Kia EV9: Best in the world?

0 0 October 12, 2024 Edit this post

by Derek Ogden

What is it?

Quiet (tick), achiever (tick) - quiet achiever: with little more than the hum of the motors, the EV9 carried off a couple of the most prestigious prizes of 2024 - World Car of the Year and World Electric Vehicle.

A jury of 100 distinguished automotive journalists representing 29 countries, shouted out the innovative design, spacious seven-seat interior and competitive pricing of Kia’s first triple-row, all electric flagship SUV as being world beating.

Now Australia has the opportunity to find out, with the recent arrival of three variants, named with a nod to sustainability and the natural environment, Air, Earth and GT-Line.

The SUV continues to set the standard for Kia’s sustainable theme with the use of eco-friendly recycled and natural materials, such as bioplastics, recycled PET fabrics and carpet, plus bio-paint all aimed at the company achieving carbon neutrality by 2045.

What’s it cost?

The single motor, rear-wheel drive Air leads off, with dual motor, all-wheel drive Earth and GT-Line topping out the trio.

Prices range from $97,000, plus on-road costs for the single motor, front-wheel drive Air through the dual motor AWD powertrain Earth clocks out at $106,500 and the GT-Line $121,000.

The Earth variant was on test.

Kia says it’s a matter of ‘opposites attract’ in design philosophy with a combination of rugged capability and serenity and sophistication.

At five metres long and almost two metres wide there’s plenty of the former and a hint of what the latter has to show inside.

The front looks to the future for all Kia EVs with confident, clean lines.

A bold body coloured grille is flanked by vertical headlights forming the company’s signature Digital Tiger Face, and innovative LED daytime running lights, which will be carried by all Kia EV models.

A strong SUV profile takes cues from an aircraft fuselage, which together with a Kia-first 3-D underbody cover, front air curtains, retractable flush door handles and jazzy aerodynamic 19-inch alloy wheels, achieves an exceptional drag co-efficient of Cd 0.28.

Fine detail is a complement to the fuss-free power tailgate in the form of three-pronged LED lights that follow the lead of headlights up front.

New premium colours Iceberg Green and Pebble Grey are available across the range.

The dashboard is dominated by twin 12.3-inch touchscreens integrated with a 5.0-inch display producing a futuristic interface for the control of vehicle functions such as infotainment and instrument systems.

There’s no such thing as a perfect vehicle, trust me. And the EV9 has its little quirks.

For example, the climate control information is displayed on the wide screen between the info and instrument cluster and is almost totally obscured by the steering wheel.

EV9 does debut Over-the-Air updates for its Kia Connect system, which enables continuous ‘wireless’ improvements to many of the vehicle’s inboard systems, and a Highway Driving Assist 2 system.

The well-being of World COTY occupants, inevitably, looms large, so it’s no surprise that the development of the EV9 involved focusing on safety, hence the top five-star rating reigns across the model range.

Kia Advanced Driver Assistance makes up the basis of this, which also extends to travellers in other vehicles and pedestrians and includes such features as Highway Driving Assist 2with hands-on detection, Forward Collision Avoidance Assist 2 with Junction Crossing, Lane Oncoming and Lane Change Side functions.

Backing these up are Lane Keeping and Lane Following Assist, Blind Spot Collision Avoidance Assist, Intelligent Speed Limit Assist and Smart Cruise Control with Stop/Go, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Avoidance, front and rear Park Distance Warning and rear-view monitor.

EV9 Earth adds Blind-Spot Monitor, Surround View Monitor, plus Parking Collision Avoidance Assist – Reverse, while GT-Line chips in with Remote Smart Parking Assist 2 and Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist - Reverse. Front, side, curtain and front centre airbags add up to nine.

The EV9 is covered by Kia’s generous seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty, plus seven years for the battery.

Pre-paid services range from $706 for three years or 45,000km up to $1997 for seven years or 105,000km.

What’s it go like?

A ‘Technology for Life’ pillar was Kia’s way of getting the best out of space, comfort and technology while reimagining the family SUV.

There’s a completely flat floor, thanks to the company’s award-winning modular platform, which allows occupants to relax in lounge-like surroundings.

Standard features for comfort and convenience include heated and ventilated synthetic leather front seats with lumbar support and heated synthetic leather trimmed steering wheel.

Entry to the third row of seats is made easy by remote folding of the second row.

A cantilevered centre console, while including limited storage, allows for a large open storage area at floor level underneath.

It also houses vehicle start, park and drive-selection functions, freeing space for more storage, charging sockets and wireless charging pad.

Boot space ranges from 333 litres, with all seat backs up, to 2318 litres with second and third rows folded.

There’s also a 52-litre cubby under the bonnet, which doubles as a charging cable store.

The Air produces 160kW and 350Nm for a range of 443km, while the Earth and GT-Line punch out 283kW and 700Nm for a range of up to 512km (Earth) or 505km (GT-Line), with the GT-Line able to scoot from rest up to 100km/h in 5.3 seconds.

The Earth model with twin electric motors and all-wheel drive is capability of a six-second sprint to 100km/h.

As mentioned in my introduction, the EV9 really lives up to the claim as a quiet achiever.

Little noise -- motor, road or wind -- intrudes into the passenger cabin.

The same cannot be said for a plethora of audible safety warnings and intervention.

All become a bit wearing. Turn them off and let the driver drive.

The other side of the coin is the ride and handling, which like most Kias has had the attention of Australian suspension experts with vast experience of our country’s roller-coaster road quality.

And there’s no shortage of oomph when accelerating – zero to 100km/h in six seconds, to be exact.

Size does matter here with the bulky SUV showing some unsteadiness on changing direction at speed.

Toning down the enthusiasm did the trick, while three braking regen and a one-pedal mode were as good as a new best friend.

Brakes were sharp enough to confidently pull up the two-and-a-half tonne wagon under normal circumstances.

Towing is rated at 2500kg with a braked trailer, a 750kg rig with no brakes.

Watch out here for a compromised driving range.

Over a week of work, from driver alone to a ‘full house’, the energy consumption averaged 20.2 kWh (better than the maker’s combined claim of 22.3 kWh).

As for charging, the test car was topped up on a public fast charger from 30 to 80 percent, giving a range of 482km.

The time taken was 46 minutes at a cost of a tad over $17.

I could live with that.