New Kia EV9 GT gets 501bhp – and a HEFTY price tag

The new electric Kia EV9 GT arrives to top Kia’s EV9 range, boasting 501bhp and 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds. Costs from £82,185.

It only seems like five minutes since Kia made a business out of selling bland eco-boxes, fishing at the budget end of the market. But how things have changed.

Kia is now heading into Volvo territory – not really mainstream but not quite premium – aiming to take sales from the premium brands by offering more for the money, but with now pricing a long way from the budget end of things.

Now we get the arrival of Kia’s new range-topping EV9 – the EV9 GT – which pushes Kia prices ever higher with the seven-seat version costing a not inconsiderable £82,185 and the ‘Posh 6-Seat’ version £83,185. Blimey.

That makes the EV9 GT as expensive as an entry-level Volvo EX90, but it does deliver rather more performance.

Powering the EV9 GT is a twin-motor EV powertrain delivering 501bhp and 546lb/ft of torque, and good for 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds, powered by the same 99.8kWh battery as the rest of the EV9 range and good for around a 280-mile range.

The GT also comes with uprated brakes with green callipers, 21″ alloys, Adaptive Dampers and ‘Road Preview’ which reads the road ahead and sets up the suspension accordingly, and an electronic limited slip diff.

Inside, there are sports seats with Alcantara inserts, more splashes of ‘go faster green’ and ‘Virtual Gear Shift’ like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, which mimics real ICE gear shifts.

Order books for the new Kia EV9 GT are now open.