Kia calls the new Kia EV9 an electric SUV with a bold and elegant design. Kia has to talk about the inside, because judging by the first pictures of the new Kia EV9, we can’t possibly call the outside of the Kia EV9 elegant …
If we have to call an elegantly designed car, we don’t immediately think of a giant of a car like the Kia EV9. Kia is not yet saying how long and wide its new electric SUV is, but that it is a huge colossus cannot be missed. And how big are those wheels? When we think of ‘elegant’ and ‘car’, we envision more graceful car models, such as the Alfa Romeo Giulia and BMW 4-Series, even if its grille is debatable. You can call the Kia EV9 impressive, but elegant? No, that’s like calling a hippopotamus an elegant animal.
Ridiculous
The fact that Kia is packaging its fourth electric car in the Netherlands as a large SUV is quite special at a time when more and more car brands are questioning the streamline in combination with the efficiency of such a bully. The fact that Kia provides its new electric seven-seater with galvanized door handles for better streamlining is actually too crazy for words. That’s like equipping a gas-guzzling old Cadillac with a start/stop system. Kia nevertheless maintains confidence in the electric SUV because it calls the design of the EV9 the basis for other future SUV models from Kia. The CEO of Citroën thinks very differently about this:
Way more enthusiastic
Enough about the exterior of the Kia EV9. When we look at the inside, we get a lot more excited. We see a spacious, bright interior with a beautiful dashboard with two 12.3-inch screens and an additional display for an ‘impressive digital experience’ as Kia says. We did not spot many physical buttons, but fortunately for the operation of the climate control. Kia talks about an ‘effortless operation of the functions without too many buttons’, but in practice the two things often do not go together. But physical keys are also mounted on the steering wheel, so who knows.
Three rows of seats
Kia equips the Kia EV9 with three rows of seats and promises ‘lounge-level comfort’ for all three rows of seats. You can choose from a seven-person or six-person setup. The seats in the first and second rows can be put in a reclining position while the Kia EV9 is charging, but Kia is not yet saying what exactly this means. You can probably adjust the backrest far back. The seats in the second row can be rotated 180 degrees so that you sit face to face with the passengers all the way back.
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Kia EV9: world debut on March 28, 2023
This time it will mainly look at pictures, because Kia will keep the specifications of the Kia EV9 secret until its world debut on March 28, 2023. That is also the start of the global Kia campaign ‘Here to reshape the way we move’. If this means that we all have to drive around in an electric SUV, we fear the worst for the available parking space in inner cities. But Volvo also likes us to move around in huge SUVs: