Kia EV9 first drive | big, bold and rather brilliant

Kia’s new flagship enters a niche market with very few competitors, offering futuristic styling, a high-level of standard kit and a refined electric powertrain. With comfort, practicality and safety high on the agenda, it's sure to be a success among company car drivers.

Overview

Kia’s evolution has been nothing short of remarkable in recent years. While its core line-up has evolved gradually, becoming more advanced, more stylish and more desirable, it has taken some great leaps, most notably with the introduction of the EV6.

The EV9 follows as another major step forward for Kia. Like the EV6, it’s built on a bespoke electric vehicle platform. It’s also packed with premium-car technology and features, has a bold new design and a high-quality, upmarket interior.

Entering into a market with only a handful of the rivals, the EV9 is a proper full-size SUV with three rows of seating. It’s comparable to a Land Rover Discovery, but fully electric.

With a WLTP range of more than 300 miles, thanks to a large battery, the EV9 has the capability to suit the needs of many drivers, without compromising comfort or driveability.

Prices start at £64,995, for the entry-level Air model which comes with a single motor powertrain. There’s also a twin-motor version, with all-wheel-drive, available from £73,245.

Comfort and practicality

The EV9 is available with two interior configurations offering six or seven seats. The standard seven-seat setup offers a bench seat for three passengers in the middle row and two more in the rear. The six-seat version has two independent seats in the middle row, which can rotate to face the rear of the car.

Space is abundant inside the EV9. It has a similar footprint to a Range Rover, with a length exceeding five metres. The upshot is generous legroom for all three rows, making the EV9 a much more useable seven-seater than many of its SUV rivals.

There’s a flat floor, on to which the rear seats can be folded, giving a vast loading space. Even with all the seats in place, the boot is still ample with around 300 litres of space. With just the rearmost seats folded, that expands to more than 800 litres, which is more than a Discovery offers.

Refinement on board is very high. The EV9 is whisper quite on the move, with wind and road noise well supressed. It’s also very well appointed, with heated and cooled seats in the first and second rows and climate vents for all passengers.

Safety and technology

A five star safety rating has been awarded to the Kia EV9 by Euro NCAP. It achieved 84% for adult occupant protection and an impressive 88% for child occupant protection.

Drivers are supported by a suite of assistance systems, including automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, speed limit assist, blind spot monitor with blind spot cameras, and lane keep assist.

Despite its bulky size, the EV9 offers good visibility. Technology, such as surround-view cameras, help to fill in the gaps that the driver can’t see.

The EV9’s cockpit incorporates a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster that merge together, incorporating a third, smaller, touchscreen for quick access to the climate control functions.

The infotainment software is familiar with the system in the EV6 and other newer Kia models. It’s a relatively easy to use, although some settings and functions are buried in submenus that aren’t easy to access while driving.

Beneath the centre display is a row of touch sensitive shortcut buttons, for accessing the map, audio menu and car settings. There’s also a couple of physical switches for adjusting the temperature and fan speed, alongside a roller control for the audio volume.

Kia has also opted to retain switched for functions such as the heated seats, heated steering wheel and mirror adjustments, on the door panels, making the on-board experience more straightforward.

Driveability and range

As a big , heavy and high-riding SUV, the EV9’s credentials don’t lend themselves well to an efficient and engaging drive. But, Kia has worked a marvel with the EV9’s chassis, managing to implement high levels of ride comfort, decent driving dynamics and a useable range.

We were impressed that the car feels as ‘premium’ as its price tag suggests - effortless, well-balanced and responsive.

Only the twin-motor version was available to drive at the launch event, providing a potent 383PS and 700Nm. The EV9 can accelerate to 62mph from rest in 5.3 seconds, making it adequately rapid when required. It’s not an all-out racer, though. Unless you really floor the throttle the EV9 is a relaxing and easy-to-drive car. The immediacy of the powertrain tapers off at higher speeds, as the car’s large flat front and 2.6-tonne kerb weight hit the boundaries of physics.

The single motor car serves up a more modest 203PS and 350Nm, but does promise more range. While the twin motor has an official range of 313 miles, the single motor manages 349, according to WLTP.

During our test, in wintery Scotland, the EV9 twin motor was returning 2.4mi/kWh equating to around 230 miles of driving. We’d expect around 250 in less challenging conditions. As one of only few vehicles on sale with 800-volt charging capability, the EV9 can replenish its battery from 10% to 80% in only 24 minutes.

While it feels most at home cruising on the motorway, the EV9 has a balanced suspension setup that, combined with the weight of the battery in the floor, gives a sense of stability from behind the wheel. Body roll is well controlled, unless you really provoke the car, and the steering, while a little light, is direct. It’s not a car that’s particularly engaging to drive quickly, but for an electric seven-seat SUV it’s very capable.

Company car tax and running costs

The EV9 is likely to be popular among company car drivers that need the flexibility of seven seats but don’t want to drive a van-derived vehicle. At £65,000, it’s not cheap, but it does represent good value when compared to the Mercedes EQS SUV and the upcoming Volvo EX90.

Strong residual values and competitive SMR costs should make the EV9 attractive for fleet decision makers, as well as drivers. With a benefit-in-kind rate of just 2%, drivers could pay £22 per month in tax for the entry-level model.

High levels of equipment across the line-up means that, for many, the single motor car will probably tick all the right boxes at a price point that’s comparable to some smaller, five-seat plug-in hybrid SUVs.