Kia's EV 9 will be its biggest electric vehicle yet, but the company says it will still be capable of a range of more than 500 km. It will also be very expensive.
The EV is designed to encroach on the space currently occupied by the Volvo XC 90 and Tesla's Model X. It's big, boxy and bold in its design and has design touches reminiscent of Kia's original rather funky Soul. At just over 5 metres in length, it will be one of the largest EV's around and will be one of the few EV's with seven seats.
It will arrive in Ireland in Novemberr and will be available in standard rear wheel drive or in four wheel drive guise. Kia says a range of 541 kilometres is possible with the standard version, but the usual caveats about claimed range in real world conditions apply. This version will have a 150 kWh motor delivering 215 horse power while the four wheel drive version will be driven by twin 160 and 150 kWh motors and will deliver 380 horse power. Kia is claiming the four wheel drive version will deliver up to 490 km of range.
The battery size in both models is a long-range 99.8 kW unit.
The EV 9's exterior may look a little overpowering but its interior is where Kia is hoping to score heavily. For example, the second row of seats can have a swivelling capacity that enables rear seat passengers to sit facing each other in what is described as a "lounge" environment.
This comes at an additional cost though. Speaking of cost, I'm speculating that with a UK launch price of over £50,000, the cost of the EV 9 in Ireland will likely be north of €70,000.
The other main interior feature is the two 12" screens for controls and infotainment, a feature we've seen Kia develop in recent years to good effect, as it digitally sets off well over half of the dashboard area. With a clever battery layout there should be a generous sense of space from the windscreen to the rear window.
