Hyundai Ioniq 9 prototype review: a (very) big softy

That camouflage is very effective! I barely noticed the car…

Ha. Yeah, as hard as Hyundai tries to disguise the Ioniq 9, it’s never really going to blend into the background. This thing is humungous. 

You’ve seen it without the dodgy wrap of course (click here if you haven’t), but Hyundai let TG have an early go in one of its development mules at its California Proving Ground just north of Los Angeles and south of Sequoia. In other words, they gave us plenty of room. 

How big is it?

Ready for the dimensions? The Ioniq 9 is 5.06m long, 1.98m wide and 1.79m tall. The wheelbase is a massive 3.13m too, and funnily enough Hyundai hasn’t released a figure for its kerb weight just yet. Presumably it’s still trying to find a set of scales that can take the strain. On its own, the 110.3kWh battery will probably weigh almost as much as two Caterham 170Rs. Yikes.

Are there different motors and power outputs?

There are. It may be based on the same E-GMP platform as the Kia EV9, but the specs aren’t like for like. The Hyundai has a bigger battery for starters, so it’s no surprise to see its motors putting out a tad more power. The entry level, single-motor Ioniq 9 gets a 215bhp motor on the rear axle. 

Take the step up to ‘Long Range AWD’ and you get the same 215bhp rear motor paired with a little 94bhp motor on the front axle. ‘Performance AWD’ gives you that 215bhp motor on both the front and rear axles. 

Which have you driven?

We were allowed a very quick drive of the twin-motor Long Range AWD model with its 309bhp and hefty 446lb ft of torque. We snuck in a few laps of a 10km bowl at motorway speeds and some more dynamic running on a 5km circuit that’s designed to ape a winding country road.

First impressions on how it drives?

It’s soft. Much like the Ioniq 5, the 9 clearly prioritises comfort. Hyundai says the suspension has been designed specifically for EV SUVs with a MacPherson multi-link front and multi-link rear setup. There are fancy frequency-controlled dampers to limit vibrations and, while the tarmac at Hyundai’s proving ground was predictably smooth, it did feel pretty plush.

Push it a little harder and we found there was plenty of body roll through corners and that it’ll take a hefty nosedive under hard braking. Not particularly surprising for something so large with no real sporting intentions. The brake pedal feel itself is reasonably well-judged though and balances regen and actual friction braking nicely. Bonus points for the wheel-mounted paddles that adjust the level of regen too - they always add a little more driver engagement in an EV.

The steering is predictably light but there's decent grip through a corner and you can feel the front motor dragging the car into line as you get back on the power. Acceleration is probably best described as progressive rather than outright rapid. This Long Range AWD claims 0-60mph in 6.2 seconds, and while it won’t shoot off the line with the enthusiasm of a smaller, lighter EV it does pick up well on the move.

Bear in mind we haven’t been able to try Sport mode just yet, but we can’t imagine it’ll suddenly turn into a Rimac Nevera. Nor would we want it to.

How’s the refinement?

Hyundai has worked hard on this. Not surprising given this thing will be its most expensive halo car. There’s fancy hydro-bushing to reduce vibrations, laminated glass, triple seals around said glass, sound-absorbing tyres filled with foam and even active noise cancelling tech if you’ve got the largest 21in wheels.

From our early experience it seems remarkably quiet in the cabin at motorway speeds. It was an exceptionally windy day in California, and it managed to control said wind noise fairly well. It’s a pleasant whoosh as opposed to real buffeting on those slab sides. Road noise seems to be well suppressed too, and there are big comfortable chairs and nice soft-touch interior materials. Our test car did have a very excitable emergency braking system, but we'll put that down to it still being a working prototype.

Can you tell me more about the interior?

Not from this car. As you can see the interior was completely covered for our prototype drive. Luckily, TopGear.com was present as Hyundai pulled the wraps off the Ioniq 9 at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Big wraps, of course. It's as cavernous inside as it is gargantuan outside. There's miles of headroom, and that boxy shape translates into a properly spacious, airy feeling inside the cabin. Helps that one of the cars we sat inside was decked out in white. Great for a show car, but good luck if you've got kids.

At the helm of this land-yacht, it feels... commanding. The touchscreen doesn't feel intrusive, the physical switchgear and rotary dials for the temperature nestled in the centre are easy to use and a welcome fixture, while the central storage area is both moveable (so it can slide back and forth), and accessible from those in the back and in the forth.

Speaking of the back, the middle row offers up loads of knee-room, features reclinable seats and those all-important USB-C ports to plug in... things. The rearmost seats offer decent space too, even for adults. The entire cabin feels eminently plush and luxurious: the fit and finish on this show car was superb, the seats firm but well damped, with an expensive-feel across all the physical touchpoints. Hyundai design boss SangYup Lee took inspiration from furniture design, and it definitely feels very welcoming and comfortable in here.