By Jim Prueter
MotorwayAmerica.com

(April 19, 2024) Electric vehicles have nearly become ubiquitous with a wide variety of offerings from compact, midsize sedans, there's several trucks and varying sizes of SUV's. But the model that remains mysteriously evasive has been one with a third row of seats. Yes, there's a few offerings including the Rivian R1S and Tesla Model X but they can sell upwards of six figures and out of reach price wise except all but the well-heeled.

In the world of ICE (gas-powered) vehicles, three-row SUVs are available by just about every auto manufacturer due to the fact they are beloved by the car buying public generally necessitated by large families with no shortage of gear for large cargo areas. However, an affordable EV with three-row seating could be an attractive choice for those who prefer not to be fossil-fuel dependent.

Enter the large Kia EV9 with a starting price of $56,395 including the $1,495 destination charge that comes with legitimate seating for six or seven, availability of over 300 miles of driving range, a choice of standard rear-wheel or all-when drive and its noticeable full-size big-boy looks. It's roughly the same size as Kia's immensely popular gas-powered Telluride.

Kia offers the EV9 in a choice of five-trim levels starting with the base rear-wheel drive Light Short Range with a smaller battery and single-motor battery that makes 215 horsepower and 230 miles of driving range, next is Light Long Range, also rear-wheel drive but only 201 horsepower. Wind and Land  trim levels both have standard all-wheel drive and a dual-motor setup combining for 378 horsepower along with a Boost mode that increases peak torque output for quicker acceleration. The final trim level is our test EV9 the range-topping GT-Line with the same 379-horsepower with 518 pound-feet of torque that adds a $20,000 bump in price to the base EV9 with a starting price of $75,395 including destination and handling charges. Yikes, that's much higher than the excellent Telluride. Our GT-Line slashes the maximum driving range down to about 265 miles.

If it's on looks alone our GT-Line is an absolute home run. While people often disagree on things like looks and style this giant-sized SUV is something you'd expect to see as a lunar rover vehicle. Despite its chiseled boxy shape, it boasts an impressive low 0.28.

The interior of our EV9 exceeded our pre-conceived expectations and while borderline minimalist was a perfect match for the futuristic exterior design. There was ample space helped by the entirely flat floor, seats were plush, comfortable with just the right amount of bolstering to provide dynamic lateral support during more aggressive driving runs. There's also the added benefit of our GT-Line's recliner seats with footrests for increased passenger comfort on longer treks or when waiting during a plug-in recharge of the battery.

Another nice and standard feature only on the GT-Line trim, in which it is also standard equipment, is the “Ergo Motion” driver’s seat. This includes seat back and cushion massaging, which consists of large air bladders inflating and deflating rather aggressively to sooth those stiff muscles. Even though they push pretty hard they're actually quite soft unlike the hard, knobby massagers in some luxury vehicles.

The rear seat enjoys over 42 inches of legroom, that's more than a Cadillac Escalade, Range Rover or Mercedes EQS. Up front, driver room is more than ample. I'm six feet, six inches tall and fit comfortable in all three rows of seats. That's a rarity.

There's black and white two-tone leather seats that reminds one of Sea World's Shamu. They're heated and ventilated with a built-in massager for longer rides. Thankfully the HVAC system comes with real knobs to control the airflow rather than navigating through several touchscreen levels to make adjustments. There's just one seamless piece of glass for all the operational and functional screens. There’s the five-inch instrument cluster, a small little section for HVAC, and then your 12.3-inch central display, which supports wireless CarPlay and Android Auto.

Speaking of recharging, with up to 236 kWh and 800-volt charging capability on a DC fast charger, the battery can be topped off from 10 to 80 percent in as little as 20 minutes, if all the right conditions are met. That's about 100 miles of driving range in 13 minutes. But we found our GT-Line to be everything but frugal burning energy consumption of 26 kWh per 60 miles of driving. Kia offers 1,000 kWh of complimentary charging on Volkswagen’s Electrify America fast-charging network. Kia also plans to eventually send Tesla supercharger adapters to its customers for access to it's superior charging network.



But with all this EV9 goodness there are a few things that have us questioning some of the design features. First is the all white key fob with no buttons on the front or back rather numerous buttons on the thin edge for locking, unlocking, panic button, rear lift gate operation , etc. While each function is identified they're extremely small, impossible to read. Thankfully you don't really need the buttons to unlock it because the vehicle senses the key fob and unlocks the doors.

Unlocking the vehicle the door handles extend to present themselves. We also didn't like that the steering wheel blocks the view of the climate control screen. Thankfully there are climate control buttons on the center of the dash for your basic climate control functions. However, all your more advanced control operations are on the screen that's blocked from view. One thing we did like is the heated and cooled seat functions along with the heated steering wheel button is located on the door panels rather than the dashboard.

Slipping behind the wheel one must locate the hidden start button. If you're not familiar with its location you'll need to reference the owner's manual. There's a small stalk coming off the right side of the steering column and there is an "EV" button you need to press to start the vehicle. To get the vehicle in gear you twist the stalk either forward for drive or backward for reverse and Park is located at the end.

Located on the center of the steering wheels a Kia logo which looks like the letter K connecting to a backwards N. Rather cool, when you turn on the vehicle with the start button the Kia logo actually

Even with its massive size, we found it drove and handle more like a sports sedan than an SUV. The driving dynamics were every bit an immediate response effortlessly getting up to highway speeds and when passing.

The ride and drive itself is very smooth, extremely nice and the highest of quality. It feels great to drive this vehicle, seats are fantastic, visibility superb, and quiet interior. While KIA isn't a luxury or near luxury brand, driving the EV9 does give the sense that it is a near luxury vehicle. Finally, it's worth nothing that all the driver assistance features on the EV9 are excellent, easy to use and a welcomed addition.  

Overall, I liked the EV9 a lot but there is a sense behind the wheel that you are driving a minivan. I know that won't be a very popular opinion since people buy SUVs so they don't have to drive a minivan. Because this vehicle is so long with extremely roomy seats in all three rows it does have the minivan feel. Add that the hood is rather short and sloping not unlike a minivan and unlike a larger SUV also lends to the feel.

Finally, unlike an SUV that sits high the EV9, because it's an electric vehicle and the heavy battery sits very low the seating position of the vehicle is also low much like a minivan. Because of that, KIA designers gave the EV9 a dramatic exterior style to keep it from suggesting the looks of a minivan. And, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

VITAL STATS
EV9 GT-Line AWD

Base Price: $73,900
Price as Tested: $78,430
Powertrain: Dual motor, all-wheel drive 99.8 kWh Lithium ion high-voltage battery with 379-hp and 516-pound feet of torque and a single speed automatic transmission.
EPA Fuel Economy: 88/72/80 MPGe  City/Highway/Combined
Seats: 6 or 7

Where Built: Gwangmyeong, South Korea

Competes With:
Rivian R1S
Tesla Model X

Crash Test Safety Ratings: The Kia EV9 has not been crash tested by either the IIHS or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as of this writing.

Likes:
The first family friendly, affordably priced three row EV
Extremely roomy, comfortable interior
Excellent driving dynamics

Dislikes:
Most desirable trim levels get expensive
Wished for more driving range
Some operating controls are quirky and fussy