Kia has unveiled the EV9, a flagship electric SUV with seven seats, lidar generation for Level 3 autonomous driving and a range of 336 miles.
The car will be available to order in Kia’s home market of South Korea in the second quarter of 2023, before coming to other markets in the second half of the year. It is the largest car yet to make use of E-GMP, the modular electric vehicle platform used by the Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Genesis GV60.
The EV9 will be offered with battery pack sizes of 76.1 kWh and 99.8 kWh, with the former fitted only to a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive variant, and the latter available with single- or dual-motor drivetrains.
Kia says the EV9 has a range of over 336 miles (when the single-motor variant is equipped with the larger battery and 19in wheels), and that its 800v system means up to 148 miles of range can be added to the battery in 15 minutes, when using an ultra-fast charger.
A standout feature of the Kia EV9 is Level 3 autonomous driving. The car uses a formula called Highway Driving Pilot, which Kia says will allow “conditional Level 3 autonomous driving in some markets,” though it has explained precisely what that means.
SAE International, the global criteria agreement that defines the five grades of autonomous driving, says that the point 3 generation “can drive the vehicle in limited situations and will work if all required situations are met. “
Kia says the formula will allow “the driver to take a temporary break from driving the vehicle. “Kia’s formula will most likely drive on roads with transparent road markings and only at certain speeds. The EV9 is supplied with 15 sensors, according to Kia, it adds two lidars that allow it to scan your landscape and find items in a full 360-degree view box.
There is also a full suite of complex driver assistance systems and an automatic parking function, as well as UWB (ultra wide band) technology that will allow drivers to open and turn on their EV9 smartphone.
Also new for the Kia EV9 is the Kia Connect Store, which the company says will allow consumers to “purchase virtual features and services on-demand, giving them the ability to choose the features they need and continually upgrade the EV9’s features with more updates coming soon. ” “any time. “
We’re interested to see how this plays out, and if Kia has learnt from the criticism leveled at BMW when it suggested drivers would have to pay to activate the heated seats already fitted to their car.
At 5,010mm long, 1,980mm wide and 1,755mm the EV9 is larger than the seven-seat Kia Sorento SUV, and not that far behind a full-size Range Rover. The latter is 5,052mm long, 2,047mm wide and 1,870mm tall.
In addition to being a practical seven-seater vehicle with a two-three-two configuration, the Kia EV9 will also be available with four other specifications for the second row. There are features for a pair of individual reclining seats, as well as 180-degree swivel seats so that second- and third-row passengers can face each other while the car is parked. Kia says the reclining seat option means four occupants in the first and second row can recline their seats to rest while the car charges.
Beneath the bulky frame, which despite its shape has a drag coefficient of 0. 28, are various battery sizes and motor options. The long-range rear-drive EV9 features a single motor generating 150 kW (199 hp) of power. and 350 Nm (258 ft-lbs) of torque, accelerating the car to 62 mph in 9. 4 seconds. Equipped with a smaller battery and a stronger battery. With a 160 kW engine, the standard-range rear-drive EV9 reaches 62 mph in 8. 2 seconds faster.
The all-wheel-drive versions of the EV9 produce 283 kW (375 hp) and six hundred Nm (443 ft-lb) of torque, resulting in a 0-62 mph time in 6. 0 seconds. Finally, the optional Boost system (available for purchase after delivery at the Kia Connect Store) increases torque to 700 Nm (516 ft-lbs). The Boost function, which is not yet worthless, reduces the time from 0 to 100 km/h to 5. 3 seconds, just like in a sports car.
Other features of the EV9 come with Vehicle-to-load (V2L) technology, where the car and its battery can be used to supply up to 3. 68 kW of power to parts such as laptops, TVs, and camping equipment.
Kia has not yet announced how much the EV9 will cost. But with a top-spec EV6 breaking the £50,000 barrier, expect the seven-seater to start somewhere above £60,000.
Alistair is a freelance generation and automotive journalist. He has been published on renowned sites such as BBC, Forbes, TechRadar and, most productive of all, T3, where he covers topics ranging from vintage cars and men’s lifestyles to generation wise homes, telephones, electric cars, stoves, Swiss watches and much more. He is an experienced journalist who writes news, reports, interviews and product reviews. If that hasn’t kept him busy enough, he also co-hosts the Auto Chat podcast.