Photographs by Ishaan Jaiswal
Let’s be honest — when you first hear that a Kia costs more than a crore, your brain does a double-take. A Kia? For that much money? But then you see it. You sit in it. You drive it. And suddenly, the number starts making a scary amount of sense. The EV9 is a great lesson in how to take every premium ingredient in the automotive world, and bake them into something that feels genuinely special.
The moment you walk up to the EV9, it hits you — this thing has a presence. It’s massive, sure, but in that sense, so is a luxury yacht: every line feels intentional, and every design choice is purposeful. That blanked-off grille isn’t just for aerodynamics; it’s a declaration that this doesn’t need to scream ‘I HAVE AN ENGINE’ to prove itself. The vertical LED headlights, the sharp creases running down the sides, the flush door handles that whisper ‘I’m expensive’ without saying a word — it all comes together in a way that makes you pause.
Step back and look at the EV9 as a whole, and you see Kia’s design evolution in real time. The sharp angles, the geometric light signatures, the way the body lines flow — it’s all unmistakably modern Kia, but dialled up to eleven. You can see hints of the Seltos and EV6 in its DNA, but this is something else entirely. It’s bold without being brash, futuristic without feeling gimmicky. And that’s the thing: if you covered up the badges, you’d never guess this was a Kia. It looks like it should cost more than it does.
Then there are the little things. The way the 20-inch wheels fill out those squared-off arches perfectly. The LED light signatures look like they were pulled from a sci-fi movie set. This is a car that makes you understand why it won all those design awards.
Slide into the driver’s seat, press the start button, and… well, of course there’s just a subtle hum telling you it’s alive. Then you tap the accelerator. There’s something surreal about a vehicle this big moving with such effortless urgency. The dual motors (379 bhp, 71.38 kgm) don’t just shove you forward — they launch you, especially in Sport mode. On Kia’s test track at its Anantapur factory, with a 1.5 km straight to play with, the EV9 simply devoured the tarmac. And then, just as quickly as the violence began, it settled into a serene, silent cruise like nothing had happened.
It doesn’t drive like a barge, either. That 99.8 kWh battery pack adds serious weight, yet the EV9 corners with a composure that feels almost unreal for something this size. You feel the mass when pushing hard, but the chassis keeps things very tidy. There’s body roll, but it’s controlled — more of a gentle lean. The steering is also precise, not overly loose as some EVs have them set up. The ride? Supple enough to make cobblestones feel like minor inconveniences.
As for range, no funny business here. Over a 3 km loop on the track, the battery percentage dropped exactly as predicted — no sudden dips, no range anxiety theatrics. With 561 km on tap and the ability to charge from 0-80 per cent in 24 minutes on a 350 kW DC fast charger (if you can find one of those), long distance travel should be a cinch. It appears that Kia has one of these chargers in its factory, but I have not seen a public charger with more than a 280 kW capacity.
Open the door, and the first thing you notice is that Kia didn’t just throw screens in here and call it a day. The twin 12.3-inch displays (one for the gauges, one for infotainment) are crisp and intuitive, but the real win is that there are buttons, and honest-to-God knobs and switches for climate control and volume. In an era where luxury cars force you to dig through touchscreen menus to simply adjust the AC, this feels like a rebellion — and a welcome one. Kia has even announced that it is sticking with physical buttons globally, which is good news.
Then there’s the material quality, the mix of dark brown and light cream tones. The way the steering wheel feels in your hands — thick, wrapped in perfect leather, with just the right amount of resistance when you turn it. Even the click of the volume knob feels expensive. This isn’t just a brilliant cabin for a Kia — it’s a brilliant cabin, period.
Don’t get me started on the second-row captain’s seats – or thrones. With adjustments for everything (including a ‘lounge mode’ that practically turns them into recliners), they’re the kind of place you’ll happily spend hours in. Most car massagers feel like a cell phone vibrating in your pocket. In the EV9? They really work your back, kneading out tension like a professional masseuse. It’s the first time I’ve ever thought, ‘I’d pay extra just for this.’ The third row is fine for kids, tolerable for adults on short trips. If you’re dropping over a crore on this car, you’re not buying it for the third row, though.
₹1.3 crore (ex-showroom) is extremely serious money. BMW iX money, Mercedes EQE SUV money. And that’s the EV9’s biggest challenge – the name on the hood. Kia has done an incredible job shaking off its ‘budget brand’ image in India. The EV6 proved people will pay premium prices for design and tech, but the EV9 is playing in a whole different league, because it’s asking buyers to see Kia as a true luxury brand. Hyundai pulled it off it with Genesis, so maybe Kia needs its own sub-brand for these halo products, because when you strip away the badges, the EV9 is flat-out sensational.
Of course it’s not perfect. The third row is cramped, and the badge will give some buyers serious pause. But if you care more about the product than the prestige factor, the EV9 is a better car in many ways than its German competitors. So yes, a crore-rupee Kia sounds crazy — until you drive it. Then it just makes sense.
