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Kia Final testing for the EV9 – the fi rst true all-electric SUV?
Kia EV9… 8… 7… 6…
YES, THEY’RE COUNTING DOWN for the arrival of the latest addition to Kia’s line-up of all-electric SUVs. Following on from the success of the EV6 GT, Kia has announced that the EV9 will be globally launched in the fi rst quarter of 2023.
We fi rst saw the concept only last year, when it looked really pretty futuristic. The reality, at least from the outside, doesn’t appear to be radically different from that concept. All the more amazing then, that the gap between concept and production vehicle is only about two years.
Kia is expecting this to be its fl agship model, so there’s a lot hanging on this big electric SUV. And it is big. This is full-size SUV with the option of three rows of seats. And it is being positioned as a defi nite SUV, not a road car with the ability to tackle a rough driveway. Now take pity on the engineers being told this news when they’re informed they have to make it powerful and with a decent range. And only electric power.
It seems that the EV9 will be built on basically the same underpinnings as the EV6 and will probably share much of the dashboard and other cabin elements as well. That doesn’t seem a bad thing at all. The concept EV9 had a future-unlikely cabin but the EV6 looks great, so we’re looking forward to getting behind the wheel – and yes it has a steering wheel.
From the outside it’s defi nitely not the EV6. The EV9 is bigger and boxier – to quote the fi lm Crazy People: ‘They’re boxy but they’re good’. There are slightly curved slabs of metal everywhere and of course you can make the front end look even more rugged as you’re not bothered by needing a massive grille.
We’re not sure yet in any detail what the engineers have fi nally come up with in terms of motive power. It may well be similar to the EV6, with a 75kWh battery pack, so range could be close to 300 miles.
Whatever, Kia is making much of the fi nal testing being proper SUV stuff. They’re using welcome words like ‘gruelling’, ‘4WD’, ‘rough terrain’, ‘deep-water wading’ and even ‘Belgian pavé’. We like those words.
A dual-motor set-up as part of that package should ensure this big new arrival really is an SUV as well as an EV. We like the present but are now looking forward to the future arriving just next spring. SPECIALIST 4X4 VEHICLE DISMANTERS JEEP - LAND ROVER SPECIALIST 4X4 VEHICLE DISMANTERS AND MOST MAKES AND MODELS JEEP - LAND ROVER QUALITY GUARANTEED USED PARTS AND MOST MAKES AND MODELS QUALITY GUARANTEED USED PARTS SOME OF THE VEHICLES WE HAVE RECENTLY DISMANTLED: SOME OF THE VEHICLES WE HAVE RECENTLY DISMANTLED:
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