Can you really be best-in-class if you’re the only one in the class? This odd position is where the 2025 Kia EV9 finds itself. It’s the only fully electric three-row SUV that isn’t from a luxury brand, at least for the time being. It’s like winning by default—but is that such a bad thing when the end result is actually quite good?
Kia has been committed to electrons for a while now, but they’re really doubling-down now with a flurry of new models under its appropriately named EV lineup. First, it was the EV6. Then, the EV9. Soon, the EV5, EV3, and a bunch more will follow—but if the EV9 is anything to go by, Kia is off to a great start. The EV9 turns heads, it’s properly spacious and comfortable no matter where you sit, it’s hilariously quick for a box on wheels, and it delivers good range and charging even in the dead of winter. Until the closely related Hyundai Ioniq 9 arrives later this year, the EV9 may be your only choice for a mainstream, all-electric, three-row family hauler, but it’s a damn good one.
How does the Kia EV9 look?
The EV9 was among the first Kia to wear their new Opposites United design language. Up front, the stacked LED headlights and pointy-looking DRLs that look as though they’re cutting through the sheet metal steal the show. On this particular tester, that’s accented by Kia’s so-called Star Map lighting treatment—two additional clusters of smaller LEDs on either side that can be customized and animated for some extra nighttime pizzazz. From the side, the EV9 very much embraces the box-on-wheels motif, tied together by 20-inch wheels with neat-looking trapezoidal aero covers. Around the back, the EV9 is instantly recognizable—but that’s because the similarly pointy-looking tail light treatment we’ve seen on models like the K4, Carnival, and more originated with the EV9. You do have some concessions to gimmickry, like the retractable door handles, but at least they look pretty slick when they’re tucked in.
Interior styling, comfort, and cargo
I’m a little mixed on the 2025 Kia EV9’s interior appointments. On one hand, it’s a genuinely lovely space. The overall design and layout plays into the whole minimalism thing that’s very much in-vogue these days, but it isn’t too plain for its own good. The Tweed-like insert running across the dash looks classy, fit-and-finish feels solid all around, and the on-board tech is some of the easiest to use out there, period. As with pretty much every other Kia, two 12.3-inch displays living under one panel make up the gauge cluster and infotainment. This EV9 tester, the nearly fully loaded Land trim with the Plus package, features an additional, smaller screen sandwiched between the two for climate controls. I like the idea—having climate controls easily accessible all the time is always a boon—but this display just so happens to be mostly obstructed when you’re sitting in the driver’s seat, and too far a reach when you’re riding shotgun. It’s a little pointless, but at least Kia still includes a row of physical switchgear because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
But as genuinely lovely as the EV9’s interior is, I’m not big on the colour. Our tester is decked out in a two-tone black-on-grey option, but it goes heavy on the grey. The seats, dash and door panels, glossy trim, and even the Tweed-like insert running across the dash all seem to be the same shade. It’s so very grey and a little bland, visually. Kia does offer a much warmer-looking black-and-brown option, but only on higher-spec trims (read: not this one) and with specific exterior colours. At least the seats themselves are supremely comfortable, there’s plenty of headroom and legroom regardless of where you sit—even in the third row—and cargo space comes in at a generous-for-a-three-row 573 litres. Drop the third row and that grows to 1,232; drop the second row and cargo space maxes out at 2,314 L. On all-wheel-drive EV9s like this one, the front trunk pitches in another 51 litres—hey, it’s the thought that counts.
Powertrain, driving impressions, range
Kia offers the EV9 in two distinct flavours. Base EV9s have a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive layout as well as a 76.1 kWh battery pack, but the sacrifice you have to make for skids is living with 215 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque in a three-row SUV weighing upwards of 5,000 pounds. Stepping up to the one-up-from-base Wind trim adds a 99.8 kWh battery but no power bump—in fact, the RWD Wind puts out a smidge less horsepower and weighs roughly 300 pounds more. Double yikes.
It’s not until our all-wheel-drive Land tester where you really start cooking with gas—pun not intended. Here, the bonus front motor bumps total output to 379 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque, and an available boost mode bumps that up to 516 lb-ft for a few seconds. Kia even quotes a zero-to-100 km/h run in the mid five-second range, which is … kind of wild for a family hauler. We didn’t break out the stopwatch, but can attest the EV9 is hilarious off the line and doesn’t run out of breath on the highway. Beyond the beans, the EV9 rides well, it’s well-hushed on the highway, and despite its big footprint, doesn’t feel gargantuan to manouevre thanks to its big windows and completely numb, if not easy steering.
On range and charging, the EV9 is pretty easy to live with. Range, well, ranges from 370 kilometres in the base, small battery, RWD flavour, up to 489 for the big-battery-and-RWD flavour. The sweet spot is probably our all-wheel-drive tester, which is good for 451 km on paper—a lot more shove, without a big sacrifice in range. Expect a real-world range dip especially in winter, but the EV9 performed better than we thought given the biting wind chill: on-board estimates showed about 350 kilometres, and we squeezed out about 280 km before plugging in. Not bad, all things considered. Much more accurate than the two similarly priced and similarly quick, but far-less-practical Volvo EVs we sampled around the same time.
Final thoughts: is the 2025 Kia EV9 worth it?
Price-wise, the EV9 starts at $59,995 for the small-battery, rear-drive, and probably not-very-fast base model. Stepping up to AWD is arguably a no-brainer, with our tester coming in at $69,995 as-tested before any additional fees, taxes, and any incentives you may still be eligible for, but not for much . That’s a good deal considering most top-trim, internal-combustion, mainstream three-row SUVs cost about as much, and a great deal considering the Volvo EX90—arguably the next step up, being fully electric and coming standard with a usable third row—starts at $110,000. Despite being a minivan, perhaps the EV9’s closest competitor is the Volkswagen ID.Buzz, being fully electric, having three rows of seating, and coming from a mainstream brand.
Until the Hyundai Ioniq 9 arrives in the coming months, the 2025 Kia EV9 remains your only choice for an all-electric, three-row SUV that isn’t from a stuffy luxury marque. But it’s a good choice, with a genuinely comfortable and practical cabin, easy-to-use tech, good range—and hilarious performance for a box-on-wheels. If you’re late for hockey practice, that’s on you.
