Kia EV9: The best electric car in the world?

Driving through the parking garage continued to make me sweat on my forehead – because I was worried about the 21-inch alloy wheels. And going back to the garage at home was also a job of precision: 30 years ago it was not built for behemoths like the Kia EV 9. When we installed the wall box on the right side garage wall, we also had our little electric car in mind, which has its own front loading light.

Daily life with Kia EV9, the new, almost 2.7 ton, 5.01 meter long and 1.78 meter long electric SUV from South Korea, took a bit of getting used to. Although the seven-seater electric car is equipped with all kinds of electric and electronic assistants that can help the driver in any emergency – once you familiarize yourself with their systems and operation.

Showered with gifts

The Kia EV9 has been on the market since last summer and has attracted a lot of attention – and awards – since then. Stromer won that one “Golden steering wheel” from our colleagues at AutoBildThere was Design Awards and on International Women’s Day, Kia’s flagship was named “World’s Best Car for Women 2024”. And today the EV9 won twice in the World Car of the Year election: For 100 car journalists from 29 countries, the electric panel van is not only the best electric car of 2024, but also the best car of the year in general. . Before the Volvo EX30 and the BYD Seal, by the way, but also before the BMW i5.

So the Koreans must have done many things well. Spokesmen for the international jury did not comment in detail on the reasons for their choice. The Evaluate it only shows a high score in the profession of “Occupant Environment” – i.e. the evaluation of the interior – for safety and functionality as well as “emotional appeal”. In the final discipline, the design and appeal of the car to car buyers and the surrounding area is evaluated.

Strong castle on wheels

In fact, the Kia EV9 also attracted some attention during our week-long daily test. At charging stations, but also when driving through the town of Blankenberg, a medieval settlement on the heights of Sieg near Bonn. In the winding streets and when passing through the 2.3 meter wide arch of the 13th century the gate of St. Catherine, it quickly became clear how much the needs of mobility, but also the means of transport, have changed over the last 800 years. Although a four-horse coach with a length of 5.20 meters and a width of 2.10 meters would have been very difficult here at that time.

And with nine seats, the space inside and above the carriage was not much greater than that of our modern seven-seat model. Not to mention the travel comfort: the space is big and there is a lot of knee room, at least in the first two rows. And in Anno Tobak they could only dream of electrically adjustable, ventilated and heated armrests. They must have heard the neighing of the horses and the squeals of the undercarriage loudly in the car and had enough information about the condition of the road up to their spikes. Thanks to frequency-dependent gas pressure shock absorbers at the front and a five-link axle with hydraulic level compensation at the rear, the occupants of the Kia largely float over unevenness in the historical pavement. There’s also no groaning in the rafters at all: the EV9 looks here – based on the scenery – like a solid fortress.

Fully integrated power

But of course this kind of car isn’t quite suitable for historic small towns – Kia’s all-electric territory is the highway. For family trips or holiday trips with children and small children, you can’t think of anything better – except maybe a minibus. The fully networked panoramic cockpit offers entertainment on the go in a variety of ways, not only displaying all kinds of driving information in razor-sharp detail on three monitors and a head-up display, but also playing all kinds of multimedia content on demand . Everything you are supposed to need today. Unfortunately, we did not find the karaoke function when searching in the sub-menu. This will surely be installed soon via an over-the-air update.

The driving system also ensures high stability – the jury members were right in their assessment. With a peak output of 283 kW (which equates to 385 horsepower), our all-wheel-drive GT Line test rig had plenty of engine power. To make quick spurs on the country road or to shorten extreme maneuvers, the all-wheel drive “Launch Edition” has up to 700 m of torque available. And the 99.8 kWh battery on the ground stores so much electricity that the route from Cologne to Frankfurt and back (about 380 km) can basically be covered without stopping at a charging station. Provided that you stick to the recommended speed on the road and as a driver avoid all attempts to reach a maximum speed of 200 km / h.

The distance of 400 km is real

In theory, up to 563 kilometers should be possible without stopping for a charge – perhaps in city traffic. However, in the week that we were able to test the Kia EV9, we did not get more than 400 km. During the entire test period, the average consumption (without charging losses) was 29.5 kWh/100km – just in terms of calculations, the battery content was enough for 380 km only. In fact, we headed to the charging point after only 350 kilometers – as a precaution with charging rates between ten and 15 percent. This shows that for an electric car of this weight class and such a large frontal area, all the tricks of aerodynamic (the drag coefficient of the SUV is an impressive 0.28 and therefore on the same level as the VW ID.4) is ultimately not of much use in reducing energy consumption below 20 kWh/100 km. However, you would want such values ​​from the best electric car in the world.

However, we could not complain about the intelligence of the computer on board: organizing payment processes for long trips was done very quickly. And the selection of stations did not give reason to complain. Even Plug & Charge will be possible with this model – after the account information is saved, electricity flows automatically after plugging in. Kia has been updated a lot.

Fast charging with up to 212 kilowatts

And when it comes to managing charging processes, it leaves most of its competitors behind thanks to its 800-volt architecture. It takes up to 212 kW of direct current on the fast charger. And the electric car maintains values ​​of around 200 kW for a pleasant long time – only when the battery is 60 percent full does the internal charger kick in and reduce the power supply. Charging sessions rarely last longer than 20 minutes – if a high-powered charger cooperates. Full marks are awarded for this.

All in all, the EV9 left a mixed impression: It offers a lot of features, but the large size is also a little intimidating. In fact, Kia follows in the tradition of the Mercedes R-Class cock, which went down in the history of the car as “Dieter Zetsche’s failure”. It also shone with plenty of space and a high level of driving comfort. But then, as now, families of seven were considered socially exceptional. And the EV9 is also too expensive for the collective transport of young volleyball or handball players to the halls: we would have to transfer 83,190 euros to Kia Germany for our matt-painted electric car.

We’d better wait for the Kia EV3: The “big kid” will have its European premiere on April 26 and will be a social addition to the Korean portfolio from the end of the year. It will be a strong contender for the title of the best electric car in 2025.