First Look at the Kia EV9

The Kia EV9 is an all-new electric vehicle set to arrive later this year as a follow-up to the EV6. While the EV6 was a smaller crossover, the new EV9 is an SUV with three rows of seating. Kia invited me all the way to South Korea to get an exclusive first look at this new EV. This excursion required a 15-hour flight and left me with some serious jet lag, but here’s why it was worth flying halfway around the world just to look at a car.

As I type that, I realize it’s not really fair. I didn’t fly all the way to Seoul just to see the EV9, although that was the star attraction. The team at Kia wanted me to see their car, but they also wanted me to understand their culture and the people behind Kia.

It’s easy to look at a big company and think of it as an amorphous thing. In truth, a company is people. In the case of a car company, those people include designers and engineers who spend countless hours developing the cars we drive. It’s the people who make a company live and breathe and it was those people and their culture that we had the rare opportunity to experience.

The Small Big City of Seoul

My flight landed in Seoul well after dark and the first thing that struck me was the sheer size of the place. The view from my plane and the 32nd floor of my hotel was a sea of glowing lights. Once the sun came up, those lights turned into buildings of every size extending all the way to the mountains on the horizon. Seoul is big, but once you get out and start exploring, its big city vibe gives way to the open friendliness of a small town.

I don’t speak a word of Korean, but people were more than happy to help me. Whether it was directions to the nearest ATM, hailing a cab, or trying to understand what exactly I was about to eat, the people of Seoul were incredibly kind. It was the exact opposite of New York City, which is wonderful, but not known for being the friendliest place to visit.

Seoul is also a bustling city with a crazy amount of traffic and driving rules that I can't even begin to understand. The little scooters people take everywhere cut every which way directly in front of cars and buses and I have no idea how they survive. It’s magic.

Those two worlds – small town friendly and big city bustle – coexist in Seoul. People rush around intent on their mission while one street over they stroll along enjoying ice cream in cones shaped like fish. It’s this ability to blend the urgency and rush of a modern city with the comfort and warmth of a small town that permeates Seoul and gives it a unique character.

The Evolution of a City, The Evolution of Kia

Seoul is a city that is constantly evolving with old warehouses now housing shops and restaurants for all the cool kids. Much like Seoul, Kia is an evolving company, from its recently revised logo to its new line of electric vehicles. Hosting the EV9 event at a warehouse turned event center was the perfect way to highlight the brand and the city’s evolution

The EV9 takes its cues from the EV6, which is strikingly different from the rest of the Kia lineup. The exterior styling features lots of angles rather than the usually swooping curves with a bold, upright stance. This SUV is thoroughly modern with a unique look that helps it stand out in a sea of SUVs. Especially striking is its front lighting. It features a Star Map LED design that, according to Kia’s design team, mimics the look of the connected stars in a constellation map.

Inside, the EV9 is spacious and roomy with a clean and uncluttered design. There are no brash chrome accents. It’s not flashy. There’s nothing attention-getting for attention’s sake. Instead, the focus is on creating a warm and welcoming environment for passengers with a heavy reliance on sustainability and recycled materials. It’s open and airy with lots of light and room for everyone to get comfortable.

Infotainment includes a large touchscreen mounted horizontally on the dashboard. It shows off the latest version of Kia’s infotainment system with faster processing for a more seamless user experience. There’s a second screen for the instrument cluster and a third smaller screen in between the two with additional information. Technology and creature comforts don’t necessarily go together, but as a part of Kia’s Opposites United design philosophy, they’re beautifully blended in the EV9.

Affordable Electrification for Families

Much of the details surrounding the EV9 are still under wraps as we await its big reveal. Official range figures have not been released, but the EV9 has a large battery that bodes well for ensuring you won’t have to stop to charge all the time. And that’s a good thing because this is a family car. A three-row SUV usually has a bunch of kids along for the ride. No one wants to sit and kill time charging with a car full of kids. You likely won’t need to do that in the EV9, unless you’re taking a longer road trip. Even then, the spacious interior of the EV9 makes it easy to relax and enjoy the break in the drive rather than counting the minutes until you can get moving again. Kia also hasn’t said anything about pricing, but this isn’t a luxury brand. This is a brand that builds cars for everyone, not just the elite, so there’s a good chance pricing will be more affordable. The EV9 stands to put a three-row electric SUV within reach of a group of consumers who previously couldn’t even consider going electric.

Electric vehicles, though less of a novelty than they were just a few years ago, are still unknown territory for most people. The idea of plugging in a car is still a little weird and there’s the added expense of buying one in the first place. There needs to be a really good reason to kick that gas engine to the curb. The Kia EV9, with its future-forward design and warm, inviting interior, is likely to give families all the reasons they need to make the switch to an EV.