• Loads of space in all three rows
• Good storage space, even in seven-seat mode
• Lashings of driver assistance technology

How much space is there?

Loads. Kia has packaged the EV9 incredibly well. There’s ample leg, head and elbow room in the first and second rows and, because the side windows are enormous, the cabin feels incredibly airy. The effect is amplified on Air models because they get light grey upholstery.

The EV9 also has a completely flat floor which means your passengers won’t be fighting each other for foot space if you need to carry three on the second row. Plus, the second row of seats are heated and cooled, and the rearmost seats are even electrically adjustable.

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As standard, the EV9 features a three-seat bench in the second row, but buyers can specify a pair of captain’s chairs as an optional extra. These are two, large individual chairs that can rotate through 180 degrees to face the rearmost seats – and they’re slightly offset, allowing passengers to face one another without bashing their knees together. They can also be fixed facing the doors to make it easier for passengers with reduced mobility to enter and exit the car.

Access to the rear is good, too. The second row of seats flip forward with the touch of a button leaving enough space for an adult to clamber through. Space back there is passable, but we expect adults will protest if expected to sit there for a long journey. Both the rear seats and the outer two middle seats come with Isofix mounts, however, meaning the EV9 can carry four young children easily.

Boot space and storage

Boot space is generous. With all three rows in place, you get 333 litres to play with. To put that figure into perspective, that’s about the same amount of space as a Renault 5 E-Tech Electric – but you have seven massive seats ahead of it rather than five average ones.

That’s only part of the story, though, because Kia has also utilised the empty space under the EV9’s bonnet and created an additional boot with an extra 90 litres of space. That’s more than enough for the car’s charging cable and a couple of holdalls. Plus, you get some under floor storage in the proper boot – and the high boot board means there’s no loading lip.

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Storage space in the cabin is phenomenal. There are more storage bins than we were prepared to count – and the centre console is large enough to lose an infant child in. It has two huge cupholder, a wireless smartphone charging pad, a cubby that’s big enough to contain a handbag and a massive pigeonhole at the back for those in the rear.

Safety

• Five-star Euro NCAP safety rating
• Tonnes of driver assistance tech…
• … some of which is irritating

The EV9 has more safety equipment than you can shake a high-visibility vest at, which helped it achieve a glowing five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP. Key features include an intelligent speed limiter, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, autonomous emergency braking and an array of nine airbags that even cover the rearmost seats.

The car is also equipped to support Level 3 autonomous driving which means it can steer, accelerate and brake by itself, providing the driver supervises its actions and is ready to retake control when prompted. Kia is still waiting for legislation to catch up but, once the laws are written, it’ll be a simple case of engaging the function through an over-the-air update.

The system is supported by an arsenal of 15 sensors, including two lidars. They give the EV9’s brain a 360-degree view of the car, allowing it to monitor other road users and any potential hazards. The tech also allows the EV9 to park itself without assistance from the driver.

If that wasn’t enough, Kia also fitted the EV9 with a driver monitoring system to ensure it conforms to the latest safety regulations. It uses a small camera mounted on top of the steering column to track your eye movements and encourage you to keep looking at the road ahead. If you spend too much time gawping around the cabin, it’ll issue you with a warning to force you to regain your focus.

It sounds like a good idea in principle, but it’s less helpful in practice. Kia still has a lot of calibration work to do because most of the car’s controls are housed on the infotainment system. So if you look at the screen to, say, adjust the climate controls or read navigation instructions, the driver monitoring system will think you’re not paying attention and scorn you. It’s frustrating on a long drive.

Watch the Kia EV9’s Euro NCAP crash test video