New York – Determined to make a splash in the world’s richest market, South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Group’s Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands have never shied from big reveals at the New York International Auto Show.
Hyundai’s flagship Palisade was unveiled here and Genesis took the wraps off the 2016 New York and 2018 Essentia concepts in 2016 and 2018, respectively. This year is Kia’s turn, and it didn’t disappoint with the EV9, a three-row electric SUV to rival the Tesla Model X.
The Model X wowed in 2015 with its gull-wing doors and sick, 2.9-second 0-60 MPH acceleration — but with a six-figure price tag it has always been a toy for the rich. Mainstream brands have shied from three-row SUVs given their range challenges for family road trips.
Undeterred, the Made-in-the-USA EV9 is a technological tour de force with a lighted front grille like a Cadillac Lyriq, a frunk like a Tesla, big digital screens like an Escalade, and a console drawer like a Chrysler minivan. Surrounded by clever features, Kia figures environmentally-conscious families won’t mind taking an extended break from the road every couple of hours to charge.
EV9’s three-rows are wrapped in a similar-sized package to Kia’s hot selling, gas-engine, V6-powererd Telluride. But different.
EV9 is based on the Hyundai Group’s so-called Electric Global Modular Platform (EGMP) skateboard chassis with a huge battery running below the floorboards and a wheelbase about eight inches longer than Telluride, making for more interior and cargo space. Kia says that EGMP’s 800-volt platform (compared to, say, a Ford Mustang Mach-E’s 400-volt architecture) enables drivers to add 150 miles in 15 minutes on a fast charger while the kids duck into Meijer for a bathroom break
The EV9’s body is loosely related to the Telluride with its boxy proportions and vertical headlights pushed to the corners — but brings in much edgier body stamping similar to a Hyundai Elantra sedan. A unique, “three-branch” taillight echoes the SUV’s ecological ambitions. Design director Karim Habib calls the design cues “opposites united.”
“The body reflects our design philosophy with a sleek fuselage and boxy, triangular shoulders,” he said. “It brings together two contrasting volumes to create a strong character.”
That strong character is enhanced by the SUV’s GT-line trim that features unique front and rear bumpers, wheels, and roof rack — and a Digital Pattern Lighting Grille that you can program with five different lighting welcome sequences. Boxy as it is, the big ute manages a 0.28 drag coefficient to help post a maximum range of 336 miles in so-called Rear-Wheel-Drive Long Range configuration.
RWD Long Range, which sports a sizable, Model X-like 99.8 kWh battery to propel the SUV to a modest 60 mph in just over 9 seconds, is one of three configurations offered. The others are Rear-Wheel-Drive with a smaller, 76.1 kWh battery (and 215 horsepower to get you to 60 mph in about 8 seconds), and the quickest setup: All-Wheel-Drive with an estimated 379 horses and 6 second 0-60 sprint.
The focus of this rolling living room, however, is the interior. The cockpit will be familiar to fans of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Kia EV6 which is up for a World Car of the Year Award honors here. A continuous screen runs across the dash from behind the steering wheel to above the center console.
Second-row passengers get reclining chairs complete with Barcalounger-like leg extensions.
The Hyundai Group have been aggressive in pursuing drive-assist systems with the Kia Sportage sporting the best adaptive cruise system this side of a Chevy Bolt EUV’s Super Cruise. The EV9 goes a step further allowing for sustained, hands-free, so-called Level 3 autonomous driving—but the feature will not be available for the US market. Called Highway Driving Pilot, it wraps the SUV in 15 sensors, including two lidars to scan for objects in a complete, 360-degree field of view. Kia also revives the “Swivel n’ Go” seats introduced in 2007 by Chrysler on its Town and Country minivan. It allows the second and third rows to play cards, or eat dinner on the road – or just fold the third row so you can watch a video in the vast cargo bay. But this, too, is not available in the US.
What is available here is Remote Smart Parking Assist 2 – popularized as “Smaht Pahk” in a Super Bowl commercial a few years back – so EV9 can park itself.
Kia equips the interior with a variety of bio-materials to appeal to the green tribe. No leather is used while the brand boasts corn, sugar cane, natural oils, and recycled bottle ingredients.
“The Kia EV9 transcends all aspects of traditional SUV thinking and represents the pinnacle of Kia’s design and engineering capabilities,” said CEO Ho Sung Song of Kia’s mic drop. Look for the EV9 on lots later this year.
The Hyundai Group’s Genesis brand also previewed its Wednesday media debut of the GV80 Coupe Concept. While not as radical as previous design concepts like the New York and Essentia, the Coupe hints at a fast-back SUV to compliment the standard GV80 SUV with high-performance numbers to rival similar beasts from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.