The Kia Telluride has been a hot seller and class leader in the vast landscape of three-row midsized mainstream crossovers. With such recognition surrounding the Telluride, in addition to receiving many awards, Kia will continue to offer such a vehicle as they merge into the realm of EVs (electric vehicles). That merge looks to be a smooth one with the introduction of what is considered to be the Telluride’s successor in EV form, the 2024 Kia EV9.
The new 2024 Kia EV9, which had its American version revealed at this year’s New York Auto Show, looks to be another hit for EV adopters because it touts very Telluride-like aesthetics with more accommodating interior proportions even though it is nearly identical in size to the Telluride, except for the wheelbase, which has grown to 122-inches.
The new Kia EV9 will feature powertrains offering between 201 and 379 horsepower, with a dual-motor option being the beefy version, while a rear-wheel-drive option will tout a longer range of about 300 miles. Obtaining that range will be a myriad of features, such as having a remarkable-for-an-SUV drag coefficient of 0.28.
Families and growing families will find a forward-thinking approach to the EV9 where it takes all of what has worked well for the Telluride and apply it to the EV9. The major difference here, apart from the obvious EV-ness of the EV9, is that the EV9 has more interior space where it counts, such as legroom and rear row headroom. Seating configurations will be either six or seven, with the differences being the second row opting for either captain’s chairs or a 3-passenger bench seat.
The 2024 Kia EV9 will get the brand’s 800-volt architecture allowing for quick charge times, claiming the larger battery will allow for a 10 to 80 percent charge in just 25 minutes using a proper DC fast charger. To round up the performance aspects that we know, the Kia EV9 will be able to tow up to 5,000 pounds. We’re not sure what towing will do to range as we’ve seen cases where it diminished greatly.
In the tradition of Kia, there will be tech galore in the new EV9 with all the expected active safety features and the use of the latest touchscreen infotainment unit that’s joined with a single glass panel and the driver’s digital gauge cluster. Not to mention, the EV9 will open up the dashboard area with a flat floor and extra storage areas.
Kia says the 2024 EV9 will go on sale during the fourth quarter of the year. We suspect pricing to start around $56,000 and quickly ramp up from there to be just over $70,000 for a top-trim, dual-motor EV9. Lastly, Kia will eventually start production of the EV9 at their West Point, GA factory later in 2024. Until then, the EV9 will be imported from South Korea, which locks it out of the federal EV tax credit until production starts at the Georgia plant.
