2024 Kia EV9 | Talking Cars with Consumer Reports

Kia takes the three-row SUV EV Mainstream with its all-new EV9. We share our first impressions of the 2024 Kia EV9, how it handled around our test track, the third-row seats, controls, and if this newest kia is the best midsized SUV EV or not. And, our experts give advice on what to look for when buying tires to maximize vehicle MPG. We also explain IIHS' updated moderate overlap crash test, and why some vehicles get a poor rating.
More info on the 2024 Kia EV9 here: www.consumerreports.org/cars/...
Ratings and test results on every car CR purchases and tests: www.consumerreports.org/cars/...
SHOW NOTES
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00:00 - Introduction
00:15 - First Impressions: 2024 Kia EV9 ll
01:05 - What is the EV9?
02:17 - How it Drives
03:43 - The Third-Row Seats
05:09 - Power & Range
06:55 - Controls
10:21 - Fit and Finish
12:11 - Question #1: Do hybrid vehicles need specific tires to maintain its fuel efficiency?
14:59 - Question #2: Why some vehicles are getting a poor rating on the IIHS updated moderate overlap crash test
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First Drive: 2024 Kia EV9 Takes the Three-Row EV Mainstream
www.consumerreports.org/cars/...
2024 Kia EV9
www.consumerreports.org/cars/...
Electric Vehicles That Can Go More Than 250 Miles on a Charge
www.consumerreports.org/cars/...
Hot, New Electric Cars That Are Coming Soon
www.consumerreports.org/cars/...
Popular Midsized SUVs to Avoid and What to Buy Instead
www.consumerreports.org/cars/...
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[@turnersinsurance8656]

our new EV9 LIGHT SR in Ivory Silver is perfect... thank you KIA... it replaced our '22 Kia SORENTO SX Prestige PHEV and we haven't looked back! No more gas or oil. The interior and rear ROOM is just, well, AMAZING... it goes well with our '22 F150 LIGHTNING... we love both.

[@bond_andrew]

Consumer report... well, I'm that consumer. Have EV9 GT Line six-sester from January 2024. No complaints about climate controls. I use it only to turn on mirrors heating when entering the garage. No cabin noises from anything. Don't feel "plastic everywhere" (and I had recent Volvos S90, EX40, Mercedes E, BMW X5 for the past 10 years). I realise "review" is far from "onwership."

[@carljaekle]

Kia EV 9 looks like a solid choice. The notion that you can't drive a BEV, set to one pedal driving in a way that doesn't make the passenger sick suggests a lack of experience with BEV's. It's not a problem for Tesla owners who alway know what to expect on region, since they generally leave it in normal (one pedal driving.). If you are constantly changing your region setting, you will never be able to drive it smoothly. Constantly fiddling with climate controls?? I set mine to 72 in the summer, 70 in the winter. Don't touch it unless I need defrost.

[@jean-phil]

well let's say it's very cold outside, if you want to get warm air quickly, you will set the fans to max but then you need to change them back to a lower speed once the temperature is warmer ... also don't you feel hotter/warmer depending on what you wear or what you have done before driving ? what about when you wife drives, she does not change the temperature ?

[@ClaGaCla]

Listening to this podcast I got curious: how much do people use the climate controls? I totally get what you guys were saying about the awkward positioning of these controls and fully agree that this could have had a more elegant and easy to use solution. But if I think of myself this wouldn’t be such a big issue since I DON’T use the climate controls much. I have them set to my preferred temperature and on auto, so the climate system does it all by itself, including turning up and down the fan speed and the window heaters. What I do actually use on pretty much every drive is the seat heating/cooling and the steering wheel heating, but it sounds like those are easy to reach on the doors of the EV9. But my point is…you guys sound like needing to access and change the climate controls is something that happens a lot, which makes me wonder: am I the weird one here for rarely using them? What do other people do with them when they “constantly” use them?

[@jean-phil]

I use them every day .. I'm in Canada, I need to defrost my windows during winter but that takes just 1 minute, then I need to stop the defrost, then I might want to set the temperature to 22 celcius but my wife might have used a different setting .. sometimes I wear a coat, sometimes just a shirt .. I might not want the same temperature .. etc.

[@davidm5707]

I adjust the temperature based on how I feel, and the outside temperature. A lot of times, I'll turn it off altogether and open the windows. I just like to be able to adjust things manually.

[@ClaGaCla]

@@jean-phil Interesting! Sounds like I might really just be the weird one here! ;-) Also live in Canada myself, so my use of the heated/ventilated seats and heated steering wheel definitely changes with the seasons, and the automatic climate control obviously rarely uses the defrosters in summer. But the temperature setting I keep at basically the same temp all year round, except when it gets super hot or super cold. But even then I set it once and am good until there’s a big temp change again. Admittedly, I usually don’t have passengers to accommodate, so that makes adjustments less needed. Thanks for your reply!!

[@ClaGaCla]

@@davidm5707 Ok, on the open windows and turning it off completely I have to agree. When we have awesome summer weather, I do like to feel that and not just see it… Never was one to adjust the temp settings based on how I was feeling, though. Other than when we get extreme outside temperatures, that is. Super interesting to hear about different people’s use of the climate controls! Thanks for your response!

[@yroymtl]

I’m just like you and don’t understand how you have to change settings several times. I have 3 young kids and a wife and nobody complaints about temperature. 3 zones automatic settings is life. I’m in Canada too. I just use the front and back defrost when starting the car, except that it’s all in automatic. Buttons for heated seats and steering wheels are okay in the door. I remember people complaining about he steering wheel heating on the low part of the steering wheel in the Honda civic. Hey! It’s a pretty logic place to put it.

[@OrionDC]

Smooth quiet ride. It's fun to drive in sport mode. Just replaced our ICE hauler. Great height entry and exit for grandparents who join on family trips and can enjoy the captain chairs in the second row.

[@pikeviewer7002]

To the guy who replaced tires on the Rav4 hybrid and got lower mpg, I had the same experience when I replaced my tires, about a 5 mpg drop. Over then next 5k miles the mpg gradually returned to the original 40+ mpg. My replacement tires were different, Continental LX25, but the same improvement may happen over time. I think the Rav is very sensitive to minor imperfections that smooth out over time.

[@jsjamesok]

I saw the same drop on my son's 2017 ICE Camry. About 4 MPG drop. He is about 5000 miles in on the tires. I will watch to see if it creeps back up.

[@ampman40]

Always amazes me that car companies can't get the easy things right (location of climate controls, cupholder design). Is it really necessary to have super modern/cool looking control panels in order to sell EVs? I doubt it. Simple is better!!!

[@COSolar6419]

I have a pickup truck but I don’t consider it a good daily driver. It is expensive to operate. It is difficult to park or even maneuver through parking lots. I am puzzled by all the full sized pickup trucks I see with one person driving, no passengers, nothing in the cargo bed and not towing anything. Our pickup usually sits in the driveway until it is needed to tow the camper. Whenever we sell the camper the truck is going too.

[@SVUE-jj9jc]

So I think cup holder rubber inserts can fix that rattle sound of your cup. Maybe KIA can move the A/C controls horizontal under the map screen view. That way you can reach those controls unobstructed. A software update could solve that problem. I haven’t been inside an EV9 yet so I can’t see where the hard plastic are placed but I know they are trying to be eco friendly with their materials so maybe more soft touch spots that your body comes in contact with the most. KIA has issues with their 12v auxiliary batteries. They have been going bad way too soon, so that might be something you can test. I also don’t like that you don’t have an optional 2nd row bench seating in the upper two trims. Lastly, the NACS conversion needs to happens soon.

[@zoepolzin87]

Also, EV9 does NOT for ANY IRA rebate whereas Tesla MY ($7500); Rivian R1S ($3500)

[@hp-fx9pv]

The EV9 does get the federal rebate if you lease it.

[@heidiwilks5316]

It's a compelling EV, especially with V2H compatibility -- one thing I really don't like is the expansive amount of cheap plastics throughout the interior, hard to accept in a vehicle at this price point.

[@techpappee]

I don't understand why you can't use the *automatic climate controls* ? Don't most set their desired temperature and forget it? It does have some hard plastic but if they used upper materials as well as a 100kw battery it would start at 70+k instead.

[@ItsAlive111]

CR has been focusing on reliability longevity and resale value all these years. How do EVs compare to ICE cars in all of the above? Can people rely on buying a 10yr old EV, say a 2014 Model S, similarly to buying a 10yr old ICE Lexus?

[@roguedogx]

9:40 my guess is that the interiors aren't set up in a way that account for road shake. they are probably just clay models with screens overlayed. if manufactures want to solve this issue, they need to more accurately recreate road conditions. for that, they need to develop their interior tech on a shake table.

[@FloridaClay]

Good session all.

[@davewhitten1726]

At about 13:32 on the answer to the question about tire rolling resistance, your answer sounds way off. The 12% increase in fuel consumption the viewer reports is much more than could be expected between the best and worst tires for rolling resistance, based on the Michelin website which says "A 30% increase on rolling resistance generates between 3 and 5% of fuel overconsumption." Further, you stated that the General Altimax 365 AW all weather tires would have high rolling resistance because they are optimized for inclement weather, yet CR testing rates them Very Good on rolling resistance. Tires rated very good couldn't possibly cause the 12% increase in fuel consumption.

[@zoepolzin87]

Most people are NOT purchasing a real wheel drive 7 seat SUV…so that being said, the pricing is more in line with the others you compared.

[@rogerhallii8352]

Will Comsumer Reports use rhe phrase, "EV weight, wear on tires."?

[@chili-rye123]

CR is all about safety. In absence of federal regulations and testing, why doesn’t CR do “out of vehicle” safety testing? Which tests how safe the vehicle is for anyone who’s outside of the car. CR is known for advocating for public consumers. It would be great if they took a good hard look at all these big, fast, heavy, and tall EV SUVs and their effects on anyone interacting with these vehicles.

[@newsmedia-one9756]

I like the all new Thailander, it rides very comfortably😂😂

[@Scdoo100]

The lighting in this video seems harsh, particularly when the camera is facing Mike with the bright green background behind his red sweater. Content is great as always though.

[@davidoliver9551]

The only model that compares with the Tesla model X in the Rivian R1S would be the GT line and the pricing is not far apart there.

[@jeffforbess6802]

You couldn’t pay me to have a HK EV. $60k can for a battery pack? Horrible dealers? Terrible reliability and longevity? That’s a crap sandwich. Rewarm it, toast the bun, sprinkle it with sesame seeds…it’s all great until that first bite.

[@CMCNestT]

No one wants the craptastic $54k version. You are looking at $70k-$78k for a desirable EV9. The $75k Rivian R1S and the $80k Model X are desirable.

[@hereigoagain5050]

Seems that engineers optimize for the crash tests, then the tests change and all vehicles do poorly. Their designs are fragile instead of robust.

[@michaelwitkiewicz7052]

To the guy with the kid in a pickup. Tell your wife to schlep the kid around then and you keep your truck. A head on collision is a crap shoot in any vehicle and what the test don’t mimic is the secondary aspects of the collision. Like being rolled over in the ditch or the secondary collision with following vehicles, etc… . I will argue that a 2023 truck is going to be safer in all aspects then a ten year old Volvo and the new Volvos are owned or made by the same people that they earned their reputation from.

[@khanyin3372]

About crashed test years 😭 My boss son got killed from crash old Ford mini van back then it crush his legs 🦵🦵

[@stevewausa]

Kia thinks you're going to use the voice commands to control HVAC

[@Justacogg]

No Thank you! I’ll stick to a V-6 Highlander! I’ll still be driving it when these EV’s have gone to the scrap yard! Good luck with your battery!

[@Sashazur]

We need smaller simpler cheaper EVs, not behemoths like this.

[@CourtneyThompsonPemberton]

Every time I watch a video I feel very informed and I'm curious if there would be any changes to the process based on other reviewers like out of spec or state of charge.

[@jim97405]

The Tesla Model Y is dismissed in part because the third row has "miniscule third row seats not suitable for adults." But later the EV9 is faulted for not having a third row comfortable for adults. The 7 seater Model Y is about $10,000 less.

[@th003g]

You cant sit adults in the y third row, you can in the EV9. Think of the EV9 as a Telluride. It's multiples more comfortable than the Y third row.

[@michaelwitkiewicz7052]

Third row, third row, third row…. Come on CR, how many times do people that insist on 3rd rows actually sit humans in 3rd row seats? Probably as many times as people with big a$$ four wheel drive SUVs actually use 4wd.

[@user-vx7vi3vq1c]

People with kids drive 3 row SUV’s.

[@Scdoo100]

⁠carpooling

[@andyd5492]

They completely ignore the Ford Explorer which is pretty much the best seller in the mid size category. Long wheelbase? How long? 270 miles of range is a joke. I have an Explorer ST, 400 HP, which has way more power and easily gets over 400 miles of range on the highway. Just under 400 around town, too. The Explorer interior is below par, but with RWD is a very satisfying vehicle to drive.

[@carljaekle]

The notion that people generally drive for 8 hours without stopping is unrealistic and doesn’t represent how people road trip, especially if they have children in the car.

[@path4061]

Since when was the Explorer all electric?

[@JohnLee-db9zt]

You’re living in the 1990’s. Comparing a gas guzzling, polluting ICE SUV to a modern EV is senseless. 🙄🤦🏻

[@JohnLee-db9zt]

Btw, HP is not as important as torque for an SUV. The top spec EV9 has over 510 lb-ft of torque, probably more than your Explorer ST.

[@JohnLee-db9zt]

@@path4061The OP is a boomer. 😂

[@scott8919]

EV9 is still insanely expensive for "mainstream". Needs to be $30 to $40k to meet my definition of that.

[@DJL78]

Your definition is obviously one that is out of touch with reality. The average transaction price for a new vehicle in 2024 is $49,000. Hasn’t been $35,000 since 2015.

[@samuelgoldstein6055]

Don’t disagree it’s expensive; that being said, CR article from September 2023 has the average EV sale price at just under $54k. If you consider that, I guess it’s mainstream? But yes, still expensive.

[@rinbine2713]

You don't know EV price. Just compare RAV4 vs BZ4X price. EV9 is not expensive.

[@webcomment8895]

@@DJL78The only reason the “average” price is so high is because of the supply shortages. The manufacturers are choosing to ship higher end vehicles with higher profit margins to the dealer lots to make use of the limited parts they have available to build with. That drives up the average of what actually gets sold because people looking for lower priced vehicles can’t buy anything. They either keep their old vehicles or buy used. So, it’s not that the average person is buying. $50K vehicles. It just means the people buying $70K trucks is just throwing off the numbers of what is “average.” Average buyers are just out of the market.

[@jim97405]

You asking for a car less expensive than the average vehicle price

[@aussie2uGA]

A $65k Kia! And people are buying them??

[@rinbine2713]

Yeah. Already sold like hot cake. More sold then EV6.

[@derrickli3921]

That new IIHS is more for passengers with seatbelt in the rear seats instead of children with child seat. I wouldn’t worry too much if I only put small children’s in the back, even if the test is poor

[@chili-rye123]

Too big, too dangerous, especially for people outside the vehicle. Not an efficient EV. We need small EVs with smaller batteries and decent range.

[@JohnLee-db9zt]

I wouldn’t but an American made Kia/Hyundai. The Korean made Kias/Hyundais are more reliable.

[@ronkemperful]

Another impossibly expensive automobile. I guess great for the rich. I can see why our president is being pressured to not support financing EVs for the richer folk that can afford them, though the tax credit for Korean cars seems to be absent.

[@MaGiKRat420]

A 55k car isn't for the rich. It's for the almost rich. Still a niche, but not a "rich" car by any means

[@Guene6spd]

Just don’t buy it. And write your member of congress requesting lower safety standards, elimination of emission standards, elimination of the chicken tax, no tariffs on foreign cars and removal of the 25-year import rule…. You’ll have a gush of cheap cars to choose from… just avoid accidents (and breathing).

[@user-vx7vi3vq1c]

@@MaGiKRat420Most financial advisors say a car payment should be 10% of your income. $55,000 divided by 48 months is a $1,375 per month car payment. So a $55k car should be for someone with a $13,750 monthly income.

[@davidwilliams9963]

This one as tested is $65,000 not $55,000.

[@c.r.3497]

You can trade in a vehicle and/or save enough for a down payment that brings your payment into your comfort zone, finance longer than 4 years, or buy something used or less expensive. In terms of 3-row SUVs, the price is on par with the segment. In terms of 3-rows AND fully electric, it's the least expensive option for now.

[@2sk21]

What a horrible user interface! Trying to click on a screen on a bumpy road would be impossible!

[@rc06484]

Fortunately, with screen based controls, the user interface and button placement can be fixed with a firmware upgrade if the manufacturer chooses to.

[@chriszawertany5242]

What a ugly piece of garbage-looks like a oversized KIA Soul-wait 6 months you can buy this for half price with 10000 miles-EVs do not hold their value Ask any sucker who has bought one.

[@gerrybaker7155]

I counted 12 or 13 "you knows" Joe's initial comment, perhaps a bit of speech training would help. Further, the EV9 is not the type vehicle you "push to the limits".