An electric Toyota LandCruiser rival from under $100k? 2024 Kia EV9 electric car spied testing undisguised, reveal due soon

The Kia EV9's official debut approaches, with Australian timing expected later this year. (video images: @nacional.collector)

The 2024 Kia EV9 large electric SUV has been spied testing undisguised, signposting its ever approaching official global debut.

Expected to lob in the second half of the year, the Kia EV9 has the potential to be an electric car rival to the likes of the Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol, and with a starting price that won't crack six figures, CarsGuide has been told.

Seen undisguised driving through Santiago, Chile in a short video posted to Instagram by @nacional.collector, the EV9 doesn't appear to be wildly different from its initial concept.

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In terms of its size, the video here could be a little deceptive. The concept version of the EV9 is 4930mm long, 2055mm wide and 1790mm tall, almost on par with a Toyota LandCruiser 300, just slightly shorter and wider.

But the LC300 starts from $92,681 before on-roads, so surely a similarly sized electric SUV would cost much more. Not so, we were told by a Kia exec last year.

Kia Australia's general manager for product planning, Roland Rivero, told CarsGuide the EV9 should be in showrooms with a starting price below $100,000.

"As an entry point, we’re confident it can be a five-figure car," Mr Rivero said.

"Potential global pricing indicates that we might be able to bring it in just below six figures.”

Kia has hinted that the EV9 could start at less than 0k despite its size and space.

That’s got to be tempting for some buyers, given the E-GMP platform on which the EV9 will be built has already spawned highly regarded models like the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Outputs and range for the EV9 aren’t locked in, but expect a 0-100km/h sprint of around five seconds according to our best knowledge, and a range of almost 500km.

Given the platform’s charging capacity maxes out at up to 350kW, one of the best in the electric car game, the EV9 should be able to charge its large battery to 80 per cent from empty in less than 30 minutes.