Kia’s rise into the car design premier league is confirmed by the EV9, its slick, full-electric, flush-door-handled, five-to-seven-seat large SUV. Stage one of the Korean car brand’s transformation from ‘low-cost and value-led’ to ‘reasonable and reliable’ came via ex-Audi designer Peter Schreyer from 2006. In 2015, ex-Bentley and Lamborghini designer
Since October 2019 ex-BMW designer Karim Habib became Kia’s senior design VP and the 2023 EV9 is the first Kia created under his direction. While sharing the same electric-only platform and naming strategy as the compact crossover, the large EV9 is a visual departure, especially in its exterior.
In final production guise, that translates to elements like the dashboard, screen, internal grab handles and door and centre armrests all appearing to float within the cabin’s shell via carefully hidden attachment points. Sitting on the dashboard like a slim, frameless TV, that instrument panel is made up of a large 27-inch screen with a trio of slim screens underneath covering driver display and central touchscreen infotainment.