Kia EV9 GT review: Large electric SUV's GT makeover adds performance to its practicality

For evidence of how electrification is shaping Australia’s new car market, look no further than the Kia EV9 GT. An ‘upper large’ electric SUV – a segment that didn’t even exist a few short years ago – it’s also a performance upper large SUV, which is a concept we don’t imagine is sought after by many Australians. Nevertheless, it’s here and is actually now Kia’s most expensive product in Australia.

The EV9 GT takes the impressive foundations of Kia’s largest electric vehicle and turns everything up to 11. Take, for example, the fact it makes 374kW of power and 740Nm of torque, which gives it enough performance to embarrass plenty of sports cars, yet it can still carry six people and their luggage comfortably. It sounds ridiculous, but there’s considerably more to the EV9 GT than simply making a huge SUV accelerate very quickly.

How much does the EV9 GT cost to buy?

Absolutely loaded with standard equipment, the EV9 GT is a not inconsiderable $129,600 plus on-road costs, or around $151,000 driveaway, and about $12,000 more than the GT-Line that sits below it. That’s a serious bit of coin, regardless of the brand and car type.

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Equipment highlights include huge 21-inch alloy wheels, dual sunroofs, remote parking capability, multi-way electrically adjustable front seats with massaging, heating and ventilation, middle row ‘captain’s chairs’ seats with massaging, electrically operated rear seats, dual 12.3-inch displays with a 5.0-inch climate control panel, 14-speaker Meridian audio and a plethora of active safety features, including semi-autonomous highway driving tech, Matrix adaptive high beam and a 360-degree camera.

GT-specific features include the adaptive suspension, larger 380mm front/360mm rear ventilated disc brakes, sportier exterior styling, superb sports front seats, synthetic leather and suede upholstery, a three-spoke leather steering wheel, a lot of lime green detailing on the brake callipers, cabin stitching and GT button on the steering wheel, as well as GT badging.

For competition, the EV9 GT largely competes in a class of its own. There are a few electric seven-seaters on the market like the related Hyundai Ioniq 9, Volvo EX90, Volkswagen ID. Buzz and Mercedes-Benz EQB (new-generation GLB), but the GT’s seat count reduction to six means that the Tesla Model Y L could also be considered a rival. None of them, however, offer the space, pace and handling prowess of the Kia – if that’s what you’re searching for.

How far can the EV9 GT drive on a charge?

Powering the EV9 GT is Hyundai’s renowned 800V e-GMP platform and a large 99.8kWh lithium-ion battery, giving it a WLTP-rated range of 510km and combined energy consumption of 21.7kWh/100km. While that may seem like a lot, for something this large, heavy and powerful, it’s actually quite an impressive figure and somehow, it’s actually less than the other dual-motor EV9 models in Australia.

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Naturally, putting all 374kW to use on a regular basis is going to have a fairly dramatic effect on how far you’ll travel between charges, but we achieved 21.5kWh/100km in our combined testing, which we thought was quite respectable. As for charging, the 800V architecture allows for super fast charging and Kia claims a 10 to 80 per cent charge time of just 24 minutes, which is quickish for such a large battery.

The battery provides juice for the dual-motor all-wheel drive system, which makes fairly serious outputs of 374kW of power and 740Nm of torque, enough to send the EV9 GT to 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 220km/h. For something that weighs 2679kg (kerb), that’s enormously fast, and it truly does not feel anywhere near that heavy in all driving situations.

Because there’s masses of torque from both axles, it grips and launches out of corners far quicker than something weighing this much has any right to. Handling is assured and the locally-tuned adaptive suspension does a mostly good job of ironing out bumps – it can feel a bit firm at town speeds thanks to the large 21-inch wheels, but the flip side is that the body control is excellent. Refinement is also excellent, with not much in the way of road- or wind noise, even at highway speeds.

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Not so excellent, however, are the camera mirrors that are standard on the GT-Line and GT. They supposedly make the EV9 use less energy but in my opinion, make it more difficult to drive as they just cannot provide a field of depth like a proper mirror does. When parking, judging your distance to the kerb – for example – can be quite difficult and judging the distance between you and cars in your blind spot is also not easy. Send them to the options list, please, Kia Australia.

How practical is the EV9 GT?

This is where the EV9 GT shines. Despite its performance statistics, it remains an enormous and highly practical family upper large SUV. Measuring 5015mm long and 1980mm wide with a huge 3100mm wheelbase, the EV9 has an enormous footprint and it’s also very well packaged. Combine those two elements and it’s a great option for larger families – though, to be fair, so is a regular EV9.

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One key detail in the GT transformation is that it is the only EV9 in Australia to use a six-seat configuration with two individual captain’s chairs in the second row instead of the bench as in other EV9 models. Those seats give second-row passengers more personal space and help make the rear cabin feel almost limousine-like (new car of choice for rock stars?), while also providing easier access to the third row through the gap between them.

The seats themselves are electrically adjustable and feature massaging, heating and ventilation, making them not only comfortable but luxurious. Other second row amenities include inbuilt window shades, a separate climate zone, map pockets, door pockets and a huge sliding box for storage.

Importantly for families, unlike many seven-seaters, the third row of seating isn’t just for emergencies but is a proper third row for adults. It’s also well featured with air vents, cup holders and USB-C charging ports, while the seats themselves are electrically adjustable as well.

Luggage capacity is also impressive considering the EV9’s ability to carry six occupants with 333 litres of space behind the third row, expanding to 828 litres with those seats folded and a massive 2393 litres with all the rear seats folded. Drop the rear seating and the EV9 effectively becomes an electric removals van, plus there’s also a 52-litre storage compartment under the bonnet.

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Move forward to the front cabin and it’s typical EV9 goodness. The dashboard design looks modern and feels high-tech, while there are plentiful storage options, including the big cup holders in the centre console. Kia’s 12.3-inch infotainment screen is easy to use, and it’s well featured with wireless smartphone mirroring, sat-nav with live traffic, DAB+ digital radio and live services. The 14-speaker Meridian audio system also sounds good and we love the subtle GT badging throughout the cabin.

How much does the EV9 GT cost to service?

If you’re searching for reasons to buy the GT over a regular EV9, you’ll be happy to know that it’s covered by the exact same service and warranty program. All new Kias are covered by a seven-year/unlimited km warranty with an eight-year/160,000km EV battery warranty for MY27 cars onwards.

As for servicing, a five-year pre-paid service plan costs $1351 or $270 per year for the first five years. As with the standard EV9, the GT’s service intervals are annual or every 15,000km, whichever comes first.

Should I buy a Kia EV9 GT?

If the idea of a very fast, practical, spacious and well equipped upper large electric SUV appeals to you, then the Kia EV9 GT is a great choice. There simply isn’t much that it does wrong – the camera mirrors are annoying, the ride can be a bit firm at times and it’s obviously not cheap, but it’s such a well-rounded product.

Even five years ago, the idea of a fast, electric Kia SUV costing $150,000 would have been ridiculous, but the result is a great car. Is there a market for an upper large performance electric SUV? Is it a niche within a niche gone too far? Time will tell.

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EV9 GT standard features: 

• 21-inch alloy wheels (with a tyre repair kit)
• Dusk-sensing automatic LED exterior lighting
• Rain-sensing automatic wipers
• Keyless entry with push button start, remote start and smart parking assistance
• Roof rails
• Dual sunroofs (with an opening front part)
• Rear privacy glass
• Digital rear mirrors
• Tri-zone automatic climate control
• Suede/synthetic leather upholstery
• 12-way electric driver’s seat/8-way electric front passenger seat with memory, two-way electric foot rest
• Heated, ventilated and massaging front seats
• Captain’s chairs middle row seats with massaging, heating and ventilation
• Heated leather steering wheel
• Dual 12.3-inch display panels with 5.0-inch climate middle control panel
• Kia Connect live services
• Satellite navigation with live traffic
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• AM/FM/DAB+ digital radio
• Bluetooth phone and audio
• 14-speaker Meridian sound system
• Wireless phone charger
• 6x USB-C ports, 2x 12V sockets
• Ambient mood lighting 
• Head-up display
• 9x airbags
• Autonomous emergency braking with car, pedestrian, cyclist, junction turning/crossing and direct/oncoming lane change detection
• Low-speed automatic braking (forward and reverse)
• Lane keeping assistance with adaptive lane guidance
• Adaptive cruise control with highway driving assistance
• Blind-spot monitoring with blind-spot cameras
• Rear cross-traffic alert (with braking)
• Rear occupant alert
• Safe exit warning with safe exit assist
• Traffic sign recognition
• Driver attention monitoring
• Adaptive high beam
• Front and rear parking sensors
• 360-degree camera
• Anti-theft alarm

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EV9 GT specifications: