CLOUD NINE CLOUD NINE NINE NINE EV9 Air RWD

There’s no doubt that the Korean brands are right at the forefront of the electric car market. The EV9 is the fourth EV model in Kia’s range, and it’s the biggest yet. Where it sits in the market is open to debate. Is it an SUV? An MPV? Kia calls it an SUV, and while it has some of the rugged looks of the former, we think it’s more of a people-mover.

The two-wheel drive version is the main seller, and there’s relatively low cabin access, despite the large wheels that are a feature of just about every EV, a result of the taller stance required by the underfloor battery pack.

However you slice the market segments, the Kia EV9 is an impressive beast. It’s a genuine seven-seater and it’s more likely to be considered as a Galaxy or Sharan replacement than a luxury SUV.

The EV9 is the second vehicle in Kia’s range to be built on its Electric Global Modular Platform (e-GMP), so mechanically it is very similar to the acclaimed EV6 model. There are three trim levels, and all EV9s come with a 99.8kWh battery pack.

The rear-wheel drive EV9 Air, tested here, is the one with the greatest range. Kia claims a WLTP range of up to 349 miles on a full charge. The more expensive all-wheel drive GT-Line and GT-Line S versions see the range reduced to 313 miles.

As with the EV6, the EV9 is one of very few vehicles on sale with 800volt charging capability, which means the EV9 can wring the best out of the fastest charge points such as Gridserve or Ionity’s 350kW units. Kia claims the EV9’s battery can be charged from 10-80% per cent in only 24 minutes, but this depends entirely on intangible factors such as the state of the grid, and how many cars are using the charging facility at the time.

In fact unless you’re on a major motorway, 350kW chargers are hard to find. We had to make do with our local 80kW Instavolt charge point, which took our car from 23% charged to 82% in 63 minutes. This added an estimated 250 miles of range (or 68kW of charge) at a cost of £57.19 Instavolt is one of the most expensive networks at 85p per kW. The 80kW charger didn’t achieve full power either – the charge came at an average speed of 65.33kW.

The cost equates to 4.39 miles per pound spent. By comparison, a 40mpg diesel car can travel around 5.7 miles per £, given average diesel prices of £7 per gallon. So the equivalent refuelling bill to add 250 miles of range for a 40mpg diesel car would be £43.86 – a saving of £13.33. Of course, the figure is skewed in favour of the diesel by the use of expensive commercial charging networks. If you charge at home, the EV’s running costs are substantially lower.

And your car purchase will give you access to discounted schemes. Kia offers a service called Kia Charge which costs £6.90 a month, but allows access to Ionity chargers at a discounted price of 54p per kW, a 20p/ kW reduction on the standard 74p/kW tariff. At that rate, a similar recharge to the one we carried out at Instavolt would have cost £36.72 (not including the subscription fee) – cheaper than the diesel.

Whichever way you cut the cake, there doesn’t appear to be the promised cost saving for going electric – unless of course you only charge at home, an option not available to the vast majority of drivers. Then there’s the price of the car – our test car costs £65,025 on the road.

We’re not being negative here –but clearly the transition to electric comes at a cost, and it requires careful thought if you’re going to leverage what advantages in charging costs are available, whether it be home charging or providing workplace chargers for drivers.

If you do intend to make the switch, the EV9 has much to commend it. It’s extremely roomy. As a five-seater, with the third row of seats folded down, there’s plenty of legroom and a whopping 828 litres of luggage space. In seven-seater mode, with the third row of seats taking up much of the boot, the luggage volume tumbles to 333 litres – enough for a couple of cases, but not a full family’s holiday baggage.

There’s also an extra load area under the bonnet – a so-called “frunk” offering another 90 litres of stowage. This is ideal for the two charging cables that come with the car, as well as any valeting products and suchlike that you might want to keep to hand – very useful to have these items not cluttering up the boot at the rear.

There’s also an under-boot storage area which contains tyre inflator kit (there’s no spare wheel) and also room to stash the rear loadspace cover when it’s not in use. Great idea.

The rear seats are split so you can fold one flat and carry five passengers with a fair bit more luggage room. We like the electric operation of the rear seats, which can be raised or lowered by pushing buttons on the side wall of the rear load compartment. The rear doors are large too, giving a decent aperture for passengers climbing into the third row.

Fit and finish is of the standard we’ve come to expect from Kia over recent years – not for nothing is the brand one of the fastest growing in the UK. The driving position is commanding as you’d expect from a tall SUV-style car, and the leather seats are extremely comfortable.

The dashboard is a BMW-style twin panel affair, with digital dashboard and widescreen satnav screen. It’s similar to that in the EV6, and offers a good, crisp display, though some of the text on the maps is a little small and difficult to read.

The infotainment system is comprehensive, and the car comes with a large number of safety features, including emergency braking at slow speed that stops you hitting a neighbouring car when parking. There are various speed warnings and lane departure systems that are rather irritating, with far too many audible bings and bongs. The lane departure system is very “snatchy” and quite uncomfortable.

Turning them off requires a deep dive into the system, and rather annoyingly, they reset to “on” once you turn off the car and restart.

On the plus side, the climate control system is separate from the infotainment system, so you can change the temperature without having to delve deep into the system.

On the road the car is a solid if unspectacular drive. Like most EVs, it’s a heavy car, and the low centre of gravity means there’s not a lot of body roll in cornering. If you want performance, the all-wheel drive versions offer a substantial power boost (378bhp against 200bhp on the Air version).

But the steering is precise and the EV9 is manoeuvrable around town, with a decent 12.3m turning circle. There’s a little bit of transmission whine and road noise through the 19in alloys, but noise levels are acceptable.

VERDICT

Kia is competing with the big boys these days – natural competitors for the EV9 would be Tesla Model Y, Polestar 3 and Volvo’s forthcoming EX90 electric SUV. It certainly doesn’t feel like a budget brand compared to those vehicles.

It certainly packs a punch – it’s as long as a Land Rover Defender, but with a much lower roofline. We still think it’s more of an MPV than an SUV!

On the plus side is a very decent range (Kia claims 349 miles – we managed 232 miles on test on a charge, starting at 90% and recharging at 23% - that’s roughly two-thirds of full capacity, which is pretty much on the money for Kia’s claim (232 miles is two-thirds of 348).

You also get as good a refuelling capability as any car on the market – providing you can find a charger fast enough to deliver the 350kW that the car can take. Don’t blame the car if the promised 350kW charge doesn’t happen –that’s down to the inadequacy of the infrastructure.

The Air spec on test here is the best in terms of performance, but it’s a shame that the more luxurious 6-seat interior, with swiveling captain’s chairs on the second row – is only available on the more expensive AWD versions. These offer less range and more power than you’ll ever need for private hire work.

Our main beef is with the overbearing safety features that can’t be permanently turned off. Bings and bongs are the last thing you need with a jetlagged business client in the back of the car. Visual warnings or steering wheel vibrations will do fine, thanks.

DATA

Price OTR £65,025

SPECIFICATION

• Powertrain Single electric motor

• Transmission SIngle-speed auto, rear-wheel drive

• Battery pack 99.8kW Li-Ion

• Power 200bhp

• Torque 350Nm

• Top speed 114mph

• Electric range 349 miles (WLTP combined)

• Charging time 9h 5min (AC 10100%)

1h 23min (DC 50kW) 24min (DC 350kW)

• CO2 emissions 0g/km

• Length 5,010mm

• Width 1,980mm

• Height 1,755mm

• Wheelbase 3,100mm

• Loadspace 333 litres (7 seats) 828 litres (5 seats) 90 litres (front)

• Turning circle 12.0m

• Vehicle warranty 7yr/100,000 miles

• Battery warranty 8yr/100,000 miles

• Anti-perforation 12yr/unlimited miles

• Paint warranty 5yr/100,000 miles

• Insurance Group 45

• VED Band A