Kia framed the starting EV9 price point — $19,000 more than the combustion Telluride — as affordable, going so far as to call it a "wake-up call to the industry." However, it may prove more of a wake-up call for buyers looking for an affordable electric family crossover anytime soon.
If you want a Kia EV9 with more than 215 horsepower and all-wheel-drive — as we suspect most buyers will — you have to level up to the EV9 Wind-e-AWD trim at $63,900 or $65,395 when you add the mandatory destination charge. That pricing may not be that outlandish by EV standards. But it's a sign of how far off EV pricing remains from combustion.
When will the Kia EV9 go on sale?
Kia
Kia is targeting Q4 2023 for the debut of the 2024 Kia EV9. Production will transfer to a Kia facility in Georgia sometime in 2024, making it the first Kia EV assembled in America and potentially eligible for the federal tax credit. Kia will begin taking orders on October 16, 2023.
How much power does the Kia EV9 have?
Kia Motors
The EV9 Light RWD starts with 215 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. The EV9 Light Long Range RWD drops to 201 hp. The EV9 Wind e-AWD and EV9 Land e-AWD have 379 hp and 443 lb-ft. The EV9 GT-Line has the torque bumped up to 516 lb-ft. Kia is targeting a 0-60 mph time of around five seconds for the EV9 GT-Line.
The 2024 Kia EV9 comes standard with 800V charging infrastructure. It can charge from 10-80% — a full charge you would do on a public charger — in less than 25 minutes on a 350 kW DC fast charger.
Kia says the EV9 will be capable of vehicle-to-load (V2L), vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-grid (V2H) charging.
How does the Kia EV9 compare to the Telluride?
Kia Motors
The Kia EV9 is very similarly sized to the Telluride. The Kia EV9 is within half an inch of the Telluride in length (197.4 in), width (77.9 in) and height (70.1 in).
The EV9 offers 7.8 in of ground clearance, 0.2 in short of the Telluride's 8.0 in. Cargo space figures of 20.2 cubic feet behind the third row and a potential 81. 9 cubic feet total are only slightly smaller than the Telluride. The towing capacity of 5,000 lbs for the EV9 is the same as the non-X-Pro Telluride.
The Kia EV9 does, alas, have conventional doors
Kia
Like the initial Telluride concept, Kia's Concept EV9 featured rear-hinged suicide doors that opened into the cabin. Like the production Telluride, the EV9 will feature conventional, front-hinged rear doors.
