Kia’s commitment to electric vehicles has taken a major step forward with the arrival of its
new fully-electric flagship EV9, a large and luxurious three-row SUV.
The biggest and most expensive Kia model to date, the EV9 range will comprise three
variants: Air, Earth and GT-Line with the Air and GT-Line on sale now and the Earth trim to
follow early in the new year.
Will the EV9 cost you the earth?
Maybe not, but when it gets here the mid-range Earth will cost you $106,500, sitting
between the Air at $97,500 and the GT-Line at $121,000. On-road costs need to be
added.
The entry level EV9 Air has a single rear-mounted motor generating 160 kW and 350 with
a WLTP rated range of 443 kilometres. It is priced at $97,000 plus on-road costs.
EV9 Earth and GT-Line each get front and rear motors with outputs of 283 kW and 700
Nm.
The single motor in the Air has a 76.1kWh / 632V battery and the dual motors in the Earth
and GT-Line share a 99.8kWh / 552V battery.
Expected range is 512 Km from the Earth and 505 Km from the GT-Line which rolls on
21-inch alloy wheels. Air and Earth each have 19-inch alloys.
Multi-charging 800V architecture gives the EV9 ultra-fast-charge capability, to let users
add 232km of driving range in just 15 minutes. A full charge from 10 to 80 percent can be
completed in as little as 20 minutes.
With exterior dimensions of 5010mm in length, 1980mm width and 1755 mm height the
EV9 is a large vehicle that will stand out on the crowd.
EV9’s frontal styling combines simple lines and clean surfaces with a bold body-coloured
grille framed by vertical headlamps forming Kia’s signature Digital Tiger Face.
The Digital Tiger Face is further developed with Small Cube Projection Headlights (GT-
Line) with Intelligent Front-lighting System (IFS) and innovative ‘star map’ LED DRLs, to
create a sophisticated lighting pattern that will become a signature of Kia’s EV models.
At the rear, a crisp and clean tailgate is flanked by three-pronged LED taillights that share
the design of the headlights.
The cabin uses many sustainable materials and debuts an array of new Kia technologies
in Australia.
With all three rows of seats occupied, EV9 still provides a decent 333 litres of cargo space,
increasing to 828 litres with the third row folded. With both rear rows folded the space
expands to 2318 litres
EV9’s chassis has been locally tuned to suit Australian tastes and conditions.
Like the smaller Kia EV6 which has been on sale here for nearly two years, the EV9 is built
upon the company’s dedicated battery electric vehicle platform, Electric Global Modular
Platform (E-GMP).
The EV9 also introduces a series of new Kia technologies to the Australian market.
These include a panoramic wide display that combines dual 12.3-inch cluster and
infotainment displays via a 5.0-inch segment display, a column-type E-Shift-by-Wire drive
selector, fingerprint recognition, Digital Side Mirrors and a Digital Centre Mirror (GT-Line).
EV9 also debuts Over-the-Air update capability for its Kia Connect system, and a Highway
Driving Assist 2 system with Hands-on Detection.
Standard safety features include Highway Driving Assist 2 with Hands-on Detection,
Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist 2 with Junction Crossing, Lane Oncoming & Lane
Change Side functions, Lane Keeping Assist, Lane Following Assist 2, Blind-Spot
Collision-Avoidance Assist, Intelligent Speed Limit Assist, Smart Cruise Control with Stop
& Go, Rear View Monitor, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance, and front and rear
Parking Distance Warning.
EV9 Earth adds a Surround View Monitor, Blind-spot View Monitor, and Reverse Parking
Collision-Avoidance Assist.
GT-Line also comes with Remote Smart Parking Assist 2, Forward/Side/Reverse Parking
Collision-Avoidance Assist.
We’ll be providing further details, together with drive impressions when we carry out our
normal road test review early in the new years
MODEL RANGE
EV9 Air RWD Single Motor: $97,000
EV9 Earth AWD Dual Motor: $106,500
EV9 GT-Line AWD Dual Motor: $121,000
Note: These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges. Contact your
local Kia dealer for drive-away prices.
