Discussion
raspy said:
jimKRFC said:
I'm sure it's not to everybodies taste (size/weight/no fun to drive...) but with four kids I'm really looking forward to this one!
https://www.kia.com/uk/new-cars/ev9/?cmpid=ppc%7cK...
apparently it will be between £65-85k when it launches in the UK market - a bargain for those with 4 kids! https://www.kia.com/uk/new-cars/ev9/?cmpid=ppc%7cK...
It seems like five minutes ago the only way to get a smooth, powerful, full sized SUV was to go to JLR or whoever with £100k in hand and buy a supercharged V8 variant - and then it would cost you stupid amounts to run each month too.. And the reality is, this will probably handle better and be smoother and actually real world quicker.
I'm not for one moment comparing a luxury brand like JLR with a punchy but still value based brand such as KIA, but given the price difference the amount of usable car for the money is compelling.
EV has done the impossible for larger SUV's, it's made them cheaper, nicer to drive and has even managed to stop them wallowing and leaning through tighter turns. These things are probably more important to the masses than the quality of the leather or how many power functions the front seats have.
KIA seem to be becoming the Ford of the electric car age. All the s
t you need, a bit of poke, a decent drive and enough fancy bits to make the average blue collar bloke feel they can see what they paid for. Job jobbed, same as the EV6 really.There's a semi functional 3D configurator on the website now to if you scroll down the splash page https://www.kia.com/uk/new-cars/ev9/ past all the other vids its towards the bottom...allows you to see the visual differences between the EV9 and EV9 GT Line spec of car, and also the various colours for exterior and interiors.
Couple of things to note from the config, pretty sure the non GT line car has a blank grill without the digital tiger light designs, and also gets standard mirrors, but then the Gt line car gets the outboard cameras instead and has the mirror screens on the inside which tbh i'm not a fan of and seems to bulk out the dash.
Couple of things to note from the config, pretty sure the non GT line car has a blank grill without the digital tiger light designs, and also gets standard mirrors, but then the Gt line car gets the outboard cameras instead and has the mirror screens on the inside which tbh i'm not a fan of and seems to bulk out the dash.
OctiMoron said:
Couple of things to note from the config, pretty sure the non GT line car has a blank grill without the digital tiger light designs, and also gets standard mirrors, but then the Gt line car gets the outboard cameras instead and has the mirror screens on the inside which tbh i'm not a fan of and seems to bulk out the dash.
Personally I'm never going to buy an SUV but that aside, I *REALLY* hope that those cameras are optional and not mandatory with the GT Line spec. They're one of those "great idea in theory but crap in reality" ideas. I wasn't aware of this until this thread. IMO there is a serious lack of proper big family cars out there at the moment. If there is a 7 seat option and it can be had with regular door mirrors and not those stupid cameras I will be very interested.
If you want a 7 seater with a big boot there isn't much out there shy of the Discovery 5 and JLR have a lot of work to do before I buy one of their products again.
If you want a 7 seater with a big boot there isn't much out there shy of the Discovery 5 and JLR have a lot of work to do before I buy one of their products again.
OctiMoron said:
There's a semi functional 3D configurator on the website now to if you scroll down the splash page https://www.kia.com/uk/new-cars/ev9/ past all the other vids its towards the bottom...allows you to see the visual differences between the EV9 and EV9 GT Line spec of car, and also the various colours for exterior and interiors.
Couple of things to note from the config, pretty sure the non GT line car has a blank grill without the digital tiger light designs, and also gets standard mirrors, but then the Gt line car gets the outboard cameras instead and has the mirror screens on the inside which tbh i'm not a fan of and seems to bulk out the dash.
Out of curiosity, did you spot any alternative options to those wheels?Couple of things to note from the config, pretty sure the non GT line car has a blank grill without the digital tiger light designs, and also gets standard mirrors, but then the Gt line car gets the outboard cameras instead and has the mirror screens on the inside which tbh i'm not a fan of and seems to bulk out the dash.
Evil.soup said:
Out of curiosity, did you spot any alternative options to those wheels?
Currently the wheel section for both levels shows that single style, albeit they appear silver/black to match silver trim elsewhere on the Base model and then a grey/black to match the dark trim on the GT Line. 
Evil.soup said:
Out of curiosity, did you spot any alternative options to those wheels?
3 options on the standard model and an extra option for the GT. To be honest none look great (imho). Will see if I work out how to post an image.The GT line get a smaller panel between the lights with more vents than the standard. Not a huge change though.
Not much further news coming out of Kia for the EU/UK market yet, but found some additional info on the Korean website.
There it lists a starting price for the EV9 in local currency of 7.814 million won which roughly equates to £47k, and if the same rough UK pricing uplifts apply to this as they do on other models like the EV6/EV6GT at about 1.3x korean price, it will retail here from £60k for the base spec which is pretty much on the money with what's been touted by the media here.
Aside from that, there's some more info/images on interior kit and bits like the ADAS systems and the GT line spec differences but not much on the pay to use features except for the grill lights. All info here if you want to look https://www.kia.com/kr/vehicles/ev9/features/
A few other random info bites that piqued my interest as listed on the Korean EV9 page -
Dual mode ambient lighting
Decent side view of the interior in 6 seat config
And oddly listed under the accessories section rather than as an option, you can get a 'Lounge Package'...!!Oooooh!!!....which gets you a Jet style rear console unit with fridge and tables and some plush headrest pillows to go with the 6 seater config, so nice if this isn't factory fit and can be added later if req, or removed if you want the load space back.
Will probably cost a fair chunk though as an accessory and be a pita to get it in or out of the vehicle without much swearing
There it lists a starting price for the EV9 in local currency of 7.814 million won which roughly equates to £47k, and if the same rough UK pricing uplifts apply to this as they do on other models like the EV6/EV6GT at about 1.3x korean price, it will retail here from £60k for the base spec which is pretty much on the money with what's been touted by the media here.
Aside from that, there's some more info/images on interior kit and bits like the ADAS systems and the GT line spec differences but not much on the pay to use features except for the grill lights. All info here if you want to look https://www.kia.com/kr/vehicles/ev9/features/
A few other random info bites that piqued my interest as listed on the Korean EV9 page -
Dual mode ambient lighting
Decent side view of the interior in 6 seat config
And oddly listed under the accessories section rather than as an option, you can get a 'Lounge Package'...!!Oooooh!!!....which gets you a Jet style rear console unit with fridge and tables and some plush headrest pillows to go with the 6 seater config, so nice if this isn't factory fit and can be added later if req, or removed if you want the load space back.
Will probably cost a fair chunk though as an accessory and be a pita to get it in or out of the vehicle without much swearing
These just came into view for me as I start to think our XC90 probably only has another year or two with us (98k miles now, we chopped the last one in at 110k, though it was still going strong).
The EX90 would be the most obvious choice, but at 90k-100k+, it's now in the "daft money" camp.
A mildly used XC90 T8 could work for us with the driving we tend to do now.
But then an EV9 at similar money but new... Hmmmmmm.
I think they're due to start being delivered later this year, so hopefully extended test drives will be a thing and I can see how it stacks up.
The EX90 would be the most obvious choice, but at 90k-100k+, it's now in the "daft money" camp.
A mildly used XC90 T8 could work for us with the driving we tend to do now.
But then an EV9 at similar money but new... Hmmmmmm.
I think they're due to start being delivered later this year, so hopefully extended test drives will be a thing and I can see how it stacks up.
Reviews are now starting to come in and it looks like it might be pretty decent:
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/kia/ev9
Wish Hyundai would pull their fingers out with the Ioniq 7 and Ioniq N5 though.
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/kia/ev9
Wish Hyundai would pull their fingers out with the Ioniq 7 and Ioniq N5 though.
If the quality and driving experience is anything like the EV6 GT then this looks like a very impressive car and serious value fir money.
I’ve just reached 8,000 miles in an EV6 GT and it’s absolutely staggering, searingly fast obviously, but less expected brilliant to drive and supremely well built, nothing non-premium about it at all. By all accounts the EV9 is even more up market.
(You do wonder about the 7 year warranty though, in 6 months nothing has gone wrong, not a thing. Compare that to Porsche, JLR etc.)
I’ve just reached 8,000 miles in an EV6 GT and it’s absolutely staggering, searingly fast obviously, but less expected brilliant to drive and supremely well built, nothing non-premium about it at all. By all accounts the EV9 is even more up market.
(You do wonder about the 7 year warranty though, in 6 months nothing has gone wrong, not a thing. Compare that to Porsche, JLR etc.)
I had a go in an EV6 (GT Line, not S) 18mths or so ago.
It was a nice car, but it didn't feel "premium" to me. It drove well, and had some nice features software wise. But the interior wasn't as nice to be in as my XC90 etc.
That's no disrespect to it. It was a very nice car. But the price relative to, for example, a Taycan was IMO "fair" rather than stonking value. ie yes it was cheaper. But it was clear why.
This is one aspect I want to check the EV9 against. 18mths is clearly a long time with Kia and if they've taken a step up with the new car, and assuming can get one within 10yrs, it will make a strong candidate.
It was a nice car, but it didn't feel "premium" to me. It drove well, and had some nice features software wise. But the interior wasn't as nice to be in as my XC90 etc.
That's no disrespect to it. It was a very nice car. But the price relative to, for example, a Taycan was IMO "fair" rather than stonking value. ie yes it was cheaper. But it was clear why.
This is one aspect I want to check the EV9 against. 18mths is clearly a long time with Kia and if they've taken a step up with the new car, and assuming can get one within 10yrs, it will make a strong candidate.
I had a chance to have a look at one of these yesterday. In the flesh it looks really good, quite stunning really. To me it was physically longer and lower than I expected. It's less SUV and more big estate car in my eyes.
Inside the 6 seat layout works really well, giving a real sense of space. The rearmost pair of seats fit adults which is good. It has self levelling rear suspension but it's not air, just springs so not sure how it will ride. The top spec one I saw looked to have all the kit but not quite as plush as top end equivalents from BMW, Merc, etc, and it didn't have that smell of luxury as most of the interior is recycled and the seats are not leather.
I think that if it wasn't all electric it would have gone under the radar, but it does tick a lot of boxes for those currently needing quite big cars and now there is now a battery one that will fit their needs. I think they'll suit existing mid spec XC90, GLE, X5, RR Sport and Discovery Sport users wanting to 'go green' but who need a couple extra seats and or plenty of room along with 4 wheel drive even if not 'proper' off road ability. I think the base one is 2WD and the mid and top spec are twin motor 4WD.
It will be interesting to see how many get sold in the current climate with BEV values falling and the instability of the market.
Inside the 6 seat layout works really well, giving a real sense of space. The rearmost pair of seats fit adults which is good. It has self levelling rear suspension but it's not air, just springs so not sure how it will ride. The top spec one I saw looked to have all the kit but not quite as plush as top end equivalents from BMW, Merc, etc, and it didn't have that smell of luxury as most of the interior is recycled and the seats are not leather.
I think that if it wasn't all electric it would have gone under the radar, but it does tick a lot of boxes for those currently needing quite big cars and now there is now a battery one that will fit their needs. I think they'll suit existing mid spec XC90, GLE, X5, RR Sport and Discovery Sport users wanting to 'go green' but who need a couple extra seats and or plenty of room along with 4 wheel drive even if not 'proper' off road ability. I think the base one is 2WD and the mid and top spec are twin motor 4WD.
It will be interesting to see how many get sold in the current climate with BEV values falling and the instability of the market.
Murph7355 said:
These just came into view for me as I start to think our XC90 probably only has another year or two with us (98k miles now, we chopped the last one in at 110k, though it was still going strong).
The EX90 would be the most obvious choice, but at 90k-100k+, it's now in the "daft money" camp.
A mildly used XC90 T8 could work for us with the driving we tend to do now.
But then an EV9 at similar money but new... Hmmmmmm.
I think they're due to start being delivered later this year, so hopefully extended test drives will be a thing and I can see how it stacks up.
Assuming you do get a test drive and like it, and find it comparable to the Volvo overall..The EX90 would be the most obvious choice, but at 90k-100k+, it's now in the "daft money" camp.
A mildly used XC90 T8 could work for us with the driving we tend to do now.
But then an EV9 at similar money but new... Hmmmmmm.
I think they're due to start being delivered later this year, so hopefully extended test drives will be a thing and I can see how it stacks up.
That's going to make Volvo's pricing of the EX90 look a bit silly isn't it... Which I do think, it is. It's the (missing) interior in the Volvo that I don't get. I understand it's a trend that Tesla started and some people like the extreme minimalist layout - but in a £100k SUV I want to be surrounded by amazing materials and have usefully positioned buttons for most functions. Volvo recognise new competition and have said they're moving more upmarket which is sensible, but to me the latest car interiors look to have gone in the opposite direction.
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