- The Kia EV9 and Rivian R1S are among the many few three-row electrical SUVs on sale.
- Edmunds in contrast them and the outcomes are actually shut.
When you’re available in the market for an all-electric, fashionable three-row SUV, you must know that there aren’t numerous decisions on the market. The American-made Kia EV9 and Rivian R1S are among the many few choices, alongside the Tesla Mannequin X, Mercedes-Benz EQS and Mercedes-Benz EQB. There’s additionally the Tesla Mannequin Y, however that’s extra of a crossover than an SUV.
Our pals from Edmunds acquired their arms on the refreshed Rivian R1S and the all-new Kia EV9 and put them to the check to see which is healthier at dealing with the day-to-day requests of a household. The video is embedded under.
The 2 battery-powered SUVs are equally sized however that’s the place the similarities finish. The R1S is extra of an adventure-focused machine, whereas the EV9 is nearly solely an asphalt cruiser. The variations proceed inside, the place the EV9 is offered as a six-seater with captain’s chairs on the second row, whereas the R1S is barely obtainable with a bench on the second row.
Edmunds mentioned it’s simpler to get to the third row of the EV9 and that the Korean EV’s seats are extra snug than the R1S. On the flip facet, Rivian’s SUV has heated seats throughout, together with for the third row, whereas the EV provides heated and ventilated seats for the primary and second rows.
The infotainment system within the EV9 could be very simple to make use of and integrates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. That mentioned, you possibly can’t precondition the battery on the best way to a quick charger until you utilize the built-in navigation system. There’s additionally no toggle to manually precondition the battery.
Within the R1S, there’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, however the usual navigation system is superb, particularly at discovering chargers. It even contains Tesla Superchargers.
Each have glorious surround-view digital camera programs and adaptive cruise management with the power to make hands-free lane modifications on the press of the sign stalk. Nevertheless, Edmunds mentioned the implementation of those options is what units them aside.
Within the Kia EV9, you may be positive the whole lot will work as marketed on a regular basis, whereas within the Rivian, the automated lane change generally refuses to work. Furthermore, the R1S solely has one distance setting for the adaptive cruise management, and it’s fairly far-off from the automobile in entrance.
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The R1S provides extra cargo house, each within the trunk and within the frunk. It’s additionally extra succesful off-road and sooner from zero to 60 miles per hour. That mentioned, the EV9 GT-Line All-Wheel Drive can attain 60 mph in lower than 5 seconds, so it’s not precisely a slouch.
Relating to pricing, nonetheless, the Rivian R1S is dearer than the Kia EV9. Granted, the entry-level model begins at round $76,000, however a dual-motor Efficiency mannequin will set you again $100,000. In the meantime, the EV9 begins at $55,000 and the top-spec GT-Line AWD is lower than $74,000. In equity, the EV9’s 379 horsepower doesn’t come near the R1S’s figures, nevertheless it’s not every single day you want the 533 hp of the bottom R1S or the 850 hp of the tri-motor model.
One is a bit more road-oriented than the opposite, however the query on the finish of the day is: which one would you select?
