A first look at Kia’s full-sized electric SUV with a digital tiger face and swiveling seats.
In 2021, Kia unveiled the EV9 concept with its rather bold design, promising the market a three-row electric SUV soon. Two years later, Kia finally delivered on its promise by revealing its new SUV’s production model. And although specifications and prices are still unknown, at least we now have an idea of what the production model will look like.
Design-wise, you may think the EV9 would only be a bit of a mixed bag between a few existing SUVs like the GMC Yukon and Volvo XC90, but it couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, the Korean automaker took a rather unique approach to come up with the design, holding a competition between its design studios worldwide. In short, its Californian design studio won the bodywork segment, while the Nanyang studio nailed the cabin.
And that unusual approach didn’t go to waste since the EV9 sports a pretty outstanding look, retaining the sleek robot-like appearance of the initial concept, thanks to what the manufacturer calls ‘Digital tiger nose’ and high-tech vertical headlights.
From the side, the SUV is quite boxy but in no way boring, especially with the blacked-out “A” pillar, flushed door handles, and futuristic-looking 21-inch wheels. Though, we still wish it would have been equipped with suicide doors like the concept — can’t have it all, I guess.
In addition, Kia EV9 will sit on Hyundai’s latest E-GMP EV platform, also used on Hyundai’s latest Ioniq lineup and Kia’s EV9 little brother, the EV6. Although the Korean manufacturer is yet to release official dimensions, it’s expected to be similar to the Kia Telluride or Hyundai Palisade, with the same six/seven-seater configuration.
Speaking of the seats, though, the EV9’s cabin is just as impressive as the outside. Not only is there plenty of space here, but Kia also has a little trick up its sleeve for the middle row. Indeed, featuring swivel seats, the second row can be rotated to face the rear seats or toward the doors for easier in-and-out access. On top of that, the dashboard is quite elegant, with a dual 12.3-inch screen housing the digital gauge cluster and infotainment system.
Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for upcoming announcements to find out more about the EV9’s powertrain, battery capacity, range, and pricing. But considering a customer survey sent to Electrek regarding what Kia Telluride drivers wish the EV9 specs would be like, we can expect the big EV to have a motor capable of 200-400 hp and 220-290 miles of range. Kia is also expected to offer the EV9 with a choice between a single motor and a dual motor setup, with prices ranging from $50.000-70.000.
Guess we’ll find out more a little closer to the EV9’s release, expected around the end of 2023 or early 2024.
Gallery: 2024 Kia EV9
