2024 Kia EV9 Faces Independent Cold Winter Test, Doesn't Disappoint

Kia played it smart. It launched the EV6 shortly after its sister company, Hyundai, gave us the Ioniq 5. Both were quickly perceived as good battery-electric vehicles. That helped both auto entities gain some much-needed notoriety with prospective buyers. The next logical step was to create problems for Tesla and Rivian by shrinking the Model X and R1S market share.

Enter EV9. The international standards dictate that this Kia belongs to the J segment because it's a midsize all-electric SUV. For simplicity's sake, we'll refer to it as an SUV. After all, this designation has been stripped of its meaning as of late. Most car brands are making high-riding vehicles nowadays, anyway. Alfa Romeo is even attempting to change the meaning of SUV from "Sport Utility Vehicle" to "Sport Urban Vehicle." Given today's trends, the Italians might be onto something.

By now, most car owners know or at least suspect that battery-electric vehicles are sensitive to weather changes. High-voltage energy storage units don't perform at their best when exposed to freezing or sizzling hot temperatures. The electrolyte solution becomes altered when the weather is too cold or too hot. That slows down the chemical reaction inside the cell, which, in turn, means the efficiency is dropping.

Fortunately, the EV9 has a heat pump and a battery preconditioning function. These two can help the driver maximize the distance covered on a single charge because the former saves or reuses energy that otherwise would have been lost, while the latter helps with preparing the battery for a quick charging session by bringing it as close as possible to a normal operating temperature. Yes, extreme weather conditions can also impact your high-voltage pack's charging speed.

The most efficient Kia EV9 you can buy today is the single-motor "Long Range" version. Two energy storage unit options exist for the South Korean eSUV: 76.1 kWh and 99.8 kWh. If you value your time, you'll want to go with the latter because it's also capable of higher charging speeds.

The EPA says the rear-wheel-drive Kia EV9 "Long Range" can do 304 miles on a full battery with a combined efficiency of 38 kWh per 100 miles. Add another motor, and the range drops to 280 miles, while the consumption increases to 41 kWh per 100 miles.

The WLTP data reveals that the single-motor EV9 can go 394 miles on a single charge. Make it all-wheel drive, and you end up with 314 miles of range on a full battery.

A recent test conducted in snowy Sweden with the dual-motor all-wheel-drive EV9 revealed that the SUV's real-world range drops to 239 miles when the outside temperature ranges between 32 and 23 degrees Fahrenheit (zero to minus five degrees Celsius). The average consumption revealed by the drive session available below was 43.4 kWh per 100 mi or 2.3 mi per kWh.

A 15% loss because of freezing temperatures is not bad at all. You just have to prepare for it accordingly. Fortunately, the automaker also provides the driver with onboard tools that tell them when to stop for a quick charging session. There's little to no chance that the cold could blindside you.

Finally, the first Kia EV9 delivery in the US happened earlier this month. The zero-emission SUV should start reaching more American and Canadian customers soon enough.

But if you're not ready to pick between the EV9, the Model X, and the R1S with three rows of seats, wait until the Volvo EX90 arrives. That's yet another competitor joining the segment. If you're well-off and have a family or too many friends, Land Rover also plans to join the party with the all-electric Range Rover.