The Kia EV9 GT Is The Brand’s Most Expensive Car Ever In Britain

If you’ve been after an enormously powerful electric SUV that’ll carry seven people in decent comfort, and have been twiddling your thumbs ever since the Tesla Model X went off sale in Britain, then we have good news for you: UK pricing has been confirmed for the Kia EV9 GT.

First unveiled last year, the second of Kia’s electric GT models after the EV6 has lots in common with its smaller sibling as well as our favourite electric car of all, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.

Using a dual-motor setup, the EV9 GT produces 502bhp – quite some way down on the 641bhp of the 5 N, although it’s hardly a slouch given its sheer size and mass. 0-62mph takes 4.6 seconds, and top speed is 136mph.

It does however nab pretty much every other trait of the 5 N. That includes its ‘Virtual Gear Shift’ system, which effectively replicates the experience of driving an internal combustion car equipped with an eight-speed torque converter automatic. It sounds gimmicky, but trust us, it’s very fun – so fun it led to us labelling the Hyundai the ‘first truly great performance EV’.

The EV9 GT will come with its own fake sound piped into the speakers, rather than carrying over the i30 N, Vision Gran Turismo and err, fighter jet-inspired ones of the Ioniq. It remains to be seen what Kia has taken inspiration from – perhaps a Ceed GT, maybe an angry hornet, Optimus Prime…?

It also utilises the electronic limited-slip differential of the Ioniq 5 N, which we’re pretty confident is the first time such technology has been used on a three-row SUV. Feel free to prove us wrong, though.

Somewhere under all of that metal is an electronic suspension setup with active dampers, and a beefier set of brakes to help bring the undisclosed mass to a halt. We presume that figure measures ‘a lot’.

Elsewhere, there’s a new dedicated GT drive mode, unleashing the full force of the motors and tightening up the suspension, steering, throttle and braking. Your six passengers – or five, if you’ve opted for the more luxurious six-seat layout – are going to love that one.

Boring electric car stuff? The EV9 GT has a predictably vast 99.8kWh battery capacity, which gives a quoted max range of 280 miles. Thanks to an 800V architecture, it’ll go from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 24 minutes on a fast charger.

With all that tech, power and sheer size on board, it’s little surprise that the EV9 GT’s £82,185 starting price makes it the most expensive car ever to wear Kia badges in Britain. Kia, though, is eager to point out that that’s still less than other similarly-powerful seven-seaters.

Even so, we expect the EV9 GT to be more of a headline-grabbing halo car than a mass seller for the company. For those who are prepared to take the leap on an £82k Kia, though, it’s on sale now, with the first UK deliveries taking place in Q3 this year.