5 Reasons We’re Excited For the 2024 Kia EV9

We’re going to be driving the EV9 next week. Here’s what we’re most excited for.

Actually, we’ll be driving the EV9 again, as we got a quick blast in a prototype back in October. The EV9 promises to be a big deal not just for Kia, as its largest and most expensive SUV ever, but for the market as a whole. There are precious few three-row battery electric vehicles (BEVs) out there, especially comfortably under six figures. If the EV9 sticks the landing, it could become the standard against which all future competitors are judged against.

Okay, that and it just looks cool.

Ahead of our reunion with Kia’s new range-topper, we’re taking a quick look at five stand-out aspects of the EV9. Have questions? Post them in the comments section!

Let’s go back to the styling for just a minute. Kia hit a home run with the Telluride, and the EV9 takes that boxy, friendly look to a more polygonal plane of existence. Kia calls this design language “Opposites United,” and it entails clean, simple lines and a minimum of surface detailing. There’s lots of interplay between elements, such as the fading pattern beside the headlights or the body-colored intakes set within the “grille” surround. Kia has been making design a priority for at least a decade now, and the pay-off is an EV9 that is immediately recognizable even from across a parking lot. Who else offers a variety of three- and four-spoke wheel designs, too?

Our only disappointment? Based on the other EV models shown in LA last month, it seems like the smoother, more organic look of the EV6 will be limited to that model alone.

…in Kia SUVs, that is. The EV9 sits atop an elongated version of the E-GMP platform found under the EV6, and that means a rear-biased setup. Even Canada will get a rear-drive model: base EV9s use a single motor with either 201 or 215 horsepower based on battery capacity. The rear-drive models will be the range champs too, with the 99.8-kilowatt-hour Light Long Range (Wind RWD in Canada) hitting 304 miles (489 kilometers).

Every E-GMP car we’ve driven so far has been blessed with good manners, impressive NVH, and—in the Genesis GV60 and especially the EV6 GT—an athletic feel. We’re curious to see how much of that translates to the larger EV9.

Like its Korean sibling Hyundai, Kia has seen a dramatic rise in its profile in the last decade or so. Much of that was design-related at first, but the Stinger arrived back in 2018 to launch Kia into the sport sedan segment. Telluride had folks second-guessing the need to shop premium SUVs. EV6 brought the sort of high-tech electric car experience you’d expect from Porsche.

The EV9 can continue to move the brand upmarket. What’s more, at least for the time being, Kia won’t have any family conflicts, as neither Hyundai nor Genesis have a three-row E-GMP model to offer. Yet.

Kia’s current infotainment system isn’t bad, but it’s not great either. We’ve sampled the new setup, dubbed Connected Car Navigation Cockpit (ccNC), in the Hyundai Kona already, but this will be the first time we get to witness it in Kia flavor. Seriously powerful, it promises quicker responses and over-the-air updates. What’s more, the ccNC setup allows for navigation-based charging assistance, letting owners map out their routes without the need to consult a third-party app to make charging make sense.

Right now, if you want a larger, all-electric three-row SUV, you’ve got two three options: Tesla Model X, Rivian R1S, and Mercedes-Benz EQS. Needless to say, they’re all quite a lot more money than the $56,395 (including destination) starting price of the EV9. (Canadian pricing starts at $59,995 before destination.)

In fact, in Canada, the EV9 won’t be far off the pricing of the smaller Model Y.

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