Needless to say, the rebrand of Come on It’s bearing fruit. The change of objective – from opportunity to desire – gave birth to the new one Let’s EV9, a futuristic 6 or 7 seater SUV that follows the launch of the previous EV6 and paves the way for a new series range for all needs. There EV9 it is ready to arrive on the market as an interesting option for all those who are looking for something more from their SUV. Our test drive on the road.
Kia EV9 enters the era of forward-looking SUVs
After the rebrand of the Korean brand, the cars Come on they are designed with an edge: not only functional with the aim of satisfying the most practical requests of the end customer, but also and above all offering a premium driving and travel experience that makes Kia cars become objects of desire.
The objective was definitely achieved with the new one EV9built on E-GMP – Electric Global Modular Platform, la piattaforma Come on dedicated to 100% electric vehicles -, configured to offer maximum comfort also in terms of innovation and connectivity.
L’EV9 it’s objectively the best that Come on can offer in terms of comfort and driving experience: after launching the Italian price list, we had the opportunity to try it on the roads of Brianza, between urban and extra-urban routes, hairpin bends and mountain roads up to Lake Annone.
The SUV designed for the whole family and beyond
Inspired by the philosophy of Come on “Opposites United”, the design of the EV9 it offers at the same time modernity and technology, minimalism, comfort and attention to nature through the use of recycled materials.
Comfort starts from dimensionsnotable but not surprising considering the seating configuration which can accommodate up to 7 people. Let’s EV9 It has a length of 5,010 mm and a wheelbase of 3,100 mm. The ground clearance reaches 177 mm, excellent even for rougher than normal roads.
1,980 mm wide and 1,755 mm high in the Baseline version we tested, the SUV It offers ample space inside for traveling in complete comfort. The living spaces in the front and in the central row of seats are particularly large.
In configuration a 7 seats that we tried, naturally, the rear row of seats is slightly sacrificed, but without detracting from the comfort that distinguishes the entire car. The configuration a 6 seatshowever, brings with it additional options: the end customer will in fact be able to choose whether to insert the “Relaxation” seats, for even greater comfort, or the “Lounge” seats, with the possibility of rotating 180° and making the space passengers a real living room on the move.
Let’s EV9 it is designed for the family, but also for longer trips where you need to carry a lot of load. For this reason, the rear trunk has a capacity of 828 liters when 4/6 seats are used and 333 liters if all seats are occupied. Added to these are the 52 liters of front trunk located under the bonnet, instead of the visible engine.
Kia EV9, our road test drive of the 7-seater electric SUV
Connectivity and infotainment for a relaxed driving experience
The future also means connectivity, software and infotainment. L’EV9 It thus becomes the first Kia vehicle that can be updated directly via the Kia Connect Store, allowing you to download the latest versions of services at any time.
The Let’s EV9 is equipped with a Panoramic Wide Display, a large panoramic display that takes up more than half of the dashboard. We therefore find a large 12.3-inch cluster placed in front of the driver, a smaller 5.3-inch screen for the climate system which provides information relating to heating and seats and a further 12.3-inch screen dedicated to the infotainment.
The screens are equipped with a touchscreen navigation system, with the possibility of connecting to Android Auto and Apple Car Play, as well as multiple voice and driving assistance features.
The technology also touches the mirrors – digital, compared to the classic analogue ones. The side mirrors are entirely digital and allow the driver to have a much wider viewing area for greater safety. The rear-view mirror, however, is equipped with both systems: it can be used normally in analogue mode, then switch to digital mode when viewing conditions become more difficult.
Il Kia Connect Storethen, allows you to personalize your own to the maximum Come onadapting it to your needs, through updates that concern both safety and infotainment.
In particular, noteworthy are theRSPA 2 – Remote Smart Parking Assistant 2 –, which offers assistance in parking the vehicle, and the Music Streaming, the new system that allows you to play multimedia content directly from the vehicle display.
Kia EV9, the electric motor
The Let’s EV9 mount one 99.8 kWh battery fourth generation in both versions available, i.e. with rear or all-wheel drive.
The rear-wheel drive version has a 149.5 kW engine with a maximum speed of 185 km/h andautonomy of 563 km. The all-wheel drive version, however, has two 141 kW electric motorsit can reach a maximum speed of 200 km/h and counting 505 km of autonomy.
Let’s EV9Furthermore, it is equipped with a bidirectional charging system, which allows you to recharge external devices via the battery by connecting the cable to the charging ports located in the passenger compartment. This is possible via Vehicle-to-Load (V2L), Vehicle-to-Building/Vehicle-to-Home (V2B/V2H) and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technologies.
Driving impressions
The battery and motor performances offer different driving modes that adapt to the most different styles. On the roads of Brianza, up to Lake Annone, we tried the Let’s EV9 7-seater with all-wheel drive and the behavior of the car while driving is truly remarkable.
The main driving modes it offers are Normal, Sport and Eco. Eco mode allows you to reduce battery consumption and increase efficiency, while the Comfort and Sport modes change road grip.
In the mode Sport the steering still feels soft in movement, but the feeling behind the wheel is more solid and heavier. For those who aren’t there, however, the steering becomes much lighter in Normal mode, without affecting the fluidity that distinguishes it in all modes.
The performance on non-urban roads and on mountain roads is also notable: despite the large dimensions of Let’s EV9the SUV also performs admirably on hairpin bends and tighter curvesallowing you to tackle them with complete peace of mind and ease of handling.
We have not tested battery charging but, thanks to the E-GMP platform, EV9 supports the system 800 volt high voltage charging. Which allows you to save time on charging, which occurs more quickly. For example, the rear-wheel drive version is capable of reaching a range of 249 km in just 15 minutes of charging.
How much does the Kia EV9 cost?
The price list of Let’s EV9 was released last July. The prezzo of the rear-wheel drive version Earth Launch Edition starts from 76.450 eurowhile the all-wheel drive GT-Line Launch Edition version starts from 81.650 euro.
Al prezzo can be added Lounge Packwith rotating seats, or the Relaxation Packequipped with Relaxation seats.
Kia EV9, li nostro test drive
In addition to purchasing property and the already existing Kia e-Leasing, it is possible buy Kia EV9 even with the brand new one Kia Flex. This is a subscription that allows you to keep the car for a minimum of 6 to a maximum of 18 months at the cost of 1,299 euros per month for the rear-wheel drive version e 1,410 euros per month for the full one. Both with a maximum of 10,000 km.
At the end of the subscription period you can decide whether to keep the machine and buy it or whether to change it and try a new model.