New Hyundai Ioniq 9 teases futuristic look ahead of LA debut
The Hyundai Ioniq 9 has been teased ahead of its likely reveal at the LA motor show in November. The brand’s long-awaited electric seven-seat SUV, a sister car of the award-winning Kia EV9, looks to retain its concept car-like design, mixing distinctive Ioniq detailing with a sleek and slightly more rakish silhouette than the more upright Kia.
This new image comes after spies managed to sneak a peek at the Ioniq 9’s minimalist interior earlier this year, revealing that the upcoming SUV will borrow a few elements from other new-age Hyundai models, including the latest Santa Fe.
Both feature the same curved dual-display set-up, blocky steering wheel, and gear selector on the steering column. There’s also a similar set of shortcut buttons and touch-sensitive climate controls on the dashboard, but the Ioniq 9 appears to have a floating centre console, which the more traditional technical layout of the Hyundai Santa Fe doesn’t allow.
Looking at the side profile of the Ioniq 9, we can see its windscreen is steeply raked and the roofline gently slopes towards the rear, whereas the Kia EV9 is more boxy. That suggests the Ioniq 9’s design will follow more closely in the footsteps of the svelte Hyundai Ioniq 6 saloon, which should help with the large SUV’s aerodynamics and range, but could impact headroom for those seating in the rearmost seats.
The Ioniq 9 will be based on the same E-GMP platform as the EV9, and should be offered with the same combinations of batteries and motors as its fellow seven-seat EV. In the UK, every EV9 is powered by a 99.8kWh battery that feeds either a single 201bhp motor or a 379bhp dual-motor set-up. The EV9 is capable of covering close to 350 miles on a single charge according to Kia, so we expect the same of the Ioniq 9.
The Ioniq 9 will also benefit from an 800V architecture, which in the EV9 allows for a 10 to 80 per cent top-up in only 24 minutes.
Kia is also rumoured to be working on a GT version of its EV9. And while a hot N model might not seem the most natural fit for a seven-seat family hauler, it suggests a potential Ioniq 9 N will have a set of high-performance components to borrow from. If it’s made, this will join the existing 5 N and the forthcoming Ioniq 6 N that has been spied packing an even more potent EV powertrain.
