Elsewhere in the world, that's exactly what it is. North American Kia buyers know all about the Sorento-topping Telluride sevenseat SUV and the Carnival MPV. In Korea and elsewhere, there's the K9/K900 full-size executive saloon as well. And the firm is about to introduce a full-size pick-up truck, the Tasman.
Kia's designers aren't afraid of sheer scale, in other words. When it came to penning the EV9, how could they have been? There's a wonderful, totally prepossessing, take-me-as-youfind-me confidence about this electric seven-seat SUV. It's here to steal business from the European elites. Under the skin, it's good enough to do exactly that, and the square-featured, Imperial Stormtrooper-cool of the exterior doesn't care a jot who knows it.
Everywhere you take the EV9, people ask you what it is. Within a couple of years, there will be smaller EV3 and EV5 SUVs that look a lot like it, which should help to claim this new design language as Kia's own. For now, though, this is a like a car just landed from a sci-fi movie set. People stare at it on the street; they seek you out in shops and cafes to talk excitedly about it and to ask what it's like.
Esta historia es de la edición June 26, 2024 de Autocar UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición June 26, 2024 de Autocar UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
MG 4
An EV changes your driving style - but not to the detriment of pleasure
PEUGEOT E-208
Time with our French hatch is up. Is it good riddance or au revoir?
In the hot seat
Is the best automotive job in the world actually in miniature scale? Hot Wheels' design boss assures STEPHEN DOBIE it is
Correcting the record
Autocar invented the road test back in 1928 - or did we? KEITH JONES trawls the past to find the true starting point
Road test rebooted
As the Autocar road test forges into its second century, its brief is expanding and it's returning to a familiar place. MATT SAUNDERS explains
Cyber attack
MG is back on the international stage and now trying to return to its sports car roots. MATT SAUNDERS sees if the Cyberster EV can match up to a rival from the present and a relation from the past
KIA PICANTO
As rivals fall by the wayside, Kia's popular city car gets a makeover
MASERATI GRANTURISMO
Latest coupé in a long line of Maserati GT cars hits the UK with V6 power
PORSCHE CAYENNE GTS COUPE
New V8 model gets all the goodies
TOYOTA PRIUS
Back by popular demand with a cool new look and greater driver appeal