Kia’s third EV to come to consumers, after the Niro EV and hot selling EV6, will be the large EV9 crossover. Previewed by the 2021 concept — the automaker has teased the upcoming crossover, but it’s been quiet about specs. But if a report from Car & Driver is to be believed, the upcoming EV crossover will offer up to 300 KW of power and cost over $US73,000 (rough conversion to around $AU103,268).
Possible details of the upcoming EV9 were leaked through the most random of means via a customer survey. A reader of Car & Driver found the specs in a customer survey sent out to prospective EV owners to gauge interest in what kind of EV they would buy. The reader took a screenshot and sent the details of the EV9 to C&D, who shared them.
While no trims were listed, the survey did give some specific details that could turn out to be factual for Kia’s next EV. According to the doc, the basic EV9s will start around $US56,000 (straight conversion being $AU80,000). For that entry-point you get rear-wheel drive, 150 KW, 113 kg-ft of torque, an 8.5 second zero to 96 km/h time, and 354 km of range.
From there, the next step up is a $US61,000 (around $AU86,293) trim that’ll come with rear-wheel drive. The document indicates that this trim comes with 113 more kilometres of range (467 km) and the ability to tow 907 kg. So, perhaps the extra $AU6,293 gets you a larger battery pack? The larger battery would make sense too, as you lose 0.4 seconds on the sprint to 96 km/h.
If you want all-wheel drive on the EV9, you’ll have to drop at least $US63,000 (around $AU89,122). The document says that this trim gets 300 KW and 172 kg-ft of torque, a 1,588 kg towing capacity, and a six-second sprint to 96 km/h. That extra performance comes at the expense of range as it drops to 418 km (from the 290 on the mid-level trim).
Right above that EV9 is another trim that starts at $US68,000 (around $AU96,195). That gets you 20-inch wheels instead of the standard 19-inch wheels, but that will also cost you range as it drops to 386 km on this trim.
According to the document shared with C&D, a completely loaded EV9 will set you back $US73,000 (around $AU103,268). You get the same 386 km of range as the trim below it, but you get 100 more lb-ft of torque for a total of 218 kg-ft. Towing capacity goes up to 4,500 pounds, the sprint to 96 km/h drops to 5.2 seconds and you get 21-inch wheels, black exterior trim, and 0.4 inches of ground clearance for…something.
If all of this pans out the EV9 should be a big seller. The prices, again if this all turns out to be true, are a bit high, considering we’re in desperate need of more affordable EVs. But, what essentially looks like an EV version of the Telluride (with a little more power under it) should have more than enough people willing to open their wallets to get one.