The Hyundai Ioniq 9 has rounded edges to improve aerodynamics. Photo: Alan Neuhauser
The three-row SUV is America's do-everything vehicle: from road trips to soccer tournaments and national parks, to quick trips to a coffee shop or the grocery store.
Why it matters: It's the one vehicle standing between electric automakers and mass-market adoption.
- Americans depend on their cars to go the distance, which means they need a battery that can keep up.
Driving the news: Kia and Hyundai's respective EV9 and Ioniq 9 SUVs each achieve more than 300 miles.
- For 5,000-pound bricks on wheels, that's a monumental engineering accomplishment.
Yes, but: It's not enough.
Case in point: Their gas counterparts — the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade — drive beyond 500 miles.
- And unlike EVs, they don't see that range eroded by basics like air conditioning, heating or highway speeds.
💭 Alan's thought bubble: Sure, most of us will need a bathroom break before reaching 300 miles, let alone 500 miles.
- But tell that to a car shopper. That kind of compromise, at today's sticker prices, for a household's primary car, is a big ask.
The bottom line: The EV9 and Ioniq 9 are each electric iterations: steps toward delivering a big EV for American appetites.
- Until that happens, we're left with a question: If these SUVs are building toward tomorrow, who are they for today?
Driving the EV9 and Ioniq 9
Kia and Hyundai each arranged for a fully charged EV9 and Ioniq 9 to be delivered to my home outside Providence, Rhode Island.
Why it's the BFD: These rides had everything you could want, except the one thing no automaker can yet deliver: range rivaling their internal combustion competitors.
By the numbers: EV9 | Ioniq 9
- Base price: $54,900 | $60,555
- Price as tested: $72,735 | $77,540
- Driving range: 304 miles | 335 miles
- Charge time: 24 minutes. That's fast for vehicles this big.
Liked:
- Plush seats.
- Over 300-mile range at every trim level of the Ioniq 9. (Kia's EV9 ties its battery size to how much you're willing to spend.)
- Pleasant drive. There's no mistaking they're big, but they're relatively light on their feet.
- Little difference from the internal combustion versions — crucial if you're avoiding alienating skeptical shoppers.
Disliked:
- Limited range.
- Few creature comforts for the price.
- The starting price isn't hair-raising, but it climbs quickly if you want basic features or — in the Kia — range that begins with the number 3.
Bottom line: The EV9 and Ioniq 9 make an exceptional second (or third) car for the family that needs seven to eight seats.
Parents' corner
The EV9 and Ioniq 9 each make a better family hauler than the Rivian R1S, at least if you've got little kids or elderly parents.
Why it matters: Both vehicles, unlike the Rivian, have running boards — vital for car seat logistics or aging knees.
Between the lines: I slightly preferred the EV9 and its sleek interior.
Going the distance
A handful of electric SUVs are starting to break the 400-mile range barrier.
Why it matters: Kia and Hyundai, whose South Korean hubs helped make them the leaders in EV battery tech, are falling behind.
Flashback: Rivian in 2023 became the first automaker to claim 400+ miles of driving range for a U.S. three-row SUV — though only when driving in battery-sipping "conserve" mode.
Driving the news: New contenders are starting to arrive in American driveways.
- Cadillac last fall began delivering the Escalade IQ with an estimated range of 460 miles.
- Lucid, the Newark, California-based electric automaker, in April introduced its Gravity SUV with about 450 miles of range.
Yes, but: These are not mass-market vehicles.
- The Escalade IQ starts at nearly $130,000; the Lucid Gravity at close to $80,000.
What we're watching: Hyundai has "no plans to introduce a 400-mile version" of its Ioniq 9 "at this time," a spokesperson tells Axios Pro.
- Kia, meanwhile, has "not announced any additional or future versions of the EV9 beyond what is currently offered or announced," another spokesperson says.
How the sales stack up
That's it! Thank you to George Moriarty and Katie Lewis for edits. Stay tuned for more editions of Climate Wheels, coming soon.
