Every so often, a new car catches my eye. People drone on about how all new crossovers look the same, and I’ll admit I buy into that a little bit. Consumers prefer a particular shape, and it catches on across multiple design studios. Kia seems to say “screw that” and regularly and come out with something completely different. The thing in this instance is the Kia EV9. Launched in 2024, the EV9 doesn’t look like much else on the road. I spent a week with one and have a lot to say. Let’s get it on!
2024 Kia EV9 Overview
The EV9 starts at $54,900 for 2025, the same as the base model 2024. Kia has already swapped over their website, but there aren’t any significant changes to the 2025 model. From there, it’s a series of fun names like “Wind” and “Land.” Our tester was a Land Long Range AWD starting at nearly $70,000.
The Land is, unsurprisingly, very well-equipped. Only the sportier GT-Line is higher in the EV9 food chain. You’ll get a ton of stuff as standard equipment, like:
- 20-inch wheels
- Upgraded LED headlights
- Gloss black exterior trim and accents
- Power-adjustable steering wheel
- Digital rearview mirror function
- Rear window shades
- Ambient cabin lighting
- Driver’s seat memory position
- Heated and ventilated rear seats
- Second-row captain’s chairs
- 14-speaker Meridian premium audio system
- Surround-view camera system
- Blind-spot camera
- Vehicle-to-load (V2L) port so you can charge portable camping gear or other electric vehicles!
Let’s get into some of the details of what it’s like to live with.
2024 Kia EV9 Land Long Range AWD Inside & Out
I absolutely adore the EV9’s styling. The long roof looks like it could be at home on a sporty wagon, and the other character lines are chunky and angular. The front end may be a “love it or hate it” for some, but I love it. The headlights look great and fit the overall vibe of the EV9. Even the wheels look like they came from a 1980s sci-fi movie about what 2025 might be like. Out back, you get a giant set of taillights that complete the look.
Overall, the EV9 does more than stand out among dull SUVs—it looks fabulous. Let’s move on to the interior.
The interior makes a solid first impression. Despite the futuristic exterior, things are a little more normal inside the EV9. You get a broad sweeping dashboard, and thankfully, Kia shied away from the trend of large tablet portrait-style screens with a more integrated landscape screen. Kia made it look like one massive screen and even had some quick access buttons for the HVAC between the driver’s screen and the central infotainment screen. The thick steering wheel looks beefy and matches the exterior look and feel. Plus, you can choose between two heating levels to keep your hands warm in the winter.
Under the touchscreen, some buttons get you to the major elements of the infotainment system. While it’s cool that they exist, I accidentally hit them with my hand while operating the touchscreen. It means you hop out of whatever you were doing and jump to whatever you hit by mistake. Speaking of controls, I like the audio volume roller on the dash. It’s a little far away. You’re on the other option, which is another roller on the right side of the wheel. The Kia Sorrento I had last week, where there was no other option than what was on the wheel
You get lots of room for large and small items from a storage perspective. I love that you can cover the cupholders with a small folding piece. This is super helpful if you have something in there that you want to leave in the vehicle and keep out of sight temporarily. There is also a large area under the center stack for a purse or bag. The wireless charging pad is easy to access, but your phone has to be in the right place to charge.
The interior is light and roomy, and those headrests are pretty damn cool looking. There are even inputs for devices in the seats, so rear passengers have easy connection points.
There is plenty of storage in the rear, starting with a reasonable 20.2 cubic feet behind the third row. When the third row is folded, that expands to 43.5 cubic feet, and there is a maximum of 81.7 cubic feet of cargo space with both the second and third rows stowed.
2024 Kia EV9 Land Long Range AWD On The Road
The EV9 Land gets dual electric motors that make 379 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque. Add a respectable 280 miles of EPA-estimated range, and you’ve got a solid family hauler. It’s not fast per se, but it’s not slow. The dual motors haul around a hefty 5,794 pounds, but it can quickly get out of its own way off the line or to merge on the highway. The power button is up on the gearshift lever, entirely obscured by the steering wheel. It’s an interesting place to put it. I guess they’re trying to come up with new ideas. Although, it does feel like you’re reaching down to put a key in, which is a nice old-school feeling.
I had difficulty finding the secret to locking and unlocking in daily driving. When you are done driving, pressing the slight indentation on the handle doesn’t do anything. Pushing on the retractable handle itself didn’t do anything. Similarly, my youngest was trying to open the back door after getting out of the front, and the handle wouldn’t pop out until I manually pressed the unlock button. On the plus side, you get to use the cool detonator key fob button to lock it.
After over an hour of stop-and-go traffic, the vehicle continually flashed driver alertness warnings, and the coffee sign lit up, suggesting I take a break. Each time that happened, it automatically turned down the music. It wasn’t enjoyable, plus I didn’t even drink coffee! Pretty minor foibles though, the EV9 was a pleasure to drive.
Summary
The EV9 gets a solid “would recommend” with a boatload of equipment, a great-looking exterior, and tons of interior space. Like all EVs, make sure you have the infrastructure to support it. If you can charge at home, that’s the best-case scenario. The EV9 would make for a pretty perfect school or sports drop-off mobile. Long trips will mean multiple stops to charge, but if that all fits into your situation, the EV9 is quite good.