Two motors are better than one, right? You’d certainly think that rings true when eyeing up the biggest – and heaviest – passenger vehicle in Kia UK’s line-up right now. We have already had a positive first introduction to the seven-seat crossover in single motor form and found that performance was brisk, acceleration smooth, and road noise subdued.
On test here is the same car, albeit in top-spec ‘GT-Line S’ trim and running dual 141kW electric motors. Combined, the one bolted to the front and back axles develop 378bhp and 516lb ft of torque making this, according to Kia, one of the most capable towing cars on our roads. In tests, its maximum braked towing capacity is up to two-and-a-half tonne.
That extra pull from the front wheels increases performance, the 0-62mph covered off in over five seconds. It may weigh the best part of 2,650kg before passengers are factored into the equation, yet it feels anything but tardy from behind the steering wheel, particularly in all-wheel-drive mode when married to the endless assisted driving aids.
As for range, 313-miles from a full charge of the 99.8kWh battery pack is what owners can expect – almost forty fewer miles in comparison to the lighter, entry-level ‘Air’ equivalent. There is a noticeable up-take in acceleration response once ‘Sport’ is engaged (and side bolsters that automatically tighten to provide additional support to your waist during sporty driving) but, as you would expect, it devours range. With that in mind, ‘Normal’ is a happy middle ground and should minimise the need to spend time parked up at a charging bay on longer journeys.
If you do happen to be running low on energy, the EV9’s satellite navigation has a clever function that automatically recommends nearby charging stops. It can also do the math and offer up information – on demand – as to how long each stop is predicted to take. And it gets better because Kia’s engineers have come up with software that, in the depths of a cold winter, is capable of pre-heating the battery to the optimal charging temperature before you arrive at the charge point, “ensuring the best possible charging performance”.
Although the EV9’s boxy shape is tall, dropping the battery in the space between the two axles does a fair job of keeping the Korean SUV pinned to the road for confident handling, not to mention generous room for passengers as the floor of the cabin is completely flat.
Interior space can be further maximised with the optional (£1,000) six chair configuration. Available on ‘GT-Line’ and ‘GT-Line S’ examples of the EV9s, the middle row of three seats is replaced with a pair of swivel chairs that can turn 180-degree when the car is stopped, to face those in the third row. In this configuration, you also get a long sliding tray that extends from the centre console and doubles up as a useful table for eating – or working.
This 2+2+2 configuration has other benefits; access to the final third in seven seat guise is mostly straightforward, but with one chair removed from row two, few can fail to notice just how easy it is to get there by comparison. On top of that, the space freed up by adding individual ‘captain’s chairs’ gives van-like vibes. Another big plus is boot size: the six-seat model offers a slightly larger cargo area when the rear seats are folded down compared to the seven-seat version – 2,393-litres versus a still healthy 2,318-litres – but they cannot be separated with all seats in use (333-litres) or when the third row is folded (828-litres).
USB-C charging sockets for those in rows two and three makes up a staggeringly long list of standard equipment on ‘GT-Line S’ which, considering the £77,985 test price, is just as well. The stars of the show are the two 12.3-inch digital screens placed side-by-side: the one in front of the steering wheel is a digital driver display and the one in the centre of the attractively minimalist centre console contains menus for multimedia, connectivity and even a live feed for news and sport).
This is joined by a fully customisable head-up display and a fourteen-speaker Meridian sound system, electronic rear view mirror, front sunroof, and huge 21-inch alloy wheels. ‘Pacific Matt Blue’ paintwork, as previewed by the EV9 Concept (£1,250 extra), is also exclusive to this trim and looks wonderful in the summer sun. Available in a gloss or matt finish, it is without question the pick of the six body colours.
