UCLUELET, B.C. – There’s a healing power to our beautiful west coast. The furious waves of the Pacific Ocean crash onto mossy black rocks; the monolithic, snow-capped mountains ascend into the heavens; the mysterious rainforests brimming with life invite you in at your own peril. Each deep breath you take silences the noise in your mind and heals the bruises on your soul. It’s hard to find this kind of soul-cleansing serenity anywhere else—but the 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 comes close.
The Ioniq 9 is Hyundai’s take on the Kia EV9, which enjoyed two years on the market as your only choice for an electric three-row SUV from a non-luxe brand. But it’s more than just an EV9 wearing different clothes. Hyundai put in the work to meaningfully differentiate the Ioniq 9 from its corporate cousin, imbuing it with more powerful electric motors, a bigger battery resulting in more range, a bigger footprint and more interior space, styling that goes in a completely different direction.
The Ioniq 9 and EV9 share the same platform—a stretched version of Hyundai (and Kia’s) E-GMP underpinnings—but that’s about where the similarities end. All Ioniq 9s hide a 110.3 kWh battery pack under the floor, a sizeable bump over the 76.1 and 99.3 kWh units in the EV9, depending on the trim. Base Ioniq 9s use a single 160 kW electric motor out back, rated at 215 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. This combination yields the most generous range estimate—an impressive 539 kilometres—but with Hyundai quoting a null-to-100 km/h run in 9.4 seconds, calling it leisurely would be an understatement.
Stepping up to the first of two all-wheel-drive Ioniq 9 configurations puts much more of a spring in its step. Here, Hyundai adds a 66.1 kWh motor over the front axle; working with the 160 kWh unit in the back, this gives the Ioniq 9 a sizeable bump to 303 hp and 446 lb-ft of torque. If that still isn’t enough, the second “AWD+” setup uses twin 160 kW electric motors, further bumping output to 422 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. This is the sprightliest setup, cutting the zero-to-100 km/h run down to 5.2 seconds. Not bad for a bus. This setup is good for 500 kilometres of range; plugged into a 350 kW Tesla Supercharger—all Ioniq 9s come with an NACS port—and Hyundai says you can expect a 10-to-80 per cent charge in 24 minutes. Naturally, your real-world experience may differ.
But serenity and tranquility are very much the Ioniq 9’s M.O. Flipped into sport mode, the Ioniq 9 with the AWD+ powertrain setup most certainly delivers the requisite wallop of insta-torque, which is probably a great party trick with the kids in the back. But in its default drive mode, the Ioniq 9 will still pin you to the seat, but that initial tip-in is much smoother and more linear, easing you into the thrust—like the gentle morning tide of the Pacific Ocean tide before the afternoon fury.
The serenity and tranquility extends beyond the Ioniq 9’s powertrain. Hyundai put a lot of effort into minimizing noise, vibration, and harshness beyond simply removing a gas-fired engine. Upper-trim models like the Ultimate Calligraphy have sound-insulated glass in the first and second rows, as well as sound-insulated Hankook tires. They’ve also added strut rings to cut down on vibrations—and when you add all this up, it means Hyundai has tried to make the Ioniq 9 as best as it can without going to an air suspension setup.
I respect that. It’s easier to maintain in the long run than an air suspension setup, and to Hyundai’s credit, the Ioniq 9 is very well-hushed, with next to no wind and road noise to stir the soul. But I think the EV9 has much better body control; over the Pacific Rim Highway’s tight twisties and long sweepers, any mid-corner bump seems to upset the Ioniq 9’s balance for a split second. This coaxes a few side-to-side jiggles out before settling a few moments later. Now, you could make the argument that nobody in their right mind would go canyon-carving in an Ioniq 9, but think of how many potholes and expansion joints you’ve smacked on a long on-ramp.
But all that’s OK, because the Ioniq 9 is very much all about tranquility. The Ultimate Calligraphy trims here look and feel like a Genesis, with their soft curves and light colour schemes. It goes heavy on the renewable materials—bits like the seats, floor mats, and headliner are made from recycled plastic and rubber, but they certainly don’t feel like garbage. Fit-and-finish and overall build quality seem great, and the slightly swooping roofline doesn’t impact headroom or cargo space. In fact, there’s more seats-up cargo space in the Ioniq 9 than the EV9, and although longer-legged passengers might be pinched on third-row legroom, there’s more than enough headroom back there.
One aspect about the Ioniq 9 that I wasn’t completely sold on right away was its exterior styling. I think it’s such an interesting car to look at—little details like the countless ‘pixels’ all over, the Volvo V70-esque tail lights, and the distinct lack of body cladding on upper-spec models reveal themselves the longer you take to drink in the details. Hyundai also deserves kudos for not falling into the Russian-nesting-doll trap of making everything in the lineup look like plus-sized and/or mini-me copies of one another. But it took me a while to come around to the rear quarter view. In photos and in tight quarters, it looked a touch too bulbous and visually heavy. But the right lighting and environment makes a big difference—the more time I took taking in the details, the less droopy and visually heavy it seemed.
I appreciate what the 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 represents. There aren’t a lot of players in the all-electric, three-row SUV game right now—let alone in the non-luxury space. Kia might’ve been first here with the EV9, but if you prefer something a little softer-edged, more serene, and a tad more upmarket—not to mention something with quantifiable improvements, like faster charging, more interior space, and a lot more range—the Ioniq 9 perfects the formula.
