Comparison of Kia EV9 and Land Rover Defender 130: Meeting the cult edges – SUVs, pickups, off-road vehicles, electromobility (e-mobility), diesel | Information

If you have an underground parking lot full of cars and you have to find three rows of stylish seats because of a new family, that’s definitely a luxury problem. Very big in the true sense of the word. And since you can’t take all your kids or friends with you in sports cars, hypercars or luxury limousines, you need something practical. But please don’t have a boring city car in a long version or a transporter – practicality can also be stylish.

Cult: Angular off-roaders instead of chubby vas

So the best SUV or off-road vehicle. Exciting species that have emerged recently. A site appointment in an underground parking lot south of Munich, where two of these seven practical chairs are located, with different characters, but all with a specific, angular design. The first thing that the powerful 283 kW (or 385 hp) and the length of 1.78 meters Kia EV9 whispers in the garage: It does not have a problem with the height notice that is posted from two meters to 1.9, but it has problems and sometimes thin. closes the garage that he wants to be carefully rolled into his “box” where the wall box is waiting for him. And 22 kW would be charged in five hours, and 11 kW you should have more than eleven hours, but you can always do it here at home overnight (as long as your charging socket and so communication does not work) and thank you. up to 800 volts Fast charging, even on the move: In fact, up to 249 kilometers can be “tracked” within 15 minutes and you can continue.

The Defender is 14 centimeters longer and eight centimeters longer than the Kia

Now the sound is heard: Because behind him the 1.92 meter long Defender 130 with 183 kW (249 hp) Ingenium in-line six-cylinder hits the ramp and we reach the roof again to be on the safe side: Yes. , it’s fine, it still has air, it’s running! Without the extra wheel, it is 5.09 meters long (by 5.36 meters) and therefore longer than the EV9, but thanks to its shorter wheelbase (but here it is also 3.02 meters) it is easier to drive through the underground car park and in it a Wallboxless box, because diesel should be fed into the tank every 500 to 700 kilometers, depending on how you drive. What’s annoying here: Frequent drivers also have to pay attention to the level of AdBlue, because the additional injected urea helps to clean the exhaust gases up to the Euro 6 standard.

All the kids – in this case a soccer team with a coach – were sent home. Time to wrap up the ski weekend. Even fourteen? Only if you take the roof boxes with you, because the interior of the two giants is not completely different: Let’s start with the Kia, in which the backs of the rear seats can be folded down or raised electrically. The front row can only be “cut” 60:40 split using spring tension then you have to lift the backrests from the side by hand. This makes it clear that those sitting in the back should make themselves thinner when transporting skis, as the third and second rows should be folded down. So a maximum of five people can go on a skiing trip; At least you can move the middle row and adjust the angle of the backrests, which is also useful if it’s not just the dwarves in the back who want to come together. Expressed in liters, the Kia creates 333 to 2,318 liters of cargo volume, the Defender 290 to 2,291 liters. To be fair, Land Rover isn’t just stating optimistic DIN and VDA values here.

The Defender is basically designed as an eight-seater

Similar to the Landy, which had 34 centimeters added to the rear for the third row, which ruined the approach angle on the back of the road. It is basically designed as an eight-seater and instead of a rear door, it has a door that opens to the side behind it and also swivels if you want to “fall down” the third row from the back. The second layer can also be moved here (otherwise it will be hard at the back) and you fold it aside. However, it will be easier for six people to slide if they recline the backs of the middle seats.

Once that’s done, we can move on and as I said – despite being longer, the Brit, assembled in Nitra, Slovakia, is easy to get the wheel out of the garage, thanks to the short wheelbase. In direct comparison, the Kia, with its wheelbase of 3.10 meters, always has to balance a bit like a bus, first straight ahead and then around a corner so that the rear wheel or the rear door is not caught somewhere. But unlike the Landy, it leaves the garage as quietly as a whisper, although the Brit also has enough power and diesel independence wisely from deep. The ZF eight-speed automatic always finds the right gears and the best diesel hum emanates from the engine compartment.

On the road both feel very different

Both gain quickly on the ground, although the driving behavior is completely different and the perceived size is suddenly changed: Although the Defender is basically closer to the EV9 than its predecessor in terms of comfort, it remains softer than the rigid Kia. Because of its lock-in coordination, it now feels more compact and has a harder time dealing with small curbs and bumps than the Defender, which tends to slide but also looks more non-locking and now looks bigger than the EV9.

From 120 km/h onwards, all drivers’ thirst for energy increases dramatically

Electric power and power are of course always shaken from electric machines on demand, where the British four-cylinder Ingenium always has to build pressure to increase and thus torque, which you can feel here in direct comparison, for four reasons. -cylinder is always good with music. On the highway you can really pull the Kia up to 200 km / h if necessary, the Landy would reach 188 km / h, but both can move calmly, confidently and with an average thirst for energy at 120 to 130 km / h.