Kia EV9 spied in the wild
Kia EV9 spied in the wild
Posted on August 22, 2022
Kia’s new three row SUV has been testing in the wild over in Europe and it looks pretty good. Seen with less camouflage than before, the test vehicle gives us the best idea so far of what to expect.
The guys over at Autoblog have a series of images, one of which we feature here.
The Kia EV9 is the larger sibling to the current EV6 that’s becoming a very popular car on our roads. It’s a three row SUV that delivers the full size experience but with a completely electric drivetrain.
As you can see in the image, the new Kia has a rounded design that looks chunky, but in a good way.
It has a reasonably tall front end with curved hood, short overhang and relatively low ride height.
We don’t see much of the lights, but what we do see look like either vertical lights like the Telluride or tall lights in a standard configuration. The rear lights look tall and thin, similar to the concept we saw last year.
We don’t expect the production version to look too much like that concept when released, but you can almost see some of them under that camouflage.
Kia EV9
What is unusual is the wheel arches are round. SUVs have a tendency to go off-round or more squared. This time, they follow the contour of the wheel, which looks surprisingly good.
The ride height looks relatively low too. This may be a test configuration, but we’re used to a little more clearance. This may, or may not, make it to production.
Observers said this test vehicle had Michelin Pilot Sport tires, Recaro seats and a roll cage but we doubt those will make it to production.
That is unless there’s a performance version of the EV9 planned. Wouldn’t that be something!
The concept had a lot of angles, complicated body panels, camera-powered side mirrors and a very blocky look.
It’s good to see the test EV9 looks nothing like that.
We’re sure there will be similarities to the concept in there somewhere, but the angles and sharp edges didn’t go down too well. We didn’t like it much either to be honest.
The test vehicle looks rounded and much more friendly. We don’t usually advocate following the crowd with design, but this time, we think it’s the right move.
As to engine and drivetrain, we have no idea. Kia has yet to confirm either so it’s a mystery right now.
We’re sure we’ll find out soon enough.