No new flagship without an arsenal of passive and active safety systems. For example, the EV9 in GT-Line trim will be available with Highway Driving Pilot, which in theory allows you to make miles on the highway without your hands on the wheel. In theory indeed. In the Netherlands, the law simply dictates that you must keep your hands on the steering wheel. The Highway Driving Pilot system uses the 15 sensors, including two lidars, with which the EV9 is equipped. Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) is standard on the EV9, meaning you can charge devices such as laptops or cool boxes with up to 3.68kW.

Kia’s EV9 is also optionally available with Remote Smart Parking Assist 2. This allows the SUV to park itself without the driver’s involvement, regardless of whether he or she is in the car or standing next to it. The list of safety systems goes on with things like Blind-Spot Collision Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Intelligent Speed ​​Limit Assist, Smart Cruise Control, Highway Driving Assist 2 and so on. Interesting is what Kia calls the Digital Key 2.0. What is that? A virtual version of your car key that is on your smartphone. This means that your phone takes over the role of a car key. Useful!

More digital news: The EV9 is the first Kia to connect to the brand’s new Kia Connect Store. This means that the EV9 can not only be updated, but also expanded with new functions. For example, you have to use the Lighting Pattern function from before the Digital Pattern Lighting Grille can purchase, but also a Boost function for the four-wheel drive EV9 AWD that adds 100 Nm of extra muscle. With that extra torque, the 0-100 sprint takes only 5.3 seconds. Oof.

Kia EV9

Kia EV9 and the Netherlands

Detailed information for the Dutch market – including prices – will follow later. We do know that the Kia EV9 can probably be ordered in the second quarter. Do you find the EV9 on the large side but are you charmed by its design? No worries. In the form of the EV5, Kia comes with a smaller electric SUV that shows strong similarities with its bigger brother. What about the Sorento? It will continue to exist, says Kia in front of AutoWeek.