Kia EV9 first impressions: The big electric people mover, but no swivel seats in Australia

The final production version of Kia’s EV9 7-seater SUV is one of two unreleased electric vehicles currently on display at the two day eMobility Live Expo in Sydney, which has a focus on electrifying vehicle fleets but also features interesting displays from charging equipment providers and a few vehicle manufacturers such as Kia, Peugeot and Polestar.

I had a good look inside and out of the Kia EV9s on display and also spoke to Eva Hu, Product Planning Specialist and Trent Kontopoulos, Fleet Manager from Kia Australia to try and get more details about the upcoming Australian release of the EV9. 

Hu and Kontopoulos said Kia is hoping to officially launch the Kia EV9 in 4-5 weeks time, so there’s still no official word on local pricing yet. Initial estimates based on overseas pricing place the base model EV9 slightly above the top-spec Kia EV6 GT which starts at $99,590 before on-road costs. 

The model on display at the expo was the Kia EV9 GT-Line which is two trim levels above the base model and is therefore expected to cost well over $100,000 before on-roads. The EV9 GT-Line features a dual motor drivetrain and longer range 99.8 kWh battery.

Kia has 400-500 EV9 vehicles scheduled to arrive in Australia before the end of the year and they are planning to start customer deliveries by then.

Hu also confirmed there have been minimal changes to the Australian specification for the EV9 compared to overseas models. These include having three top tether points for child seats in the second row to meet Australian design rules. 

Earlier this year Kia was testing and tuning the EV9 suspension for Australian roads. Level 3 autonomous driving features won’t be available initially, but can be enabled later via over-the-air software updates once approved for the Australian market.

Kia was showing off the vehicle to load (V2L) capabilities of their e-GMP vehicles at the expo by powering their entire stand from an EV9 and EV6 GT. Hu explained the V2L adapters come included with top trims but can be purchased as an accessory through Kia and will work with lower spec trims. 

The EV9 also features V2L access from inside the boot via a power plug labelled “Max AC 250V, 16A”. I did not have a 15 A power plug with me to check it fits, but the earth pin on this socket does look larger than a standard 10 A power plug. 

In terms of storage, boot space varies depending on whether you’re utilising the second or third row seats. With all 7 seats in use, the boot looks fairly small and measures 333 L according to overseas specifications. 

Folding the third row down reveals a huge boot space, increasing storage volume to 828 L. With both second and third row seats down there is ridiculous amounts of space, for example camping in the back would be roomy if that’s your thing.

Middle row seats in the EV9 slide on rails so you can allocate more or less legroom for the second and third rows. Both second and third row seats can be folded from the boot for easy access to load big items. Leg room in the third row was a bit tight, but at least there is room for your feet underneath the second row seats.

Overall I thought the EV9 had a very roomy and comfortable interior, with lots of storage space and cup holders throughout. Second and third row passengers also get access to USB-C charging ports and air conditioning vents in the roof, which can be controlled either from the front seats or via roof mounted controls above the second row.

The rear doors of the EV9 are very large and open wide for easy access into the third row. Another advantage of these large doors is that the windows in the rear go all the way down to allow good airflow. Watch out when parked close to other cars though as they do swing out quite wide.

This previous article on the EV9 from June mentions swivel seats which appear to be a feature of the 6-seat interior, with two captains chairs in the middle row. Hu said that initially Kia would only be offering the 7-seat configuration in Australia so we won’t be getting these seats, at least for now.

In terms of negatives for the EV9, the high cost is going to put it out of reach for many potential buyers. I was also disappointed with how small the frunk was. For such a large car built on a dedicated EV platform, it seems like a wasted opportunity to have a frunk that barely fits your charging cables or a small bag. 

The EV9 GT-Line on display featured rear view cameras instead of traditional mirrors. It’s hard to tell without driving the car how easy these would be to get used to. The rear view screens are slightly below where you’d normally look for your rear view mirrors, but the images appeared very sharp at least.

If you’re keen to see the Kia EV9 and other cars on display, such as the VW ID.4, the expo is free to attend and is open on Thursday October 12 at the Sydney International Convention Centre.