Kia EV9 - Electric motor, drive and performance

Customers can choose from two all-electric powertrain options for the Kia EV9, but both benefit from a 99.8kWh battery and 210kW rapid charging. Beyond that, the choice boils down to either one or two motors, and there’s a vast gulf in performance between the pair.

The single-motor model offers 200bhp and 350Nm of torque, which delivers a reasonable 0-62mph time of 9.4 seconds. It’s fine with one on board, but we’d like just a little more shove so it feels just a bit more effortless.

Kia’s twin-motor option goes much further in the opposite direction. The additional motor at the front sees power climb to 378bhp, while torque doubles to 700Nm. The result is a 0-62mph time that is slashed to 5.3 seconds.

What is the Kia EV9 like to drive?

Big, comfortable and relaxing are words that spring to mind when driving the EV9. Less expected is a surprising amount of ability from the chassis, and levels of refinement that give many premium offerings food for thought.

The EV9 comes with five levels of brake regeneration, which range from complete freewheeling to one-pedal driving. The latter means the car is able to bring itself to a complete stop without the driver needing to touch the brake pedal at all. 

Even within our test team, there’s a difference of opinion when it comes to which we’d rather use, so the fact that Kia gives drivers the choice – and that the levels can be so easily adjusted via steering-wheel paddles – is welcome. We wish every EV maker used this system.

In town

One consequence of the huge wheelbase is the 12.4-metre turning circle, which means it’s not the easiest car to manoeuvre in tight spots. Many more premium rivals offer four-wheel steering, and that feature would be welcome here. 

There are one or two other small niggles that only really present themselves at low speeds. One is the throttle pedal, which can be a little tricky to modulate at parking speeds. The other can be felt over broken surfaces, where the EV9’s suspension can come across as just the slightest bit brittle.

On A- and B-roads

Those small gripes about the ride and the turning circle have a flipside at higher speeds, where the Kia’s ride comfort is excellent. There’s a soft, languid response over bumps that means occupants don’t get thrown around. Thanks to so much of the car’s mass being located in the floor-mounted battery pack, it feels superbly stable and with a very neutral balance front to rear. 

So while the EV9’s size means it won’t be pushed anywhere near its limits often, it feels really impressively balanced and poised for a car of these dimensions, which is reassuring on those rare occasions that you might need to make an emergency manoeuvre. Nicely weighted and precise steering helps here, too.

On the motorway

The suspension feels wonderful on a motorway, and it’s here that the EV9 really gets into its stride. Road and wind noise is well contained and stability is excellent.

0-60 acceleration and top speed

The quickest EV9 is the 378bhp twin-motor version, which accelerates from 0 to 62mph in 5.3 seconds and has a top speed of 124mph – all despite weighing more than 2.6 tonnes. The 200bhp, single motor, rear-wheel drive Air model isn’t as quick, taking 9.4 seconds to get from 0-62mph and topping out at 114mph.

The dual-motor version doesn’t hold back regarding performance. In typical electric car fashion, its huge reserves of power and torque are available right from the off, enough to make this seven-seat SUV feel hot-hatch quick when you want it to. 

However, the EV9 isn’t the sort of car to be driven spiritedly, so we’d recommend the 200bhp version. While its performance time looks leisurely compared with the dual-motor version, it has a similar acceleration time to a typical diesel-powered seven-seater SUV, such as the Kia Sorento. We’re yet to try it with a full complement of passengers on board, but we suspect it’ll be fast enough for most people when tackling mundane tasks, such as taking children to school or heading to the supermarket.