EV9 impresses with its technology
The three-row SUV. If one goes, by popularity, social media banter and/or automotive marketing department verbiage, they are the amalgam of everything the North American consumer needs; or, more importantly, wants.
For instance, it’s become accepted knowledge that a seven-seat SUV is more desirable than anything with accommodations for just five.
Oh, we do buy more tworow sport brutes than threerow behemoths, but that’s just because, goes that aforementioned accepted knowledge, that not everybody can afford a three-rower and that anyone who could afford one would.
The other thing that’s become obvious is that we don’t want the same roominess in the shape of a minivan. Honda, if you judge by how little they’ve updated the Odyssey over the last decade, isn’t exactly expressing confidence in the segment. GM and Ford haven’t sold a minivan for ages and, hell, even Chrysler dumped the Caravan.
About the only true mainstream people hauler getting any love these days is Toyota’s Sienna and even it isn’t setting the world alight with sales. Add it all up and three-row sport brutes rule.
Which is why this Kia, the recently-released EV9, is getting so much attention. Melding battery-powered goodness with seating for seven in a package that is relatively affordable is big news in a world that seems to still really believe that all we have to do is put a battery in all the trucks we like to drive.
So, if you’re following my drift, the big question is whether the EV9 has the secret sauce to be the breakthrough we’ve all been waiting for to make EVS from mainstream manufacturers palatable.
PRICING
Kia Canada offers no less than five trims of the EV9 in Canada.
At the bottom end of the trim ladder is the rear-wheel drive EV9 Light with 215-hp that starts at $59,995. At the other end of the model line is the all-singing, all-dancing two-motor, 379-hp Land AWD Gt-line that starts at $78,995.
Yes, when it comes to EVS, affordability is most certainly relative. Nonetheless, the Kia is, by far, easier on the wallet than any other three-row SUV powered by lithium-ion.
TECH SPECS
All EV9S come with the latest in high-tech 800 Volt batteries which, according to Kia, means they can accept up to 235 kilowatts during charging. That’s not as fast the 325kw we saw on Porsche’s latest Taycan but it is better than anything Mercedes-benz’s 400V architecture can manage.
At the low-end of the spectrum, the base, single-motor Light makes do with a small (for a three-row SUV certainly) 76.1 kilowatt-hour battery while all the other models feature a semi-monstrous 99.8 kwh of Lithium-ion. The other important specifications — at least those that will affect range anxiety — is that EV9 boasts a slippery-for-a-sport-brute coefficient of drag of just 0.28, but it weighs in at a hefty 2,666 kilograms, some 679 kilos (1,489 pounds!) more than Kia’s own fossilfuel-powered three-rower, the Palisade. For those wondering whether the weight penalty converting to lithium-ion engenders, look no further.
The range king — again, according to official figures — is the big-batteried, single-motor Wind. Curiously, the more expensive Wind boasts 11-kw less power from its single battery, probably in a quest for greater range which, according to Epa/transport Canada is rated at 489 kilometres. The Light — again, same motor but smaller battery — is said to be good for 370 klicks while the two-motored versions — Land and Land Gt-line — claim 451 and 435 klicks respectively, the slight differences due, in most part, as a result of weight and tire differences.
So, what are the real-world numbers?
Well, one thing’s for sure. After I just finished charging, my AWD Gt-line was promising 432 kilometres on a full charge, just three klicks off its official Transport Canada rating.
In reality it eked out 355 kilometres, which considering its size and heft — not to mention that it wasn’t an optimal range-maximizing warm spring day — ain’t half bad. In efficiency terms, those numbers work out to 28.1 kilowatthours per 100 kilometres. That can’t hold a candle to the sub 20-kw/100 km that a superslippery Lucid Air sedan can manage, but it is, on par with other large electric SUVS.
BMW’S ix M60, for instance, managed 418 kilometres on a single charge but only because it had 112 kwh of lithium-ion at its disposal. As some middle ground between big batteries and efficiency, the EV9 is not-half-bad for a sport brute.
CHARGING SPEED
As long as you have access to a 350-kw charger — and you’re not sharing outlets with someone else — the EV9 can post some pretty impressive numbers. Not new Taycan charging speeds, but Kia’s claimed 235-kilowatt peak is impressive nonetheless.
According to EVKW’S charging graphs for instance, the EV9 can indeed match its peak charging promise, maxing out at 234-kw, just one kilowatt short of its manufacturer’s claim.
Even more impressive is how long the battery can soak up big kilowatts. Topping 200kw right out of the gate at 1 per cent state-of-charge, the big Kia stays above 200-KW until 47 per cent SOC (in fact, that peak of 234-kw occurs at 46 per cent) and stays above 180-kw until 70 per cent SOC.
That leads EVKX to note that it’s “optimum charge stop time” — essentially a measure of the best compromise between time spent charging and kilowatts brought on board — is the 26:38 between one per cent SOC and 70 per cent. That’s plenty speedy though I can’t imagine anyone taking the battery down to 1 per cent to take advantage of the Kia’s ability to hit peak numbers so quickly.
That said, EVKX does say that the all-important average charging speed between 10 and 80 per cent SOC is 191.6kw. That’s amongthe most impressive numbers recorded for any EV, regardless of price or make, so well done Kia.
FINAL THOUGHTS
All of which speaks to the excellent execution of Kia’s first three-row electric SUV. Adequate performance, married to decent range and excellent charging are only marred by a surprisingly bumpy ride, the EV9’S suspension feeling stiffer than the Ram Promaster cargo van I tested around the same time.
Otherwise, its roomy, surprisingly luxurious interior, comely good looks and fantastic field of vision make it a zero-emissions alternative to the traditionally gas-guzzling three-row SUV.
Nonetheless, the big Kia has been winning rave reviews and, from a technological point of view, it deserves them. It’s the first affordable electric three-row sport utility on the market.
OK, semi affordable.