What are the running costs?

That depends on what version of the EV9 you opt for and how you charge it. In our testing, we averaged 3.0 miles per kWh in the rear-wheel drive Air model and 2.3 miles per kWh in the GT-Line variant. That’s quite inefficient in EV terms – but that’s to be expected in a car that weighs more than 2.5 tonnes and is shaped like a house brick.

That gives the EV9 Air a real-world maximum range of around 280–300 miles, while the GT-Line model can only manage between 230 and 250 miles. That falls short of the cars’ official respective figures of 349 and 313 miles, but it’s competitive for the class.

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The EV9 is based on the same platform as the EV6, which means it shares that car’s lightning quick 800V charging system. Kia says the tech adds up to 148 miles of range to the EV9’s battery in just 15 minutes. If you can find a rapid charger capable of delivering 350kW, it’ll charge the battery from 10–80% capacity in just 24 minutes.

The Kia EV9 has a party trick, too. Bi-directional charging. That means owners can use a portion of the car’s battery capacity to recharge laptops or power camping equipment on the move. Buyers can sell power from their batteries back to the National Grid, which can help to lower their energy costs and maintain the health of their local electricity network. You can then schedule the car to recharge using cheaper off-peak power, if you have a dedicated EV energy tariff.

Servicing and warranty

Kia hasn’t yet confirmed the EV9’s service intervals but, considering it’s based on the same platform as the EV6, we expect it’ll be comparable to that car. The EV6 requires servicing every 20,000 miles or 24 months – and Kia offers a range of servicing packages to help you spread out the cost of maintenance.

Kia’s warranty is one of the best in the business, only coming second to Toyota’s 10-year package. The car is covered for seven years or 100,000 miles (whatever comes first), while the battery and electric motor are covered for eight years. Every EV9 also comes with a year of roadside assistance thrown in.

Reliability

• Kia has an excellent reputation
• EV6 is a brilliant starting point
• Long warranty = confidence

The EV9 is a brand-new car, so it’s a little too early to make any meaningful calls on its long-term reliability. However, we’re confident it’ll be a trustworthy companion because it shares lots of its underpinnings with the EV6 – and that’s proved to be a very reliable car. Kia also has an excellent reputation for reliability.

Plus, the EV9 feels very well made. All the interior materials are high quality and they’ve been screwed together with precision. That means your kids and your mates should have a hard time damaging the trims – and the car should look fresh for a long time.