Kia's EV9 is a sophisticated, and fun, electric vehicle

This review first appeared in the August 2024 edition of the Cruisin' News, "Oregon, Nevada and California's classic auto news & marketplace."

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Sacramento, California -- Kia, once a builder of cheap cars, now produces one of the most sophisticated electric vehicles on the market.

It's the three-row EV9.  My tester, the 2024 EV9 GT-Line AWD, gave me plenty of reasons to smile.

Where to start?

It looked good, riding on 21-inch alloy wheels and with sharp, angular cuts in the body and window frames.  My ride was enhanced by an attractive "Ocean Blue" paint job.

Power was certainly plentiful, courtesy of dual electric motors rated at 379 horsepower and a whopping 516 foot-pounds of torque. I felt only a bit guilty zipping the big sport-ute around in traffic, hustling into tight spots on the freeway and dusting off speeders when I came blazing down on-ramps.

Then there was the 99.8 kWh battery with 300 miles of all-electric range.

And there was the full suite of state-of-the-art safety/driver-assistance technology, including a crash-avoidance system.

Fuel savings?  Naturally: an 80 miles per gallon equivalent rating in combined city/highway driving.

Did I mention the full-recliner seats?  No, I'm serious.  Just power up the leg rests and relax.

The EV9 does the basics well, of course. You get 82 cubic feet of cargo space behind the first row, and 5,000 pounds of towing capacity.

In sum, I'm not sure I've ever driven a vehicle that offers so much right off the truck, besides the fact that it's all-electric.

Frankly, this EV9 competes well with anything currently being produced in the luxury/SUV/EV class.  And it's appropriately priced for that: $78,430 on the tester's bottom line.

Given all this, the prospective buyer has some things to consider.  We are on the verge of the all-electric car age, but not quite there.

So, yes, you could buy an EV9 and consider trading it in within a few short years, betting that even more EV technology will be developed for a cheaper price.  Or you could buy an EV9 for the long term, knowing that the market is leaning ever-more into the electric realm, and with the knowledge that you have a sophisticated, and fun to drive, head start on the future.

I tend to think that the latter option is the way to go.