Kia EV9 Keeps on Winning

The Kia EV9, Kia’s new flagship SUV, has been wowing judges with numerous awards.

‘Family Car of the Year’ at the 2023 TopGear.com Awards

The fully electric EV9 impressed Top Gear’s judges thanks to its combination of a family-friendly space, long driving range, in-car technology, and cutting-edge design and sustainability features. The EV9 is featured in the latest issue of BBC Top Gear Magazine, an issue dedicated to the best, most desirable cars in the world. A ‘Meet the Winners’ film, including the EV9, is also featured on the TopGear.com website.

Ollie Kew, Deputy Editor of Top Gear, commented: “We like the EV9's relaxed attitude and breezy, surfin’ USA demeanour. We like the nothing-to-prove reverse snobbery of its badge and that it’s less irritating to operate than a VW ID.Buzz, and travels significantly further on a charge. We like its Bentayga-esque massaging, heated, ventilated seats, its multitude of stowage cubbies, the simplicity of its automatic seat folding, and how it looks a bit like Iron Man’s head. It’s one of 2023’s most interesting cars not because of what it can do, but because of what it represents. Twinning going green and upmarket isn't easy, but the EV9 pulls it off with style.”

The EV9 offers a driving range of up to 349 miles (WLTP combined cycle), and features 800V ultra-fast charging technology, enabling it to charge from 10-to-80 per cent in just 24 minutes from the fastest public chargers.*

The EV9 is available to order in the UK, with first customer deliveries due to start from January 2024. The EV9 is priced from £64,995 for the rear-wheel drive ‘Air’ model, rising to £73,245 for all-wheel drive ‘GT-Line’ models. Range-topping all-wheel drive ‘GT Line S’ models are available to order from £75,995, with the exclusive six-seat model from £76,995. All UK models offer a long-range 99.8kWh battery pack, heat pump and three-row seating layout.

After the Kia EV6 and Niro EV, the EV9 is the latest in an expanding family of Kia electric vehicles. Globally, Kia plans to offer a line-up of 15 fully electric vehicles by 2027. At the brand’s 2023 ‘EV Day’ recently, Kia unveiled the Concept EV3 and Concept EV4, as well as the production-ready EV5, reaffirming an ambitious global strategy to lead and accelerate the EV revolution.

DrivingElectric’s ‘Car of the Year’

The Kia EV9 has been named DrivingElectric’s ‘Car of the Year’ in its 2024 awards, celebrating the best new electric vehicles. As well as winning the overall ‘Car of the Year’ award, EV9 also scooped the ‘Best Premium Electric Car’ prize.

The DrivingElectric Awards celebrate the best new electrified cars and vans that money can buy. Each category winner is decided by the publication’s judging panel, taking into account factors such as overall value for money, performance, and practicality.

The EV9 continues to make an impressive name for itself in the UK, prior to first customer deliveries of the seven-seat EV commencing in January 2024. The EV9, having won ‘Best Premium Electric Car’ as well as ‘Car of the Year’, has also opened Kia up to an entirely new segment of praise, now making a lasting impression in the ‘Premium’ market.

DrivingElectric’s panel of expert judges commented on the EV9’s double award-win: “The Kia EV9 alters the electric landscape, offering huge space and a premium feel – all at a sub-premium price. No EV offers this kind of practicality for the money.”

Paul Philpott, President and CEO of Kia UK, said: “The EV9 was already one of the most anticipated cars of 2023, and our UK dealer network has received more interest in this car ahead of launch than almost any other Kia vehicle to date. Our new flagship EV takes Kia into a new segment and puts us up against some very keen competition. But our established reputation as an electrification leader makes this an entirely natural – and hotly awaited – next step for the brand, and we're delighted to see the car recognised already by DrivingElectric for what it offers customers.”

This is not Kia’s first success at the DrivingElectric Awards: last year the brand collected a quartet of awards for the EV6 GT, Sportage Plug-in Hybrid, Niro EV and previous generation e-Niro.

The Kia EV9 is one of the most versatile new EVs on sale, offering a choice of six or seven-seat configurations, a rear-wheel, single motor powertrain; or an all-wheel, dual motor powertrain, as well as three comprehensively equipped trim levels. Combined with Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty, the EV9 combines maximum customer choice with solid build quality and peace of mind.

Five-star Euro NCAP Safety Rating

Kia’s all-new EV9 has been awarded the maximum five-star safety rating following extensive testing by Euro NCAP, Europe’s leading independent safety testing organisation. The all-electric seven-seat SUV achieved the highest possible rating, further demonstrating the vehicle’s impressive safety credentials.

The EV9 was assessed in four categories and performed to a high standard throughout the test process. It achieved 84 per cent for adult occupant protection, 88 per cent for child occupant protection, 76 per cent for vulnerable road users including pedestrians, and 83 per cent in the ‘safety assist’ category, which rates a vehicle based on the availability of a comprehensive suite of crash avoidance technologies.

Euro NCAP praised the EV9’s passenger compartment for remaining stable in the frontal impact test and providing good protection of the knees and femur of all occupants – regardless of their size and sitting positions. Tests revealed that the EV9 would be a moderately benign impact partner in a frontal collision. In the side barrier test the EV9 scored maximum points, providing strong protection of all critical body areas of driver and passengers. The SUV was also praised for its advanced eCall system which alerts the emergency services in the event of a crash.

The EV9 scored even higher in the child occupant tests, with the vehicle protecting all critical body areas of dummies representing six- and ten-year old passengers. The organisation took note of the EV9’s airbag flexibility as well as its intelligent child presence detection system.

When testing the EV9’s safety assist technologies, Euro NCAP highlighted the performance of the vehicle’s Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system, which responded well to other vehicles and avoided impacts in most test scenarios.

Other safety features highlighted by Euro NCAP were the EV9’s Lane Keep Assist (LKA) that gently corrects the vehicle’s path if it is drifting out of lane and also intervenes in more critical situations. The speed assistance system was also found to do well in identifying the local speed limit, with the driver able to choose to allow the limiter to be set automatically by the system.

The EV9’s safety rating was reinforced by the vehicle’s high-strength Electric Global Modular Platform (e-GMP) and rigid body structure. Combined with a variety of active driver-assist and safety features, this reaffirms the EV9’s qualities of maximum convenience and safety on the road.

DISCOVER THE EV9

*In order to achieve the maximum charging speed, EV9 must use an 800-volt electric vehicle charger that delivers at least 210kW of electricity. Actual charging speed and charging time may be influenced by the battery temperature and weather conditions. Range figures are determined according to the standardised EU measurement procedure (WLTP). Individual driving style and other factors, such as speed, outside temperature, topography and the use of electricity-consuming devices/units, have an influence on the real-life range and can possibly reduce it.