The Hyundai Ioniq 9 is a three-row electric SUV with room to grow

Ahead of the LA Auto Show this week, Hyundai showed disconnected its brand-new three-row all-electric SUV with a suite of features that the Korean automaker is convinced volition entreaty to fickle American car buyers.

The Ioniq 9 is simply a battery-electric three-row SUV based connected the Seven conception that the institution showed disconnected successful 2021. The caller EV is built connected Hyundai’s E-GMP platform, which underpins each the different electrical Hyundais connected the market, including the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, and Ioniq 5N. And it volition person a 110.3kWh artillery that Hyundai said should get much than 300 miles of scope for each models.

A assortment of options

The caller Ioniq 9 volition travel successful 2 versions: Long Range and Performance, each with rear-wheel thrust oregon all-wheel thrust options. The Long Range RWD makes astir 214hp (160kW) and conscionable shy of 260 pound-feet of torque (350nm). The Long Range AWD mentation volition get a 70kW centrifugal (with 255nm of torque) astatine the beforehand and a 160kW (with 350nm of torque) centrifugal astatine the rear, though Hyundai doesn’t accidental whether those volition beryllium additive.

The Performance AWD (there is nary Performance RWD) volition get a brace of 160kW motors astatine the beforehand and rear. According to Hyundai, lone the 600-plus-hp Ioniq 5N volition person much power, but we’ll person to hold for the motorboat to get the last horsepower and torque numbers from the company.

The Ioniq 9 volition travel with Tesla Supercharger-supporting North American Charging System ports, but Hyundai said that it volition besides connection customers an adapter for non-Tesla chargers. The larboard is located connected the passenger-side rear panel, which whitethorn contiguous a occupation astatine Tesla Superchargers with abbreviated cords. For example, owners whitethorn beryllium forced to instrumentality up 2 oregon much spaces astatine crowded stalls. (Tesla V4 chargers person longer cables and should scope the charging port, but we’ll person to hold for a trial conveyance earlier we tin confirm.)

Simon Loasby, elder VP and caput of the Hyundai Design Center, said that the E-GMP level determined the determination of the charging larboard connected the Ioniq 9. 

The caller EV volition besides get entree to the Ionna charging network, which is backed by 8 automakers. And it volition person bidirectional charging truthful that owners with Hyundai’s Home charging setup tin support their location powered during a powerfulness outage.  

A surviving country connected wheels

Other features see a 2nd enactment with “Relaxation Seats” (in the Calligraphy enactment only) that afloat recline with a limb remainder and massage relation to let up to 4 radical to unbend during conveyance charging. Those second-row seats volition swivel to look the 3rd enactment to make what Loasby calls a “furnished space.”

Hyundai designers included a slidable halfway console successful models with the captain’s chairs that tin determination guardant and backmost to marque abstraction to locomotion done to the 3rd enactment oregon beryllium accessed by second-row passengers. 

There’s besides a UV-C sterilizer successful the glovebox (in overseas markets, it volition beryllium successful the beforehand tray), which tin beryllium utilized to sterilize your telephone oregon wallet. The UV-C sterilizer and the sliding console are features that presently beryllium successful the Hyundai Santa Fe. 

The caller Ioniq 9 volition get over-the-air bundle updates arsenic good arsenic a caller app store that Hyundai is calling “Features connected Demand.” Through the app store, customers tin personalize their Ioniq 9 with things similar peculiar lighting patterns and integer dash plan arsenic good arsenic contented and games — for a fee.

“We privation to germinate the features that radical really archer america that they’re consenting to wage for,” said Olabisi Boyle, elder VP of merchandise readying and mobility strategy astatine Hyundai Motor North America. Hyundai did extended user probe earlier moving up with the plan, she added.

“Gaming was a large one, roadworthy travel games and trivia, representation taking and selfies wrong the car seems to beryllium a large 1 too,” Boyle said. “So things that physique upon that wrong the conveyance are things we’d complaint for.” Hyundai confirmed that it would not pull a BMW and complaint a monthly interest for things similar heated seats. 

Room to grow

Hyundai’s existent electrical lineup includes the Ioniq 5 and 6 — and soon the 9. The institution said that this unusual fig leap leaves country successful the lineup for imaginable aboriginal vehicles similar an Ioniq 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 — though the institution wouldn’t elaborate. Essentially, the nomenclature leaves country for the future. 

Hyundai hasn’t announced last pricing yet, but the conveyance volition beryllium built successful Georgia astatine Hyundai’s caller “Metaplant” successful Bryan County. The Metaplant is simply a associated task betwixt the Korean artillery shaper LG Energy Solution (LGES) and Hyundai and represents a $7.6 cardinal concern successful the state.

How President-elect Donald Trump’s threatened tariff plans volition interaction the accumulation of the Ioniq 9 and the works remains to beryllium seen, but Trump has already said helium plans to kill the $7,500 national taxation credit that’s helped millions of Americans acquisition costly EVs. 

“Ioniq 9 pricing volition beryllium announced person to launch, but we volition instrumentality each applicable marketplace factors into information to get astatine competitory numbers,” said Chris Paukert, elder radical manager of merchandise nationalist relations astatine Hyundai, erstwhile asked astir Trump’s threats to termination the federal taxation recognition for EV purchases and rotation backmost tailpipe emanation rules. 

Regardless of what Trump really implements, Hyundai said it’s committed to gathering customers wherever they are. 

“This EV travel was not thing that we were spurred into,” Boyle told a radical of selected journalists up of the unveiling. “It’s based connected our northbound prima of advancement for humanity and moving towards being a astute mobility company... Customers privation a choice.”

Hyundai said that it’s inactive sorting retired trim lines for the American marketplace and that it would connection much details erstwhile the car goes into accumulation successful the outpouring of 2025. The Hyundai Ioniq 9 volition beryllium a 2026 exemplary with a planned on-sale day sometime successful Q2 of adjacent year.