Kia Ireland officially launched its new EV9 on Monday, and offered a chance of a first drive in their new car. The car lands in Irish showrooms this week and is a prime example of what the Korean car maker is capable of as they look to the future.

There are two models: the Earth with seven seats; and GT-Line with either six or seven seats. We know that not a lot of drivers need this, and Kia are not making any great predictions for big sales figures but, for anyone with a bigger family needing the extra seats, then the EV9 might just be the vehicle for them.

It is, of course, a full-electric vehicle and that will appease the greener customers and satisfy future driving demands.

Having taken the GT-Line car on a tour of Kildare, most of the impressions were favourable. From the outside the side view is particularly fetching – almost Land Rover Defender in profile.

Inside the quality of the materials are really right up there with premium models. In this latest new car, Kia is using vegan leather seats made of Bio-Polyurethane, which is partially derived from corn. The interior fabrics and carpets are made from recycled PET as well as recycled fishing nets. Yet, nothing is taken away from the cozy, premium feeling.

EV9 packed oodles of zest in the 99.8kwh battery and the 141kW electric motors with maximum torque of 350 Nm, front and rear. It has a top speed of 200kmh, can accelerate from 0-100kmh in 5.3 seconds, and boasts an estimated WLTP all-electric driving range of up to 505km.

Another considerable selling point is that this car capable of 800-volt ultra-fast charging, meaning customers can spend more time driving and less time charging. It can only take 15 minutes of charging to get up to 249 km of all-electric driving range for the RWD version and up to 219 km for the AWD version

“The EV9 sets new standards for the segment while completely redefining it,” said Ronan Flood, Managing Director of Kia Ireland. “There has always been a demand from families in Ireland for 6 and 7 seater vehicles, and if these families seek to change to electric, the EV9 is an attractive proposition for them. In recent years Kia has proved itself a prime mover in the road to electrification and the EV9 further proves our determination in this regard.”

The entry level model for the Irish market is 7-seater ‘Earth’ model comes on the market at €77,500. The AWD 384PS GT-line model has a price tag of €85,500 for both the 6 and 7 seats versions.

Pictured: The Kia EV9.