The 2024 Kia EV9 is the shape many American households want in a family vehicle, fully electric but without the luxury price tag. This and leadership in all aspects of the store make it Green Car Reports’ Best Car To Buy 2024.
To date, no non-luxury electric vehicle has truly met these requirements – family-sized for America, with an adult-sized third row of seats that is easily accessible (sorry, Model Y). What has arrived is a bevy of sporty-looking crossovers that might be great for couples or empty nesters, but aren’t quite suitable for families – like this Ford Mustang Mach-Eour best car to buy in 2021, or even that Kia EV6a finalist last year.
2024 Kia EV9
2024 Kia EV9
2024 Kia EV9
2024 Kia EV9
The EV9 is spacious and offers enough flexibility to, for example, fit grandparents and child seats together or accommodate adults in the third row while child seats are in the second row. Or you can fold the third row down and turn the already ample 20 cubic feet into a flat-floor cargo area, ready for hauling big boxes. There’s also a trunk – big enough to ensure your handbag and laptop bag are out of sight.
Additionally, it offers a smooth, quiet ride with a gentle elegance that’s perfect for family use, absorbing all but the harshest bumps and giving a sense of subdued power on the road. It’s not one you’ll crave on canyon roads, but it’s confident.
The 2024 Kia EV9 is available in Light, Wind, Land and GT-Line trim levels, and Green Car Reports has only driven the top trim GT-Line, which in all-wheel drive produces up to 379 horsepower and 516 lb-ft. ft of torque provides layout. This ensures strong acceleration and is enough to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds. However, if you want the power of a single motor with rear-wheel drive, the numbers are far lower, with 201 or 215 hp and 258 lb-ft for both.
The two illustrations correspond to battery packs. The base Light versions are available with a smaller 76.1 kWh battery, while the rest of the EV9 range has a 99.8 kWh battery.
The driving range also meets expectations. With the larger package, the EV9 achieves a range of up to 304 miles, while the base version achieves an EPA range rating of 223 miles with the smaller package.
The large range values are thanks to extensive work in the wind tunnel. While its telluride-meets-futuristic exterior looks crisp and sharp in some respects, it manages an excellent drag coefficient of 0.28.
Kia says the EV9 is also the only three-row electric SUV based on 800-volt architecture, enabling super-fast 10-80% on-road fast charging in under 25 minutes. All but the basic Light trim have a heat pump (this is optional on the Light with a longer range), which should help ensure that the range doesn’t drop when it’s cold.
Bi-directional charging is also standard on the EV9 and can now be enabled for home backup power or for potential future vehicle-to-grid support with a factory-supported wallbox solution.
The EV9 can also tow up to 5,000 pounds. Off-road driving isn’t out of the question either, as the EV9’s 7.8-inch ground clearance and 18.5-inch wading depth should give outdoor families everything they need to get to the trailhead.
2024 Kia EV9
It’s not just a honeymoon, but there are small criticisms. We’re not keen on some of the dashboard materials, which look and feel don’t match the price, and although the 12.3-inch instrument cluster, which flows seamlessly into the 12.3-inch infotainment, might be one at first glance makes a good impression, we’re convinced looking behind the wheel at the 5.0-inch screen area that bridges the two still looks like a step backwards compared to the EV6’s two strips of real buttons.
The EV9 is now available in all 50 states. The first models are coming from South Korea, but that is expected to change by mid-2024 with the arrival of the US-built EV9s, which will come from Kia’s assembly plant in West Point, Georgia.
That leads to the final point: the EV9 is expected to be eligible for at least some of these at this point Electric vehicle tax credit. With 2024 Kia EV9 Prices start at $56,395 and go up to $75,395. The entire lineup is under the $80,000 cap of that loan and below the starting price of three other U.S.-built three-row electric SUVs: the Rivian R1S, Mercedes-Benz EQS SUVand soon Volvo EX90.
None of our other three finalists for the best car to buy in 2024 – the Toyota Prius PrimeThe Nissan Ariyaor the Hyundai Ioniq 6– give the impression that they are committed to expanding into the US market or that they are sensitive to all the wants and needs of American families.
