About a week ago, Kia dropped something pretty special in my driveway: an EV9 GT-Line! I have to admit that I was a little skeptical at first, but I also remembered being pretty impressed with a Sorento Hybrid I reviewed in 2021. So, the big question was this: would Kia impress us with its first 7-seat electric SUV? Or, would the company fail and go back to its ’90s roots when trying something new with EVs?.
A couple days later, I took the vehicle on a three-day trip to visit two national parks. First, I approached the Guadalupe Mountains via a scenic gravel road that runs from near Piñon, New Mexico, along the Guadalupe Rim, and then to the Queen Highway . Along the way, most of the road was decent, but there were some sections that were a lot steeper and more rough than anticipated. But, the EV9 gave no problems climbing slippery dirt grades and navigated the bumps and jumps pretty well.
The next day, we visited Carlsbad Caverns, had some lunch in Carlsbad, hung out at a cabin in Queen, New Mexico, and then turned in for the night. The day after that, I drove to the front side of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, collected my parks passport stamp, and had a good time picnicking with the family. Then, we caught as many views of the Guadalupe Mountains as we could as we headed out toward El Paso.