2025 Kia EV9 review: Is the hype justified? That depends.

The Kia EV9 made a splash when it debuted last year, to put it mildly. Not only is one of the few three-row electric SUVs on the market, it's also arguably the most stylish, and its mid-$50s starting price makes it one of the most affordable EVs of its ilk.

I was excited to drive the EV9, and my GT-Line AWD test vehicle seemed exciting indeed. Equipped with two motors, as all-wheel-drive EVs typically are, the EV9 AWD pumps out 379 horsepower and sprints to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, yet its EPA range rating tops out at a respectable 280 miles.

You'll need to bring a minimum of $63,900 to get into an EV9 AWD, however, and therein lies the rub: the cheaper, single-motor EV9 variants are dramatically different when it comes to that one-two punch of acceleration and range.

To review the EV9 comprehensively, then, you have to take the full lineup into account. I can tell you all about the EV9 AWD from personal experience, and I'm about to, but it's equally important to note how the more affordable EV9 variants compare.

The 2025 EV9 comes in three distinct flavors

One thing many people still don't understand about EVs is how fast they can be, especially with all-wheel drive.

In the world of gasoline cars, AWD generally means just hooking up the same engine to both axles rather than one of them. That's why AWD versions of gas cars tend to have the same or slightly worse acceleration — because the same power source is being asked to do more work.

But EV motors are located at the axle, as opposed to under the hood like a gas engine. Accordingly, to make a two-wheel-drive EV into an AWD EV, you have to add at least one motor to the axle that previously didn't have one. That is, you have to give the vehicle "more motor." Literally.

Most AWD EVs have one motor at each axle, which is why they're often referred to as dual-motor EVs. While it's an oversimplification to say that AWD EVs therefore have double the power — the Chevy Equinox EV is a notable exception — that can be a useful way to think about it.

Getting back to the EV9, you can see in the table below that this rule of thumb holds true. The AWD variant makes nearly 400 horsepower, while the RWD variants barely surpass 200 hp.

Stating the presumably obvious, that's an enormous power difference, as reflected in the EV9's 0-60 times. Whereas 4.5 seconds is remarkably swift for a three-row SUV, the Long Range RWD's 8.8-second gallop makes it, according to our vehicle data, the slowest EV on sale today. As for the Standard Range EV9, it's marginally quicker, but its smaller battery makes it a significantly less viable road-trip machine.

Perhaps just as remarkable is the modest $4k price gap between the EV9 Long Range RWD and the EV9 AWD, which comes only with the larger ("Long Range") battery. Has any other vehicle ever offered a 4.3-second acceleration improvement for such a pittance? I highly doubt it.

The EV9 AWD is one of the best three-row EVs to drive, period

Now that we have a handle on the EV9 lineup's mechanical details, let's talk about the one that I drove, keeping in mind that you can get into an EV9 AWD for as little as $63,900 in the Land trim. My $76,935 GT-Line test vehicle ($78,430 with destination) had a fuller feature set, including a $2,000 Relaxation Package with power second-row seats, but its larger 21-inch wheels drop the range rating to 272 miles. Also, the Land provides seven seats to the GT-Line's six, thanks to its standard second-row bench.

Anyway, the numbers don't lie. I uttered an involuntary "Wow" immediately after grabbing the thick-rimmed steering wheel and planting my right foot. The EV9 AWD moves out with the authority of a muscle car, except you don't have to wait for the power to build — it's all right there as soon as you ask for it.

Eventually, the roughly 5,700-pound curb weight makes its presence felt. I'd call the EV9 AWD downright quick from zero to 50 mph, but the shock and awe taper off noticeably at higher speeds. Imagining six people in the vehicle rather than just me, I'm pretty sure I'd want all 379 horses in my EV9's stable. Passing or merging with a full load in the EV9 Long Range RWD would likely require more caution and advance planning than befits a $60k vehicle.

But if you choose the dual-motor version, you'll enjoy the full point-and-thrust EV driving experience that makes so many EV owners determined never to go back to gas, with the added benefit of three seating rows. For context, the base Rivian R1S Dual Standard costs $12k more to start and can only match the EV9 AWD's 4.5-second dash to 60, while its 270-mile range comes up 10 miles short of the Kia's maximum range with AWD.

In other words, the EV9 hype is fully justified if we're talking about the dual-motor model. It's a bargain for what you get.

On the other hand, the not-much-cheaper single-motor EV9s give up so much acceleration that their value is questionable at best.

The EV9 is pretty good at being a three-row SUV

I say "pretty good" mainly because the third-row seat is uncomfortably tight for my 6'1" self, and that's not the case in the gas-powered Kia Telluride. To fold myself into the EV9 GT-Line's back row, I had to slide the second-row seat forward as far as it would go, which the hypothetical person sitting in front of me wouldn't appreciate. No such issues in the Telluride, which is roughly the same size externally.

The EV9 GT-Line's second-row captain's chairs are splendidly comfortable, though, as long as lanky folks in the third row aren't messing with their positions. I wouldn't change a thing unless I valued having a seventh seatbelt in a pinch, in which case the $63,900 Land AWD trim would make even more sense than it does already.

My other reservation about the EV9's three-row-SUV credentials regards the high load floor in the cargo area, a consequence of the hefty battery pack that lives below. Although the EV9's maximum cargo capacity of 81.7 cubic feet is one of the higher figures among electric SUVs, the Telluride wins again in the real world due to its lower lift-over height.

Also, I didn't have my golf bag on hand to test the EV9's cargo space behind the third row, but it looks tighter than Kia's official figure of about 20 cubic feet. I'd suggest testing that out at the dealership with some of your own larger cargo items before you sign on the dotted line.

MotorDonkey says

The EV9 is basically every bit as good as everyone's been saying it is — as long as you get one with all-wheel drive. But the base rear-drive version suffers from subpar range and acceleration, while the Long Range RWD checks the 300-mile range box but sticks you with the slowest EV acceleration on the market.

A key takeaway is that powertrain details matter more in the EV world, as a general rule, than they ever did with gas. Next time someone tells you that a given EV is a great vehicle, ask them which version they're talking about. Blanket statements are suspect when electric motors are involved. ⛐ md