Review: Hyundai Ioniq 9

Hyundai is on a roll, part of a wider South Korean culture and design boom. But can the magic extend to a plus-size, pure electric people carrier? The Ioniq 9 is here to rearrange your preconceptions about exactly what “utility” means.

It’s also stretching the brand further upmarket than it’s previously been. Design and tech leadership elsewhere in the range have boosted corporate confidence, no doubt about that. Hyundai calls its design philosophy “aerosthetic,” and it aims to be aero-efficient and playful without polarizing opinion. The brand’s signature pixel lights are present and correct, and there are cleverly worked radii if you look closely.

The company’s director of design, Simon Loasby, compares the Ioniq EV range to chess pieces; they’re obviously related, but each has its own distinct character. In which case, the Ioniq 9 must be the King or Queen, and it has traded the Ioniq 5’s ’80s vaporwave vibe and the 6’s more outré Raymond Loewy look for a lantern-jawed stoicism. Some might accuse Hyundai of a disappointing retrenchment here, but this is a large MPV we’re talking about. It’s stately rather than sexy. There’s always the related Kia EV9 if your tastes are more extrovert.

In any case, the Ioniq 9’s boxy form is more streamlined than it looks. It has a curved roofline and a tapered tail, resulting in a drag coefficient of just 0.259. That’s impressive for a car of this size and shape. Lower drag, of course, is important in an EV, because it helps eke out additional range.

No Lidar Lump

Courtesy of Hyundai

The 9 also manages the airflow beneath its body effectively. Active aero is usually the preserve of heavy hitters such as Ferrari and McLaren, but there’s a flap under this thing that sends cooling air to the battery and drive system when needed. The mechanism even combines a straight movement with a rotation to eliminate gaps and quell interruptions to the air flow. Unlike the Lidar lump that rather ruins the Volvo EX90’s otherwise svelte surfaces, the Ioniq 9’s windscreen, tailgate glass and interior sensors handle the connectivity and Level 2 autonomous driving requirements.

Three versions are available, each equipped with a thumping NCM lithium-ion 110.3-kWh battery but offering various power outputs. The single-motor car makes do with 215 bhp, while the most potent is the dual motor, 429 bhp Performance AWD. Hyundai claims a maximum range of 335 miles (EPA) for the single-motor RWD car. WIRED's test car is the mid-ranking Long Range AWD, dual motor, but with a smaller overall power output of 309 bhp. Prices and specifications are still unconfirmed, but we expect this version to cost around £74,000 in the UK (about $94,000).

The Ioniq 9 sits on Hyundai’s E-GMP architecture, a modular platform that underpins other Hyundai and Kia EVs. It uses a compact electric power system that combines the motor, transmission and inverter into a single unit. That means it also has an 800-volt battery system, enabling the Ioniq 9 to charge from 10 to 80 percent in just 24 minutes—assuming you can find a 350-kW charger. And there’s vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability, so you can use that huge battery to run household devices.

Indulgent Interior

Courtesy of Hyundai

Settle behind the wheel and you immediately notice the commanding driving position and fabulous seats. These are two of the pillars on which the Range Rover’s reputation is made, so it’s off to a good start. In some markets, the “Relaxation” chairs have full massage functionality, and the middle row can be swiveled around to face the rear seats. It’s not too laborious a procedure. Happily, the seats in row two are just as accommodating as row one, and even row three isn’t too parsimonious when it comes to legroom. With that row folded, there are 1,323 liters of storage space.

Back up front there’s a gently curved panoramic dual-screen 12.3-inch display, a semi-floating dashboard, and impressively minimalist air vents. The touchscreen is intuitive and easy to read, if a little lacking in graphic flair.

We also applaud the presence of physical buttons for the climate control and audio volume. Some things are sacrosanct. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is standard. The steering wheel’s pixelated green dots illuminate the state of charge, as on the smaller Ioniqs. Go for the top Calligraphy trim and you get the upgraded 14-speaker Bose audio system.

Courtesy of Hyundai

Practical thinking abounds. The “Universal Island” is a slidable console with bidirectional arm-rests. It can slide up to 190 mm between the first and second row of seats and proves useful—though it should be pointed out that 19 cm of travel is nothing like the shapeshifting interiors we've been promised by Hyundai and other brands. The battle for the ultimate EV interior is very much still alive, with no clear winner yet.

The upper tray of the Universal Island can hold 5.6 liters with room below for 12.6 liters. It also accentuates the Ioniq 9’s lounge aspirations, more so compared to the 5 given the extra interior real estate. We also like the little rubberized pixels on top of this section; these stop your phone from sliding around while it charges. The pad is also cooled so it side-steps the hot phone syndrome associated with inductive charging.

Then there’s the heating and ventilation system, which uses a special heat pump that recycles waste heat to maintain an appropriate cabin temperature without draining the battery. The interior can be pre-conditioned before you set off. An added boon is that rows two and three get their own independent HVAC system.

Gear Friendly

The gadget-friendly utility continues. There are six USB-C ports inside on all three rows that can deliver 100 watts of power. In high-output mode, the system draws on the high-voltage battery, and is powerful enough to charge a laptop without using its adapter. There’s also a UV-C sterilizer cubby that can sanitize phones, wallets, and whatever else ends up in there.

Interestingly, the Ioniq 9 is a Covid-era car, and its interior design reflects the global crisis that formed a backdrop to its creation (although South Korea was one of the few countries that avoided a full lockdown). There are plenty of sustainable materials inside, too. We’d prefer darker interior trim to the pale treatment of our slightly chintzy test car, but it’s all intelligently done.

“During Covid there was a big ‘back-to-nature’ push,” Hyundai’s head of color and trim, Diana Kloster, tells me. “We became more interested in biophilic design as a result and wanted to create an interior environment that really de-stresses the occupants. We get accused of greenwashing, but trust me, we really are trying. We are rigorous about the sustainable fabrics we use, and there’s recycled marine waste, plastics and aluminum in this car. But it is also a premium product. You need to open the door and immediately sense the quality.”

Also present is voice-recognition system that uses generative AI from ChatGPT. Yes, this works better than previous efforts, but it still responds more efficiently to key words.

A number of over-the-air features are available from an online store. The list is territory-specific, and includes Amazon music and customizable ambient lighting options. I streamed The Smiths on YouTube while parked in a town close to the North Korean border. Surreal.

Hyundai’s remote parking aid is an intriguing option. It parks the car from the key using ultra-wide angle cameras and ultrasonic sensors. Given the Ioniq 9’s size, it might be useful if you have taken a brave pill and entered a multi-storey car park. And you can also turn your phone into a digital key if you wish.

Comfort King

Courtesy of Hyundai

Let’s be clear, this is a car that’s been optimized for comfort. It rides on a multilink suspension at either end with twin-valve dampers, and there’s a plushness to how it conducts itself. Active noise-canceling tech, triple-layered acoustic glass, and noise-reducing, foam-filled tires also help.

But despite its size, it doesn’t fall over itself at the first sign of a bend. A Chassis Domain Control Unit offers torque vectoring to trim your cornering line, and there’s also lateral wind stability control to monitor high-speed behavior.

It would make an unlikely off-roader, but such functionality is part of its armory: In fact, there’s an Auto Terrain Mode that uses AI to interpret the weather conditions and track the road ahead to select the appropriate driving mode.

You also get the usual selection of driving modes—Normal, Eco, Sport, and a My Drive one that allows you to personalize the set-up. As ever, Normal offers a solid compromise. There’s a welcome burst of acceleration to begin with before the power delivery tails off progressively.

There’s also an active sound design facility that offers a bunch of different quasi sci-fi whooshes; but after a bit of experimentation I switched it off. The steering is nicely weighted without being over-burdened with feel, and the Ioniq 9 only rolls if you really push it. Unless you’re in a serious hurry, that’s a pointless exercise. The regen braking gives you the option of single-pedal driving if you want it, and the balance between friction brakes and the regen is pretty smooth.

Courtesy of Hyundai

My Long Range AWD test car can get to 62 mph in 6.7 seconds, and I managed 2.85 miles per kWh, although it was sub-zero outside most of the time during WIRED's day with the car north of Seoul. Expect to see more than 300 miles of range in warmer conditions. The full suite of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) is standard, and a steering wheel shortcut button allows you to customize settings—so you can switch off the most annoying ones if the incessant bonging proves too much. (Hint: It will.)

Hyundai’s move upmarket isn’t without risk, but the Ioniq 9 makes it stick. If nothing else, this might be the world’s most comfortable car.