Kia EV9 Wins Two Big Awards
The Kia EV9 is one of the hot new electric vehicles on the market these days. In the past two to three months, I wrote about it winning some notable awards. Among others, it won North American Utility Vehicle of the Year™ from the North American Car of the Year (NACTOY) jury, it won Family Car of the Year from Top Gear, it won Car of the Year from DrivingElectric, and Popular Science named it one of the 50 greatest innovations of 2023. Just a few days ago, our own Steve Hanley wrote that the EV9 is nearly the perfect electric car.
But the awards keep rolling in. The electric SUV, or multipurpose vehicle, won a couple more notable awards recently.
World’s Best Car for 2024
First of all, on International Women’s Day on Friday, it was announced that the EV9 won “World’s Best Car for 2024” from dozens of Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year (WWCOTY) judges. And this really is a world award. “Following in-depth evaluations by 75 women motoring journalists from 52 countries across five continents, the Kia EV9 emerged triumphant from a field of 63 contenders,” Kia writes.
“After careful analysis and thorough examination, the verdict overwhelmingly favors the Kia EV9 as the leading choice in the realm of electric SUVs. Boasting an impressive seven-seat capacity, it is the first of its kind in this segment. Despite its considerable length of 5 meters, the vehicle excels in aerodynamics, contributing to its exceptional performance. Notably, the Kia EV9 showcases a cutting-edge design, incorporating advanced technology and offering both bidirectional charging and ultra-fast charging capabilities,” WWCOTY writes.
“The Kia EV9 is truly a game-changer for electric vehicles. It will be the vehicle we look back on down the road and say ‘that is when EVs became truly affordable, user-friendly and desirable for all consumers’. No other vehicle has taken the same risks and pushed the design and engineering boundaries to the same limit,” one of the judges, Tanya Gazdik of the USA, stated.
“An exceptionally noble, spacious, versatile, multi-purpose electric car. The electronic four-wheel drive is also capable, and the different driving modes make the EV9 an excellent vehicle in the Nordic winter and snowdrifts. I tested the car in a sub-25-degree frost and I was happy that the EV9 behaved in cold winter weather like a normal luxury car: it warmed up quickly, the mileage was not affected much by minus degrees. A great achievement from the Korean automaker,” another judge, Ylle Rajasaar of Estonia, stated.
“The Kia EV9 features the most advanced solutions on the market, such as a front grille with LED lighting and an interior that can transform into a living room thanks to the seats rotating 180 degrees. The internal space allows up to seven occupants and the most powerful version with two electric motors is capable of producing up to 384hp with impressive performance,” Isadora Carvalho, a judge from Brazil, added.
It’s a huge award, and one well deserved by the EV9.
UK Car of the Year
Well, if you win World’s Best Car for 2024, then you deserve to win UK Car of the Year too, right? The UK Car of the Year jury agrees. As Kia summarizes, “30 journalists working across the UK on automotive, business and tech publications” gave the EV9 this award.
First of all, the EV9 won in the Large Crossover category, not an easy category to win in! Then the judges looked it over and thought, this vehicle deserves to win it all! Or something like that.
“The uberpractical Kia EV9 could be the vehicle that gets more drivers out of their petrol or diesel car than any other model. Seven seats, loaded with technology, premium quality and enough miles from the battery to cure almost every case of range anxiety — plus it’s fantastic to drive, too,” said John Challen, co-chairman of the UK Car of the Year Awards. “The fact that nearly half of our judging panel chose the Kia as the UK Car of the Year 2024 is a massive vote of confidence in what is a seriously impressive and hugely appealing car.” Indeed — with so many new electric cars on the UK market, getting nearly 50% of the vote is a big deal.
“The EV9 shows Kia’s seemingly limitless ambition knows no bounds. A great option for large families, featuring six or seven seats and plenty of flexibility to adapt to load-carrying requirements. But, also luxurious enough to lure drivers out of premium-brand SUVs,” noted Alex Grant, a fleet-focused car journalist.
“It looks great, has a lovely interior, is practical and the first car to combine ability to carry seven people with a genuine usable range,” judge Paul Barker, Managing Editor of Carwow, added.
We’ve covered this all before, but we should probably wrap up with some notes on what. the EV9 offers. Since this is a UK award, we’ll use UK numbers and options.
“The Kia EV9 is one of the most versatile new EVs on sale, offering a choice of six- or seven-seat configurations; a choice of rear- or all-wheel drive powertrains; and three comprehensively equipped trim levels,” Kia writes. “The EV9 is priced from £65,025 on-the-road, offering an electric driving range of up to 349 miles (WLTP Combined)* from a single charge of its standard 99.8kWh battery, complete with ultra-fast charging capable of adding 154 miles in 15 minutes**. The EV9 also features Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty as standard, ensuring maximum peace of mind for customers.”
Another well deserved win for a widely loved and appreciated EV. It may not be super flashy or a viral sensation on social media, but it’s a clear award winner with a lot to offer.
*The range was determined according to the standardised EU measurement procedure (WLTP). The individual driving style and other factors, such as speed, outside temperature, topography and the use of electricity-consuming devices/units, have an influence on the real-life range and can possibly reduce it.
** In order to achieve the maximum charging speed, EV9 must be charged at an 800V electric vehicle charger that delivers at least 210kW of electricity. The additionally added real-life range within 15 minutes depends on different factors including the current state of charge of the battery, battery temperature, exterior weather conditions and the charger used. It is also defined by the individual driving style and energy consumption.
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