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No, 100% electric is no longer just reserved for city cars and small SUVs. With its most high-end vehicle to date, the Korean brand shows here that it is possible to choose the most ecological solution, even when you need 7 seats in the greatest comfort. You should know that the Kia EV9 is available in three finishes of 73, 78 and 86,000 euros.
The first two versions come with a 204 horsepower electric motor and a 99.8 kWh battery, while the highest-end GT-line edition has 4-wheel drive for 385 horsepower with an identical battery. It's the latter that we were able to try, in its 7-seater version, with its impressive third row of seats.
That's one hell of a beautiful beast
The least we can say before even entering the vehicle is that KIA has not skimped on the size of the beast. With its 5 meters long, 1.98 meters wide and 1.78 meters high and its 2 tonnes 5, the EV9 is a monster of the road which must be approached gently, and not to be put in all hands.
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© Presse-citron
Fortunately, it has a whole bunch of driving assistance that will help maneuver the imposing SUV, such as the blind spot display monitor, but also and above all a 360° camera. With such a size, it is almost essential, and will help to see everything that is happening around the vehicle during parking maneuvers for example, in just one glance at the screen.
Inside, comfort worthy of a living room
The EV9 range exists in version 6 or 7 places, for larger families.
Among the cars we were able to test, few offered as much comfort as the Kia EV9. As its impressive size suggests, the interior of an electric vehicle is particularly spacious, particularly for the driver and front passenger. With its soft and imposing seats, the EV9 gives the impression of a living room on wheels, where you would be as comfortable as on a sofa. The second row of seats even offers folding armrests, and the third row will take advantage of the protuberances on the sides to rest your arm, or even put a cup or a bottle of water.
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As driver and passenger, we particularly appreciated the mesh headrests in both front seats. Usually not very useful for comfort in a classic vehicle, Kia has a bias here to fully integrate it into the experience for the driver and passenger, by advancing the headrest sufficiently so that the head rests on this one. Equipped with mesh, the headrest offers quality support which will allow you to travel long distances in more than welcome comfort.
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The height of the eccentricity of the Korean brand, it is possible to rotate the 2 second row seats so that they can face the rear windows, but also face the third row. An excellent initiative that can make road trips even more fun for the people in the back.
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However, it will be necessary to take into account that in this configuration, there is no room left for the passengers' legs. We will therefore reserve this configuration for children, or for people who are no more than 1.65 meters tall. Otherwise, in a more basic seating configuration, the two seats in the third row are quite suitable, and will suit people 1.75 meters tall in terms of legroom.
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Clearly, comfort is here the biggest strong point of the Kia EV9.
Equipment you want, here it is
The EV9 does not lack equipment that will allow the driver to calmly endure several hours of driving without problems. We are thinking in particular of the heated steering wheel, ventilated, heated and massaging seats. Although you will have to get used to the rather strange effect, we also salute the ingenuity of Kia for having thought of integrating a rear camera transcription function into its central rear view mirror, thus making it possible to avoid having any visual obstacle. , even when the rear of the vehicle is loaded.
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For this which is to charge your smartphone, the EV9 unfortunately only has one induction charging slot on the front. Luckily, this one has two USB-C ports up front so the driver and passenger can charge their smartphones at the same time.
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© Presse-citron
Moreover, we will notice in the passenger compartment that each passenger, even for the 7-seater version, has their own USB-C socket in order to charge the device of their choice. An excellent initiative for long car journeys. That's not all, since the EV9 also offers a 220v electrical outlet in the trunk as well as a 12v cigarette lighter port.
A surprisingly dynamic ride for such a machine
Of course, we have to put the term sporty in quotation marks, but in Kia's EV9, It's not just passengers who can have fun. This 4-wheel drive GT-line version for 385 has more impressive dynamic capabilities than its disproportionate size suggests. Thus, here we go from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.3 seconds, which does not leave us indifferent given the size of the machine.
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The EV9 offers pleasant driving with limited rolling noise, and a rather relatively firm suspension which gives it good road holding. We still felt a relatively significant amount of body roll in tight corners when driving dynamically, which should be felt less in calmer driving with passengers in the back.
However, the EV9 offers good driving sensations, and although its size is felt, it only takes a short time to feel comfortable behind the wheel of the electric SUV from Kia. To summarize, the Kia EV9 provides significant comfort and driving that is resolutely dynamic if the driver is so inclined.
The range and charging of the Kia EV9
The Kia EV9 is equipped with a 99.8 kWh battery, which gives it an announced range of 505 kilometers according to the WLTP standard. Information that is difficult to verify on a test day, although at first glance it seemed pretty accurate. Obviously, the question is different depending on several parameters.
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Here, there were two of us in the vehicle, the autonomy must be more limited when a family of 7 people takes place on board. Fortunately, KIA has integrated 800v charging into its most high-end vehicle, which according to the Korean brand allows it to recover 249 km of autonomy in just 15 minutes.
We will also appreciate the Plug&Charge system, which, as its name suggests, allows you to charge the car without having to identify yourself using a card or an application. The identification system is integrated into the Kia EV9, which is still very practical on a daily basis.
Our opinion on the Kia EV9
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Kia's new 100% electric 6- to 7-seat SUV is an excellent vehicle, as imposing as it is spacious. If this one has a rather impressive size, it remains no less dynamic, particularly in its GT-line version offering 4-wheel drive for 385 horsepower.
That -it offers exemplary comfort for both the driver and his passengers, it also offering very useful driving aids to help you get to grips with the machine. Of course, all this comes at a cost, but Kia proves here that the Korean brand can offer innovative vehicle models, with a 100% electric model dedicated to large families, which is still rather rare on the market.
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