World Car of the Year: Kia EV9
It’s official: the Kia EV9 electric SUV has been named World Car of the Year by a jury of 98 journalists from 30 countries. This all-new, three-row all-electric model has won accolades for its style, spaciousness, range, and performance. Depending on which model you choose, it can deliver a range of up to 304 miles and is available in your choice of rear-wheel or all-wheel drive.
Kia EV9 Awards
World Car of the Year isn’t the only award the EV9 has won. Indeed, this new Kia has won the coveted “Best of the Best” award by Red Dot, which is a German award for good design, as well as the Gold Trophy at the IDEA 2024 Design Awards. It’s been named the Best Electric Car by What Car? magazine in the UK, and has earned a Ten Best Award from Car and Driver. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has also awarded it a Top Safety Pick award, and at the New York Auto Show, it was also named World Electric Car of the Year.
Kia has been on a roll with awards. The Korean brand won a slew of awards for its 2020 Telluride thanks to its comfortable ride, three rows of seating, and advanced driver assist technology. Now, the EV9 takes the Kia lineup another notch with a similarly spacious electric SUV that is remarkably good-looking and incredibly hard to fault. With all those awards hanging from its rear-view mirror, could this be the EV for you and your family?
This remarkable seven-seater debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show as a concept vehicle in 2021. The production version was previewed in March 2023 with second-row seats that rotated through 180 degrees. It was also the first Kia to debut the Connected Car Navigation Cockpit and triple panoramic digital displays.
The EV9 concept car included such available features as digital exterior side mirrors, which used video cameras instead of traditional side mirrors. It also included massaging seats, a 14-speaker Meridian sound system, and Remote Smart Parking Assist. Cargo room is a whopping 85 cubic feet of space with the second and third row seats folded down.
Production EV9 models arrived in America’s dealerships starting in October 2023 – available in base model rear-wheel drive or with extended Long Range all-wheel drive powertrains. They combined excellent range, fast charging, and can tow 5,000 pounds. With the kind of design-forward styling that makes you stop and look back at the SUV after parking it, it’s easy to see why the EV9 is an award-winning favorite around the world.
New Features in the 2025 EV9
Having won so many significant awards, Kia decided to leave the 2025 model alone for the most part. The only notable changes are the addition of several new colors, including Ebony Black and Glacial White Pearl.
The Light Long Range trim version now comes with a sunroof as standard, and a new high-performance GT trim is coming soon. Starting MSRP is estimated to be $56,395 for the base model, and heads north to around $80,000, depending on the trim level and options you choose.
The biggest piece of news? Purchasers of an EV9 will get the Tesla-style NACS charger plug beginning with the 2025 model, making charging on the go that much more convenient.
Kia EV9 Power, Range, and Charging
EV9 trim levels begin with the Light model that comes with a single electric motor that is rear-mounted and produces 215 horsepower. All-wheel drive models offer dual electric motors – one up front and one at the rear – for a total of 379 horsepower. An available Boost Mode increases torque for peak acceleration. When it comes to acceleration, the all-wheel drive version will get you to 60 mph in an estimated 4.5 seconds. Pretty speedy for a three-row SUV.
When the GT version hits dealers in a few months, rumor has it that it will show up with 576 horses. Stay tuned.
All versions of the EV9 use Kia’s 800-volt architecture for fast charging, which lets you add about 100 miles or range in about 13 minutes of DC Fast Charging, on a compatible charger. You can go from a 10 percent to 80 percent charge in just 23 minutes.
The base Light model arrives with a 76.1-kWh battery pack that the EPA estimates will take you 230 miles before you need a charge. The Dual Motor versions as well as the Light Long Range model have a larger 99.8-kWh battery that will take you 304 miles.
In the Cabin
The interior of the EV9 is a place of luxury, refinement, and sustainability, with comfy faux-leather seats and every conceivable bell and whistle. It can be ordered with your choice of room for six or seven passengers.
The six-passenger version includes second-row heated and massaging captain’s chairs while the seven-passenger version switches those out for bench seats. Rear cargo space behind the third row holds 20 cubic feet, or 82 cubic feet with the second and third row seats stowed away. There’s even extra room in the frunk up front.
To make access to your cargo easy, just stand near the back of the vehicle with the key fob in your pocket, and it automatically opens to take on groceries or whatever might be filling your hands.
You’ll notice a minimum of physical knobs to twist. There are just a handful for the air conditioner/heater, and the radio volume knob. Everything else is accessed via touch-sensitive controls on a pair of 12.3-inch screens. One screen is used as the digital gauge cluster, while the other is for infotainment functions. The system is intuitive, offering quick responses – and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard.
When it comes to safety and driver assist features, the EV9 comes with automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning with lane-keep assist, and adaptive cruise control and blind-spot monitoring all as standard.
Kia EV9 Driving Experience
We drove a Land all-wheel drive version of the EV9, and were very impressed with this seven-seater. Driving modes include Eco, Normal, Sport, My Drive, and Snow.
This dual-motor version is plenty quick off the line. There’s lots of oomph when you need it. We also found the EV9 to be quiet and calm while driving around town; it feels like a true luxury car.
In the corners, the driving dynamics are firm but still very comfortable. There is very little body roll or dive, and batteries under the floor give it a low center of gravity. This big SUV weighs in at 5,300 pounds – and you can feel that heft during hard cornering but why shake the kids up in the back? This isn’t NASCAR.
You can dial the regenerative braking up or down to suit your needs. Set on low, the EV9 will coast forever, but turn it all the way up, and taking your foot off the accelerator will slow the big SUV down to a complete stop without touching the brake pedal.
Visibility is excellent in the EV9. There’s lots of glass to see out, of and you sit high but the vehicle doesn’t feel like a three-row SUV when you are driving it. It is actually very easy to maneuver, and it can tow up to 5,000 pounds. Also, just so you know, there is remarkable space in the third row, unlike many three-row SUVs.
Conclusion
The Kia EV9 carves out a unique space in the EV market. Even though the starting MSRP is $56,395, the EV9 is a bargain when compared to the Rivian R1S and upcoming Lucid Gravity, both of which can close in on $100,000 with options.
The EV9 gives you great space, utility, comfort, performance and quick charging. Plus, the excellent Kia warranty covers five years or 60,000 miles with a powertrain warranty that covers ten years or 100,000 miles. When it comes to all-electric SUVs, this may just be the ideal family hauler.
