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In-depth reviews

Kia EV9 - Boot space, comfort & practicality

The Kia EV9 is supremely practical for families, providing space inside for seven plus a useful amount of luggage capacity

Boot space, comfort & practicality rating

4.8

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The EV9’s electric powertrain has allowed for a relatively short bonnet and an enormous 3.1-metre wheelbase, allowing Kia’s designers to maximise passenger and boot space.

Dimensions

Length

5,010mm

Width

1,980mm

Height

1,755mm

Number of seats

6 or 7

Boot space 

333-litres (7 seats up), 2,318-litres (2nd & 3rd row down)

Dimensions and size

The Kia EV9 is a big car, but it offers lots of space to go with it. At more than five-metres long, it’s only beaten by limousines and pick-up trucks for length, while a width of 1,980mm means width restrictions need to be 6.5 feet wide for the EV9 to fit.

How practical is the Kia EV9?

Seats & space in the front

A light, open feeling makes the EV9 feel very spacious from either of the front seats. There’s loads of adjustment in both the driver’s seat and the steering wheel, which combined with a fairly low dashboard line and a square bonnet means that it’s quite easy to judge the front corners for such a large car. 

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Storage is plentiful, too. The glovebox is huge, the slim door bins have enough space for a bottle, and a raised centre console includes a wireless smartphone charge pad and two covered stowage areas. The one under the centre console is quite shallow, because it makes room for a huge space below that’s accessible from the middle-row seats.

Buy an EV9, and there will be no excuses for you and your family not to stay hydrated, because there are no less than 12 cup-holders scattered around the cabin. Starting from the back, the third row occupants get two each; and there’s a further six in the middle row – two are at the rear edge of the front armrest, two in the centre fold-out armrest, and one on each door. Up front there’s another two; press a little button and the spring-loaded holders appear within the front storage cubby.

Seats & space in the back

Hop into the second row and the EV9 offers loads of headroom and a very wide cabin that, hard centre seat backrest aside, means it’s accommodating for three people. A completely flat floor and kneeroom that is above average among seven-seat SUVs make it a comfortable place to be, too. 

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The backrests can recline and the seats slide forward to make more room for those in the third row. Even when they’re forward, there’s still a reasonable amount of space for adults. Passengers can choose their own temperature thanks to a climate-control panel and a pair of vents in the roof, plus there are heated and cooled outer middle-row seats, and a pair of retractable window blinds. Some EV9 trims are available with six seats, which swaps the centre bench for a pair of captain’s chairs.

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An electric release tilts and slides the middle seats forward, but it’s still a slightly tight squeeze to get into the third row. Once there, kneeroom is a bit tight for taller adults, but headroom and elbow room are both good, and the backrests are electrically adjustable. Those in the third row also have two USB-C ports, and each seat has an ISOFIX mounting, for a total of four points across the second and third rows for you to install a child seat.

Boot space

At 333 litres, the EV9’s boot is close to that of most superminis even when carrying seven people. But a space under the bonnet offers 52 litres in dual-motor models. A single-motor Air has 90 litres of load space up front – perfect for storing charging cables.

In five-seat mode (the rear seats fold down electrically via buttons on the side of the boot wall), luggage space is 828 litres. This expands to a van-like 2,318 litres in two-seat mode, and the area is square and almost completely level.

The Kia’s vehicle-to-load system lets the car power appliances via a three-pin-plug socket in the boot. There’s also a 12-volt outlet.

Towing

The rear-wheel drive EV9 doesn’t have a great towing capacity because it’s only rated to pull a braked trailer or caravan of 900kg, whereas a front-wheel drive Mercedes EQB 250+ can manage 1,400kg. That changes with the four-wheel drive EV9 because it can pull a hefty 2,500kg braked trailer or caravan, which is impressive for an electric vehicle and the same as a BMW iX.

If you’re looking to tow more and still want something electrified, a BMW X5 xDrive50e can lug up to 2,700kg, while traditional petrol and diesel seven-seat SUVs like the Land Rover Discovery can pull up to 3,500kg.

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Chief reviewer

Alex joined Auto Express as staff writer in early 2018, helping out with news, drives, features, and the occasional sports report. His current role of Chief reviewer sees him head up our road test team, which gives readers the full lowdown on our comparison tests.

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