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The 2024 Kia EV9 will start at $54,900<\/a> for the Light RWD trim before destination fees or adding options like a bigger battery or two extra motors for AWD. When announced earlier this year<\/a>, the EV9 caught everyone\u2019s attention since there are few (and costly) seven-seater fully-electric vehicles on the market, and the automaker\u2019s entry looked like it was primed to disrupt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The EV9 will come standard with 19-inch wheels, dual 12.3-inch screens up front, a 5-inch screen for HVAC controls, CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless phone charger, advanced driver assistance features like automatic braking and cross traffic check, and support for ultra-wideband smartphone key access (though that requires a subscription). It can charge its battery from 10 to 80 percent in under 25 minutes when connected to a 350kW DC fast charger (Car and Driver\u2019s<\/em> preview found it supports up to 230kW speeds<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Other options for three-row electric SUVs are limited and include the\u00a0Tesla\u00a0Model X that costs at least $83,490 with seven seats, and while the cheapest Rivian R1S starts at $78,000, ordering one with a shipping date in 2024will have you looking at a $92,000 quad-motor configuration. And while a bit cramped, Tesla\u2019s Model Y with seven seats costs $52,990, and it qualifies for the $7,500 federal tax credit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But by comparison, similar-size gas-powered three-row SUVs are still available for quite a bit less. Kia\u2019s own 2024 Telluride starts at $36,000 (about $40,000 when said and done). The EV9 is about the same height and width and just slightly longer than the Telluride.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kia\u2019s EV9 will initially ship from South Korea for availability by year-end. It doesn\u2019t yet qualify for the federal tax credits due to complex new rules<\/a> that foreign automakers are pretty mad about<\/a>. But the EV9 might qualify after Kia starts assembling it in the USA sometime next year at a new factory in West Point, Georgia. Other trims in the lineup, including the Light Long Range, Wind, Land, and GT-Line, will have prices announced \u201clater.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n