Kia officially rolled out its three-row 2024 Kia EV9 at the 2023 New York Auto Show on Wednesday, and we learned a little more about this big beast of an electric SUV.
Some details about the EV9 were fairly well hammered out before the announcement, and even after this debut we still have plenty of unanswered questions. We do have range confirmed for at least one of the EV9's drivetrain options. Previously, Kia said its rear-wheel drive EV9 with the larger, 99.8-kWh battery could achieved 336 miles of range in European testing. For the U.S. however, the automaker estimates the single-motor EV9 with the larger battery pack will do 300 miles on a charge. Ranges for the 379-horsepower dual-motor all-wheel drive EV9, or models with the smaller 215-hp single motor and 76.1-kWh battery pack, have not yet been announced.
Neither was pricing — a fraught subject for EV automakers large and small. Ford, for instance, bumped up the price of its Lightning EV truck four times in the last four months, and Tesla raised its prices several times in 2022 before slashing them in Q1 of 2023. Kia’s president and CEO Ho Sung Song told a roundtable of journalists last week that a high-performance GT version of the EV9 can also be expected somewhere down the line, assumedly at a premium over the base-model SUV.
What Kia does want you to know is that this is an SUV primed for Level 3 autonomy. The EV9 comes with the already-available Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, and will be the first U.S vehicle to offer Kia’s Advanced Highway Driving Assist, Lane Following Assist 2 and Standard Highway Driving Assist 2, which do the familiar work of keeping a Kia in its lane and on the road.
The company also tweaked its Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, which will allow the EV9 to detect pedestrians and bicyclists with greater accuracy and better handle the dreaded left-hand turn. True Level 3 autonomy, in the form of Kia’s Highway Driving Pilot, will come with later over-the-air updates, possibly through Kia Connect, and apps and upgrades store. That store will also offer you fun features like switching up the lighting on your EV9's grille.
Inside, the driver has an optional full-color heads-up display and camera-operated rear-view mirror. The roomy three-row electric SUV can be configured for 6- or 7-person seating. Folks in the front seats and second row get a little foot rest, heated seating and plenty of USB-C chargers to chose from.
Kia hasn’t released exact timing for when the EV9 will go on sale in North America, though the company is aiming for the fourth quarter of this year. Official EPA battery range estimates are also not available yet.
Kia did send out some nice pictures though, so enjoy!
