REWARDING JOURNEY
IT seems incredible that South Korean car maker Kia first arrived on our shores back in 1991 with their dinky, affordable little Pride hatchback costing next to nothing and here we are, some 33 years later, experiencing this year their new all-electric powered, big seven-seater SUV which costs the best part of £78,000!
I can remember driving that little family affordable Pride on its press launch and being quite impressed and now from such humble beginnings Kia and its ever fast growing wide range of models over time has now become one of the shining lights in the UK car market place.
Now they are joining the ‘big boys’ in the upmarket luxury and quality sector SUV sector where its never ventured in the past.
Their new zero-emission KV9 SUV is taking on premium brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and others in their own back garden and on this first test drive with the AWD GT-Line S model it’s certainly impressive because it’s spacious, versatile, comfortable and with bags of all the latest technology around on board.
With a wide range of power and equipment available there are basically three versions on offer with the entry-level Air coming in at around £65,075 on-the-road with the 99.8kWh battery and single rearmounted electric motor producing 200bhp and sitting on 19-inch alloy wheels while the cabin with seven seats, three-zone climate control, the so useful for drivers of a 360 degree parking cameras and a 12.3-inch infotainment system, all fitted as standard.
Move up to the GT-Line and naturally buyers gain a few extra features like adaptive headlights, front seat upgrade and it sits on 21-inch alloy wheels.
The range topping GT-Line S Premium AWD (tested here) comes in at £78,775 (OTR) and producing 378bhpwhere again buyers gain more equipment and extra features like a Meridian premium audio set-up, a head-up display for the driver, twin sunroofs, matt paint and much more plus all-wheel-drive.
The slightly small power output versions clock in a WLTP driving range of up to 349 miles whilst the bigger output version driven here has a 313 mile range, can accelerate from 0 to 62mph in 5.3 seconds and using a 350kW charger the battery can be recharged within about 24 minutes.
Yes, it’s a big car stretching just over five metres in length and with a longer wheelbase the Kia backroom team have certainly made the most of what is an extremely spacious cabin - there’s a choice of six or seven seats on most models - and the quality and make-up of the interior’s furnishings and fittings is definitely on a par with its established premium SUVs now around.
From the outside the KV9’s body styling is bold, quite aggressive in a way, making it stand out from others and it proved quite a head-turner out on the road because of its distinguished looks and when parked on test drew quite a few admirers, many curious as to what make it was probably due to as yet few about on our roads.
As it’s a big car the Kia engineers by adopting axles of MacPherson struts at the front and multiple links at the rear which have been modified to cope with the car’s size and weight make the suspension really impressive resulting in a really comfortable car for both driver and passengers in my view which is not always the case with such people-carrying sized models.
Clearly using their know-how gained from developing smaller models like the EV6, Sorento and Sportage this new and bigger EV9 is remarkable in that as a driver it proved on test to be the easiest to handle and manoeuvre even in and out of tight car parking spaces.
Naturally its parking cameras do help in this respect but also even out in busy urban/city traffic it was easy to drive and keeping in mind as the driver it proved quite relaxing compared to other rival big SUVs.
The real benefit of a car like the EV9 is the effortless and smoothness when embarking on a long, motorway style day’s drive complete with a full passenger complement as experienced on test and despite the extra bodies being on board it didn’t appear to reduce its official battery range, admittedly achieved in clear daylight and no need for the use or windscreen wipers, heaters and the like.
All the passengers appeared to be impressed by the amount of space and comfort inside the cabin whilst as for the driver the high seating position gives excellent all round vision, the seat is electrically adjustable and like the rest of seats provided good all round lumbar support.
As for luggage space even as a seven-seater passenger car there’s a more than decent enough boot space with 333 litres available and naturally dropping those rear seats down gives even more luggage space.
As for driving modes again this EV9 is a bit different in that it offers the usual Normal, Eco and Sport but also a My Drive option where the driver can choose from various elements to suit their own needs and driving style - on test keeping it in Eco though for the majority of time it proved more than adequate and quite efficient.
Overall this EV9 is an impressive newcomer in what is a niche sector and in terms of space, versatility, luxury, comfort, efficiency and range it clearly meets its head-on challenge against those well established rivals and it comes out better in some respects and as to which version to choose as usual it’s down to individual needs and preference.
As mentioned earlier, Kia has come a very long way since that dinky Pride and judging by the quite mature driving experience in this EV9 it’s been a highly promising and rewarding marathon over the years.