Video Summary
The Kia EV9 is an electric large SUV with seven seats standard. It is due to launch in Australia in late 2023. The EV is priced at around $100,000, not intended to save money. The design of the car aims to meet the needs of millennial families and deliver new standards of space, practicality, comfort, and technology. Kia sees cars of the future as technology and lifestyle spaces.The EV9 has a digital Tiger Face with daytime running lights and funky light animations, with patterns from an online store available in countries except Australia. It will launch in three spec levels in Australia later in 2023, starting with the EV9 Air rear drive, with 160 kilowatts of power, and a 76-kilowatt battery pack. All-wheel drive EV9 is expected. Pricing may be in the mid 90,000 and 120,000 for the top GT Line.
The rear-wheel drive with big battery can go for 541 kilometers on a single charge, with 10 to 80% in 25 minutes or 240 kilometers in just over 15. The interior is like a lux living room on wheels. The car has 7 seats in a bench row in the middle. In terms of technology, some EV9 grades will come with two sunroofs and twin 12.3-inch digital displays. The new 5-inch display shows AC settings. An integrated charging control unit V2L means it can power appliances. Kia is aiming to increase the use of recycled plastics and has no leather.
The EV9 is more than five meters from end to end, with 3.1-meter wheelbase making the car spacious. It is an updated version of global electric car architecture shared with other Kia EVs.
Performance is decent in the entry-level rear-wheel drive, accelerating from 0 to 100 in 8.2 seconds. The All-Wheel-Drive beastly model can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in six seconds flat, although this time is further reduced to 5.3 seconds using a boost kit. The steering ratio is quite lazy and makes the car easy to drive at speed. It has fifteen sensors, including two lidars for detection of collisions with other road users. Australian EV9s will not have all the autonomous driving sensors. The steering is likely to need more tuning for Australian roads but has quite a good ride quality. Boot space is at 571L, expanding to 2000 liters in two seat configurations.
