The 2024 Kia EV9 matches the shape that many American households seek in a family vehicle, made fully electric but with no luxury price tag. That plus leadership in all features of charging make it Green Automobile Reports’ Best Automobile To Buy 2024.
Until now, no non-luxury EV has truly fit these needs—family-sized for America, with a 3rd row that’s adult-sized and straightforward to access (sorry, Model Y). What has arrived is a gaggle of sporty-looking crossovers that could be great for couples or empty-nesters but aren’t entirely formatted for families—just like the Ford Mustang Mach-E, our Best Automobile To Buy 2021, and even the Kia EV6, a finalist last 12 months.
2024 Kia EV9
2024 Kia EV9
2024 Kia EV9
2024 Kia EV9
The EV9 is spacious, allowing enough flexibility to suit grandparents and child seats together, or to have grownups fit within the third row while child seats are within the second row, for example. Or you possibly can flip the third row down and switch what’s already an adequate 20 cubic feet right into a flat-floor loading zone ready for the big-box trip. There’s a frunk, too—ok to be sure that the handbag and laptop bag are out of sight.
It also offers a smooth, quiet ride, with a soft sophistication that’s an ideal fit for the family mission, damping out all but probably the most jarring bumps, and presenting on the road with an impression of muted heft. It’s not one you’ll be craving to tackle canyon roads, however it’s confident.
The 2024 Kia EV9 is available in Light, Wind, Land, and GT-Line trim levels, and to date Green Automobile Reports has only driven the top-spec GT-Line, offering up 379 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque in its all-wheel-drive layout. That brings strong acceleration and it’s good for a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds. But for those who want single-motor rear-wheel-drive output, the numbers are far lower, at 201 or 215 hp, and 258 lb-ft for each.
The 2 figures correspond to battery packs. Base Light versions could be had with a smaller 76.1-kwh pack, while the remainder of the EV9 lineup gets a 99.8-kwh battery pack.
Driving range meets expectations, too. With the larger pack, the EV9 goes as much as 304 miles, while the bottom version with the smaller pack gets a 223-mile EPA range rating.
The nice range numbers come due to a variety of work with the wind tunnel. While its Telluride-meets-futuristic exterior looks crisp and sharp in some respects, it manages an excellent 0.28 coefficient of drag.
The EV9 can be the one electric three-row SUV built on an 800-volt architecture, permitting super-quick road-trip fast-charging of 10-80% in lower than 25 minutes, in response to Kia. All however the base Light trim include a heat pump (it’s optional with the longer-range Light), which should help keep range numbers from plummeting within the cold.
Bidirectional charging comes standard within the EV9, too, and could be enabled for home power backup now or potential future vehicle-to-grid support with a factory-supported Wallbox solution.
The EV9 may tow as much as 5,000 kilos. Off-roading isn’t out of the query either, because the EV9’s 7.8 inches of ground clearance and 18.5 inches of water-fording depth should give outdoorsy families what they should get out to the trailhead.
2024 Kia EV9
It isn’t all honeymoon, but they’re minor gripes. We’re not thrilled with a few of the dash materials, which don’t match the value in feel and appear, and while the 12.3-inch gauge cluster flowing neatly into the 12.3-inch infotainment could be an excellent have a look at first glance, we still see peering behind the steering wheel to the 5.0-inch screen space bridging the 2 as a step backward in comparison with the EV6’s dual strip of real buttons.
The EV9 is on sale now in all 50 states. The primary models come from South Korea, but that’s set to alter by mid-2024 with the arrival of U.S.-built EV9s that can come from Kia’s assembly plant in West Point, Georgia.
That results in the ultimate point: The EV9 is predicted at the moment to be eligible for no less than a few of the EV tax credit. With 2024 Kia EV9 prices starting at $56,395 and spanning as much as $75,395, your complete lineup matches below that credit’s $80,000 ceiling and below the starting price of three other U.S.-built three-row electric SUVs: the Rivian R1S, Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, and upcoming Volvo EX90.
None of our other three 2024 Best Automobile To Buy Finalists—the Toyota Prius Prime, the Nissan Ariya, or the Hyundai Ioniq 6—appear as committed to scaling up for the U.S. market or as spot-on for American families’ every want and want.
This Article First Appeared At www.greencarreports.com
