Kia EV9 - Range, charging and running costs

Unlike other markets, the UK only gets one battery size. It is a sizeable 99.8kWh (96kWh useable) unit, which is considerably bigger than what’s offered in the Mercedes EQB.

All versions of the EV9 come with a heat pump as standard, which provides a more efficient way of heating the interior in cold weather. If you can plug it in at home, you can always use an app to start heating the car up and defrosting the windows before you set it off, all while it’s plugged into the mains. This means you won’t be wasting power from the battery heating your car up and preserving the driving range.

The rear-wheel drive Air trim has the greatest range, at 349 miles, while the four-wheel drive, dual motor GT-Line and GT-Line S are a little less efficient due to the extra weight of the additional motor. A seven-seater GT-Line and GT-Line S have a combined range of 313 miles, while the marginally lighter six-seater model gets 315 miles. 

While a large battery pack provides a good range, charging using a 7.4kW wallbox charger at home will take longer. Refilling a flat battery will take over 15 hours, so plan your charging accordingly. Fortunately, the EV9 utilises Kia’s industry-leading 800-volt architecture, so if you have to use a rapid charger en route, it can take as little as 25 minutes to get a 10-80 per cent top-up (roughly going from 30-280 miles of range, depending upon the weather and driving style) when using an up to 350kW charger.

As per many electric cars, the EV9 is exempt from road tax (VED), and avoids the London Congestion Charge until 2025. It also benefits from lower Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax costs than an equivalent plug-in hybrid like a BMW X5 xDrive50e, or a traditional petrol or diesel seven-seater SUV like the Land Rover Discovery.

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Insurance groups

Insurance costs for the Kia EV9 are likely to be higher than for similarly-sized seven-seat petrol and diesel SUVs, but they’re not likely to be as high as for some EV rivals. For example, the cheapest Land Rover Discovery to insure is in group 42, with the entry-level EV9 Air being a touch higher in group 45. That’s still lower than the Mercedes EQB 250+ Sport Executive that starts in group 47.

However, the higher-performance dual-motor four-wheel drive models are in the top group 50 bracket, putting them one group higher than a plug-in hybrid BMW X5 xDrive50e M Sport.

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Depreciation

Remarkably, all versions of the Kia EV9 outperform the Mercedes EQB when it comes to predicted resale values. According to our experts, the entry-level Air will maintain 57 per cent of its value over three years and 36,000 miles, whereas the EQB will only hold on to 45 per cent in 350 AMG Line Premium Plus trim.

To get an accurate valuation on a specific model check out our valuation tool...