Guided by the brand’s ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy, Kia is using the concepts of disruption and contrast to create characterful designs of their new vehicles. The ‘Bold for Nature’ design pillar, which inspires the combination of elements from the natural and material worlds, has played a pivotal role in forming the design of the new EV9 with a unique balance of natural and modern elements.
This South Korean built SUV’s signature ‘Digital Tiger Face’ showcases its unique identity and combined with this optional Ocean Blue matte paint finish the result is striking to say the least. With an overall length of 5,015mm, 1,980mm width and 1,780mm tall for this GT-Line variant, the EV9 looks about as sleek as a brick, but it actually has an aerodynamic coefficient of 0.28. This has been achieved through the implementation of several advanced features including Kia’s first-ever 3D-sculpted underbody cover, along with aerodynamic wheels, and innovative air curtains integrated into the front bumper.
Kia have published data on the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) for greenhouse gas emissions of the EV9 in their 2023 Sustainability Report. It states that the EV9 produces 48.7 ton CO2-eq in its lifetime. Kia claims this is 23% less than the carbon emissions of vehicles with internal combustion engines in the same class.
Underneath this EV9 there is a 99.8kWh Li-ion battery, sourced from the company SK on, which is based in South Korea, that Kia claims will give you a 505km range (WLTP) with a combined energy consumption of 22.8kWh/100km. For my week with the EV9 I used an average of 21.7kWh/100km giving me a real-world range of 461km. The EV9 supports 400 V and 800 V charging infrastructure and Kia claim a DC Fast Charge from 10-80% using a 50kW charger will take approximately 83 minutes and drops to approximately 24 minutes using 350kW charger. At home using a 11kW AC wall box the charge time is approximately 9 hours and 5 minutes according to Kia.
The CCS Type 2 charge port is located at the rear of the vehicle on the driver’s side and when you attach the charge cord the vehicle says ‘start charging’ and there is a locking sound. To indicate that charging is in progress and to show how long it has to go, the lights next to the plug flash and initially it displays information on the driver’s dash also.
The Kia EV9 is the first large SUV to adopt e-GMP, which is the Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicle platform and its suspension has been tuned in Australia and I found the ride comfort to be good even over bumpy roads. The GT-Line is powered by dual motor Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors that produce a combined power output of 282.6kW and 700Nm of torque paired with a 1 Speed Automatic Transmission (Reduction Gear Type 2). This means the EV9 GT-line can complete the 0-100km/h sprint in approximately 5.3 seconds and on to a maximum speed of 200 km/h.
The drive modes available include Eco, Normal, Sport and My Mode and under My Mode you can adjust the regenerative braking settings and the climate control to Eco mode. As the GT-Line is an AWD model it also has Terrain mode with Snow, Mud, and Sand options. I spent my time predominately in Normal mode with the regen set to ‘3’, but if you want to adjust the regen while driving you can use the the plastic steering wheel mounted paddles. The EV9 GT-Line also has Active Sound Design with the option to have this set to Enhanced, Normal, Minimised or Off, and my preference is to have it set to off.
I like that you actually have to press the start button on the gear selector stalk, which is located on the right hand side of the steering wheel, and then twist the stalk to engage drive or reverse. I had a realisation driving the EV9 that the symbols on the brake and accelerator pedal need to be the opposite to what they are, positive for accelerator and negative for the brake, because the accelerator minuses battery range and the brake pedal adds it through regenerative braking.
I’m still not convinced that digital side mirrors are the way forward, I find the field of vision is not wide enough and so I’m constantly looking over my shoulder to see if any cars are there particularly when making a U-turn. I’m also not keen about the infotainment menu buttons being ‘hidden’ in the dash material below the infotainment screen because in some light/angles I could not see them at all.
Behind the heated steering wheel with powered column adjustment is an integrated panoramic display with a 12.3″ digital driver cluster, plus a 5″ climate monitor and a 12.3″ touch infotainment screen. You can display EV charging stations on the sat nav including the charger type and whether or not it is available, but also adds a disclaimer that this information may not be correct. Voice control can be used with the infotainment system and is operated by pressing the button on the steering wheel with the masculine looking silhouette on it. The voice control worked well for changing the radio station and making a phone call, but would not set a destination for me on the sat nav.
In front of the centre console is a place large enough for your handbag and you can then easily plug your phone into the ports above to connect to the wired Android Auto/Apple CarPlay without the need of taking your phone out of your bag. One less thing to forget and leave in the car when you get out! I like that there is a switch that allows you to select if you want to connect to your phone to the vehicle or just charge it using the two USB-C ports and there’s also one 12V socket here. Above this at the front of the centre console are two large cup holders that can also be slid out of the way to create one large storage space.
Under the arm rest is wireless phone charging and a very small storage cubby that could have been made larger and more useful if the space under the centre console that is accessed from the second-row seats had been made smaller. I’m not sure what this cubby would be used for than hiding a sibling’s favourite toy, and it seems pretty pointless to me?
The cabin has cool ambient lighting that you can combine with the relaxing front seats with heated and cooled option and even basic massage function for the driver to create a serene ambience while waiting for your EV9 to charge. The seats are trimmed with artificial leather, which is made from Bio Polyurethane, with two-tone GT-Line styling with premium mesh headrests on the front seats. Both front seats have powered adjustment for recline, forward/back, seat cushion height front and rear, and under leg support. The driver’s seat also gets 4-way lumbar support, in place of 2-way support on the passenger seat, bolster adjustment and two memory positions. I like that you can also move the passenger seat forward/back, adjust the recline or put into the recline position using the buttons on the side, it’s good for when my mother is in the car and can’t work out how to use the seat controls on her side.
The outer second-row seats are also heated and cooled on the GT-Line EV9 and I found there was ample head and leg room for me in the second row, but I would have liked a little more under thigh support. You can manually adjust their recline and move the seats forward/back adjustment separately thanks to the 60:40 split folding mechanism. My children commented that the second-row seat headrests were comfortable as a common gripe from them is that these headrests are not usually so.
The second row seats have two ISOfix/three rear tether child seat restraint points and the centre seat folds down as an arm rest with two rigid drink holders in it. There are another two large drink bottle holders at the rear of the centre console and in the rear doors the drink bottle cubbies are only suitable for slim drink bottles.
The rear climate control has digital temperature, mode and air speed controls located on the roof in the centre of the vehicle and they can also be adjusted from the front of the cabin. Which is important because the rear climate control defaults to off, so it needs to be turned on every time you get in the car. This is just another thing a busy parent needs to think about if their child/ren are too young to tell them the A/C is off and there should be an option to default the rear climate to on for this reason. You will appreciate the manual blinds on the rear windows though if you have young children.
I do like that there is one USB-C port located on either side of the front seats for second row passengers to access, as this has the advantage of no cords being on the floor to create a trip hazard. I also love that there is one fixed floor mat across the floor as it makes for easier cleaning when you vacuum the EV9 out.
You can access the third row from both sides of the vehicle by pressing the button on the shoulder of the second-row seats and the gap that opens up is large enough for me to step through. The difference is on the driver’s side the single seat moves forward in such a manner that you could still have a car seat in it and be able to access the third row.
The third row seats have plenty of head room for me and although my legs were touching the back of the second row seat it was still comfortable enough. My only issue was that my knees were up a little high, but it was not too uncomfortable. I could actually quite happily sit in the third row, which is the exception rather than the rule of most three row SUVs. Both third row seats also have ISOfix and rear tether child seat restraint points though ANCAP found that one of the selected Type A convertible seats in rearward facing mode and both of the selected Type B in forward facing mode could not be correctly installed using the ISOfix anchorages in the third row of seats.
Third row occupants get drink bottle storage and another cubby in the rear wheel arches and one USB-C port on either side of the vehicle. The air vents in the roof can be manually moved around and closed off and there are fixed mats on the third-row floor as well.
With the third-row seats in use there is still plenty of room in the boot for school bags or a small shop, which is another rarity for three row SUVs. The 50:50 split fold third row seats are manually raised and lowered using the straps on the back of the seats. Of course with the third row lowered the boot space is quite large, but only has four plastic tie down points. There is also a button in the boot to lower the second-row seats, but if you have to manually raise them back up.
The boot space has two hooks, one 12V socket and one 250V 16 amp three-pronged plug with the vehicle to load adapter stored in the front boot. I love that when it is not in use the cargo cover and cargo net along with the tyre repair kit are neatly packaged under the boot floor. The charge cord is also neatly packaged in a bag that is secured in place with Velcro, but can also be moved around if needed.
The tailgate has powered open/close with a button on the tailgate, on the key fob and in the cabin to operate it. I also really like that there is a second button in the boot lower down near the 12V socket that children or shorter people can push to close the boot. The front boot has power-assisted opening and manual close with a button to open it on the key fob and in the cabin.
All EV9 variants have a 5-star ANCAP (2023) safety rating with an Adult Occupant Protection score of 84% and a Child Occupant Protection score of 87%. Dual frontal, side chest-protecting (first and second rows) and side head-protecting (first, second, and third row) airbags are standard. A centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes is also standard.
The Kia EV9 is fitted with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), a lane support system (LSS) with lane keep assist (LKA) and emergency lane keeping (ELK) functionality, and blind spot monitoring (BSM). ANCAP tests of the AEB (Car-to-Car) system showed GOOD performance with collisions avoided or mitigated in most test scenarios, including in AEB Junction scenarios where the test vehicle can autonomously brake to avoid crashes when turning across or into the path of an oncoming vehicle. The AEB system also avoided impact in some of the Crossing scenarios, with a MARGINAL score for these test scenarios. ANCAP tests of the AEB Head-On function showed GOOD performance with mitigation in both the travelling straight and lane change test scenarios. ANCAP tests of lane support system functionality showed some GOOD performance, including the more critical emergency lane keeping test scenarios and overall the ANCAP Safety Assist score was 85%.
The EV9 GT-Line also gets a surround view monitor with 3D mode that allows you to ‘walk around’ the vehicle. It has front and rear parking sensors and emits a quiet bong to alert nearby pedestrians that you are reversing. For convenience you also get automatic dusk-sensing headlights, high beam assist and automatic rain-sensing wipers.
The Kia EV9 comes with Kia Australia’s 7 Year/unlimited kilometre vehicle warranty and a 7 Year/ 150,000km warranty (whichever occurs first) against defects arising in materials or manufacture for High Voltage Electrical Vehicle Systems Components which include but are not limited to: On Board Charger, Traction Motor, Electric Power Control Unit (EPCU & HPCU), High Voltage (HV) Battery System.
Every new Kia comes supported by 12 months of complimentary Roadside Assistance this can be extended for up to 8 years if your vehicle is serviced at a Kia dealer. The service interval for the EV9 is 12 months/15,000km and there are three pre-paid servicing options to choose from. Three years servicing will cost $706, five years $1,351 or seven years for $1,997.
It’s out with the old and in with the bold for Kia with the EV9 and the result is impressive. The Kia EV9 GT-Line costs $121,000 excluding on-road costs and as tested with the optional Ocean Blue matte paint with Kia Car Care Paint Protection ($3,495) this EV9 was $124,495 excluding on-road costs. You can Build & Price your EV9 online in three simple steps or visit your preferred Kia dealer for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| It’s a three-row SUV with three rows of usable seats | The digital side mirrors |
| There’s space in the boot even when the third-row seats are in use | The hidden touch bar for infotainment menu |
| Many clever design features | Rear climate control defaults to off |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.