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- The 2024 Kia EV9 offers over-the-air updates to unlock new vehicle features.
- The EV9 comes as a base, rear-drive model with 201 hp or an all-wheel-drive, dual-motor version with 379 hp.
- Kia will offer a 76.1-kWh battery under standard rear-drive models or a 99.8-kWh battery for long-range RWD or all-wheel-drive versions of the EV9.
After leaking out the design and some of the interior features, Kia has finally pulled the curtain totally off its upcoming EV9. This seven-seat battery-electric SUV will sport two different motor packages and a pair of batteries at launch. The EV9 will also usher in the era of over-the-air available options for customers to unlock at their leisure. The ’24 Kia EV9 also packs an 800-volt electrical architecture to help shorten charging times.
For those who missed the styling reveal of Kia’s EV9, we can get you up to speed. It borrows a lot of the styling initially shown on the EV9 Concept that debuted last year, and its boxy, futuristic form might help set it apart from the flood of EVs hitting the market. The interior, too, has some interesting features like rotating middle-row seats and a big, digital screen.
While we’ve known how the EV9 looks for a few weeks, we haven’t known how it’s supposed to move—until now. In base trim, the EV9 packs a single motor that sends 214 hp to the rear wheels. This base-model EV9 feeds that single motor with a standard 76.1-kWh battery pack. While Kia hasn’t commented on the prospective range of this base model, it has said the EV9 can sprint to 62 mph from a dead stop in 8.2 seconds.
Moving up the list, Kia offers a long-range variant of the rear-drive EV9, featuring a 99.8-kWh battery pack. This larger battery pack feeds a less powerful 201-hp motor, which propels the EV9 to 62 mph in 9.4 seconds. Unlike the base-model EV9, Kia has released figures for this long-range RWD variant, saying it can travel 336 miles on a full charge. This range estimate is using the WLTP test cycle, so you can likely expect the EPA-certified number to be lower.
Topping the EV9’s charts, Kia will add another motor at the EV9’s front axle to give it all-wheel drive. This dual-motor EV9 also uses the larger 99.8-kWh battery pack but makes a combined 379 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque. (No word yet on estimated range with AWD.) As you’d expect, this shrinks the 0-62 mph sprint, which this EV9 can now do in only 6.0 seconds. If that’s not quick enough, Kia will sell you a Boost feature through its Kia Connect Store that shaves this time to 5.3 seconds.
This Kia Connect Store enables EV9 owners to unlock extra features through over-the-air updates. Joining the Boost feature, Kia will also sell you an enhancement for the illuminated grille dubbed “Lighting Feature” and a parking system named “Smart Parking Assist 2.” Of course, the terms and pricing of these optional updates are still as unknown to the public as the other possible features locked inside the digital storefront.
Feeding juice back to the motors is handled by an 800-volt electrical architecture. According to Kia, this means the EV9 can recover nearly 150 miles of range in 10 minutes. Of course, you won’t get that charge time from a 110-volt wall socket, but from an appropriately rated fast charger.
If you want to see one of these in person, Kia is showing the EV9 at this year’s New York auto show. Though, you’ll have to wait until later this year to see one of these BEV seven-seaters on the road. Pricing is also expected to be announced closer to the EV9’s launch.
What do you think of this growing trend of on-demand features? Tell us your thoughts below.
