The newest member of Hyundai's family of dedicated electric vehicles debuted this evening at an event preceding the 2024 LA Auto Show. The three-row 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 electric SUV will also be the largest EV in the brand's lineup when it arrives next year with the Hyundai Motor Group's biggest battery yet, claiming over 300 miles of estimated range for all configurations and charging natively via the Tesla-pioneered NACS port with Supercharger access. The SUV's specs are complemented by thoughtful design that I think makes it also the most handsome Ioniq model yet.
The design is the production-ready distillation of the 2021 Seven concept, though Hyundai has since decided to assign the "Ioniq 9" designation to the three-row SUV, presumably to leave room for growth in the middle of the lineup. Whatever you call it, the 9 follows in the footsteps of the Editors' Choice award-winning Ioniq 5 compact eSUV and the impressively efficient Ioniq 6, based on Hyundai Motor Group's Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) and sharing many familiar technologies with its smaller siblings, but on a much larger scale.
I enjoy how the large SUV's design plays with proportion and scale.
The electric powertrain will come in three flavors. The Long-Range RWD spec features a single 160-kilowatt (215 horsepower) motor that twists the rear axle with 258 foot-pounds of torque. Long-Range AWD adds a second 70 kW motor to the front axle, bringing the total to 254 hp. Finally, the Performance AWD model bumps the front axle to a symmetrical 160 kW (around 429 total horsepower combined) for a 0-to-60 mph hustle in 4.9 estimated seconds.
Power is stored in a 110.3 kilowatt-hour battery pack, the largest equipped on an E-GMP EV to date, which Hyundai estimates will carry the Long-Range RWD model up to 335 miles on the EPA test cycle when equipped with 19-inch wheels. Optioning the larger 21-inch wheels, all-wheel drive or some of the more luxurious features will likely come with a range penalty, but the automaker tells us that every configuration will do more than 300 miles per charge.
The dual 12-inch screens are a familiar sight by now, but their new curved construction adds to the premium feel.
North American Ioniq 9s will come standard with the North American Charging System (NACS) plug, making them compatible with Tesla's Supercharger network out of the box. (Charging at CCS stations will also be possible via an included adapter.) The EV will be capable of charging at up to 235 kW and should be able to optimally juice from 10% to an 80% state of charge in around 24 minutes at a 350 kW DC fast charger.
Bumper-to-bumper, the 2026 Ioniq 9 measures 199.2 inches, eclipsing the full-size Hyundai Palisade (the now former largest model in Hyundai's US fleet) by half a foot. Even more impressive is the 9's stretched 123.2-inch wheelbase, which is a full 9-inches longer than the combustion-powered flagship. On paper, the Ioniq's footprint is comparable to that of Rivian's R1S, but with backseat head and legroom that edges out the competition. Indeed, I found both the second and third rows to be quite comfortable when I checked the Ioniq 9 out for myself.
When matched with the black body trim, the fender eyebrows echo the squared wheel arches of the Ioniq Seven concept.
The Ioniq 9's chassis is wrapped with a handsome silhouette and a roofline that rises from gently to a peak just above the second row before falling off rapidly towards the abrupt, upright tail. The width of the SUV also tapers towards the rear end, creating what Hyundai's designers call an aerodynamic boat tail which is emphasized by strong, flared shoulders over the rear wheel arches.
I especially love how the SUV's shape plays with scale and proportion. Viewed from the rear, it looks quite small thanks to the low roof, converging greenhouse and wide haunches that make it feel more like a large sportwagon than an upright SUV. (I mean, look at that shoulder and those vertical taillights and tell me you don't see a bit of early 2000s Volvo V70R in there.) However, when viewed from the front, the strong horizontal pixel light visor and broad glossy black grille emphasize and amplify the SUV's size and width. The scale of the SUV seems to shift depending on whether it's coming or going, giving it a feeling of motion that I dig.
By far the weirdest and most interesting design element are the half-moon "eyebrows" cut into the wheel arches. These are a nod to the original Ioniq Seven concept, which had open square wheel arches that would have been an aerodynamic nightmare on the production car. The eyebrows are supposed to help create that squared off look around a round opening. How successfully they pull it off depends largely on the color; the effect is more visible on colorways with glossy black body trim. (Hyundai also hinted that this element allows it flexibility to reshape the wheel arch easily if it decides to, for example, fit big knobby tires to an off-road variant.)
Second row passengers are able to take advantage of the Ioniq 9's legroom with optional reclining captain's chairs.
There aren't many surprises to be found inside the Ioniq 9's cabin. The SUV features a familiar digital dashboard with dual 12-inch displays, though here the screens are curved rather than flat, creating a more premium look and feel. The center console can be opened from the front seats or the rear thanks to a clever dual hinge system, plus the whole thing can slide backwards up to 7.5-inches for even better backseat reach and to make room on the flat floor for purses or backpacks up front.
In its homeland of South Korea, the Ioniq 9 will be offered with camera-based digital side mirrors that improve aerodynamics. Thanks to regulations, US drivers will be checking their blind spots with regular optical mirrors. We also won't get the option to equip the SUVs swivel second-row seats that provide a novel twist on comfort while parked. Though, the optional reclining captains chairs are a nice consolation.
My favorite additions to the cabin are the nine 100-watt USB type-C charging ports located around the cabin across all three rows. The ports draw power directly from the high-voltage battery (rather than the 12-volt accessory battery) making them technically part of the EV's vehicle-to-load (V2L) system, ensuring that you won't find yourself stuck should you decide to charge a half-dozen MacBooks while parked. Speaking of V2L, the Ioniq 9 will be capable of external power delivery via an adapter. (However, its NACS port will likely necessitate a different adapter from the CCS V2L dongle current E-GMP vehicles use.) The EV will also be bidirectional charging ready -- able to tie into home energy systems -- and vehicle-to-grid energy management with the appropriate hardware.
The Ioniq 9 goes on sale in the first half of 2025.
US-bound examples of the 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 will begin production at the automaker's Georgia plant in the first half of 2025. Either way, Hyundai is holding final pricing and detailed specs until a time closer to the on sale date. WIth similar tech, but a larger battery, I believe that the Ioniq 9 will start just North of the Kia EV9 Long Range's approximately $60,000 price tag. American assembly would qualify the Hyundai for the full $7,500 EV tax credit, but that incentive may not even be around by the time deliveries start, I can only hope that Hyundai prices the 9 to be competitive without it.