New Hyundai Ioniq 9 teases futuristic look ahead of LA debut

The Hyundai Ioniq 9 has been teased ahead of its likely reveal at the LA motor show in November. The brand’s long-awaited electric seven-seat SUV, a sister car of the award-winning Kia EV9, looks to retain its concept car-like design, mixing distinctive Ioniq detailing with a sleek and slightly more rakish silhouette than the more upright Kia. 

This new image comes after spies managed to sneak a peek at the Ioniq 9’s minimalist interior earlier this year, revealing that the upcoming SUV will borrow a few elements from other new-age Hyundai models, including the latest Santa Fe. 

Both feature the same curved dual-display set-up, blocky steering wheel, and gear selector on the steering column. There’s also a similar set of shortcut buttons and touch-sensitive climate controls on the dashboard, but the Ioniq 9 appears to have a floating centre console, which the more traditional technical layout of the Hyundai Santa Fe doesn’t allow.

The Ioniq 9 was first previewed in 2021 by the Hyundai Seven concept, and the production car’s design is expected to stay true to that. While the prototypes we’ve spotted testing have all been covered in heavy camouflage, we can make out the very bluff front end with a large set of vertical running lights embedded in the bumper and horizontal headlights above them – similar to the show car. We expect both light units to feature the pixel-style LED design found on other Hyundai’s electric cars, such as the Ioniq 5. 

Looking at the side profile of the Ioniq 9, we can see its windscreen is steeply raked and the roofline gently slopes towards the rear, whereas the Kia EV9 is more boxy. That suggests the Ioniq 9’s design will follow more closely in the footsteps of the svelte Hyundai Ioniq 6 saloon, which should help with the large SUV’s aerodynamics and range, but could impact headroom for those seating in the rearmost seats.

The Ioniq 9 will be based on the same E-GMP platform as the EV9, and should be offered with the same combinations of batteries and motors as its fellow seven-seat EV. In the UK, every EV9 is powered by a 99.8kWh battery that feeds either a single 201bhp motor or a 379bhp dual-motor set-up. The EV9 is capable of covering close to 350 miles on a single charge according to Kia, so we expect the same of the Ioniq 9.

The Ioniq 9 will also benefit from an 800V architecture, which in the EV9 allows for a 10 to 80 per cent top-up in only 24 minutes. 

Kia is also rumoured to be working on a GT version of its EV9. And while a hot N model might not seem the most natural fit for a seven-seat family hauler, it suggests a potential Ioniq 9 N will have a set of high-performance components to borrow from. If it’s made, this will join the existing 5 N and the forthcoming Ioniq 6 N that has been spied packing an even more potent EV powertrain.

Now read our list of the best electric SUVs to buy...