2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9: The case for an EV family SUV
The new three-row SUV offers a great driving experience, with quick acceleration, nice handling, simple controls, and speedy recharging. But space is a bit of an issue.
2025 GMC Acadia Denali AWD vs. 2026 Hyundai IONIQ 9 AWD Performance Limited: Midsize SUVs with totally different approaches.
This week: Hyundai Ioniq 9
Price: $74,300 as tested. Ugly $1,000 gray matte paint, $230 floor mats, and a $220 vehicle load adapter were the only options.
Conventional wisdom: “The 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 counters basically every anti-EV argument,” Motor Trend shouts in the headline on its First Drive. “Hyundai’s three-row, all-electric SUV does almost anything the middle-class family could possibly want.”
Marketer’s pitch: “Our first-ever, three-row, electric SUV.”
Reality: Motor Trend kinda nailed it.
What’s new: This three-row electric SUV expands the company’s Ioniq range for the 2026 model year. It boasts all the features of the other Ioniqs but with room for more passengers.
But it looks strangely like an old Volvo V70 from the rear.
Competition: In addition to last week’s GMC Acadia, competitors include Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Explorer, Kia EV9, Kia Sorento, Kia Telluride, Subaru Ascent, and Toyota Highlander.
Power consumption: I had planned to take the Ioniq 9 to visit Best Friend Since First Grade 1.0’s mother in the wilds of Schuylkill County, so the 330-mile range projection — higher than the spec sheet’s 311 for the model tested — was a reassuring feature.
After a few miles of Turnpike speeds the range dropped precipitously, and I grew nervous. I’m happy to report that over 200 or so miles of driving, the Ioniq 9 used up only an equal amount of projected range.
The Ioniq 9 recharged on The Little 110-Volt Wall Outlet That Could faster than a lot of EVs I’ve tested recently. The Ioniq 9 boasts a 24-minute 10% to 80% charge with the right adapter at the right station, and it came with three, so easy charging comes standard.
Up to speed: Like most EVs, the Ioniq 9 barely requires waiting when pulling into traffic. It just roars to 60 mph — well, OK, buzzes — in just 4.4 seconds, according to Car and Driver. That’s a pretty fast way to move a lot of people, and it dusts the Acadia’s 7.8 seconds.
The less pricey rear-wheel-drive model offers far slower performance, getting to 60 in 8.4 seconds, according to Consumer Reports.
Shiftless: I’m a fan of Hyundai’s twisty stalk gearshift, dialing for Drive or Reverse while not taking up console space.
On the road: We had plenty of chances to enjoy the Ioniq 9 on highways and country roads. It’s a large SUV, feeling bigger than it looks, and taking up a lot of lane. But in Sport mode and My Drive, it just goes right where you want it. It’s hard to have fun in three rows, but this one does it, and certainly better than the Acadia or its GM brethren.
Sport mode actually did make the back roads the most enjoyable, but it turned off the auto regeneration feature and with it the EV braking. This big three-row is tough to stop without it.
Cruising: The driver monitor system is supersensitive when you want to use the full-bore driver assistance system. It was forever telling me to keep my eyes on the road when I simply was looking in the rearview mirror or trying to find something on the screen.
Evidently, none of the cool kids at Hyundai R&D who tested this system had old-man narrowed eyes and thick glasses like Mr. Driver’s Seat. Fortunately, we old codgers know to look at the road and are happy enough with the monitor-free adaptive cruise.
Driver’s Seat: The Driver’s Seat offers all kinds of adjustment and makes for a pleasant companion, with grippy wings that don’t get too personal about it. The synthetic H-Tex material felt leathery and high end, and no cows were harmed in the making of this seat.
Friends and stuff: The middle row features captain’s chairs with all the comfort and high-tech features of the front, and even the wings. They’re a nice place to sit, reports Sturgis Kid 4.0.
The rear row features a bench for two that is definitely for the most self-effacing of family or friends. It’s flat and hard and sits low, and headroom and knee room are scant.
The embarrassment starts even beforehand, as the power fold function of the middle row seat takes a good long time to get out of the way; nothing like seating a carload of antsy kids with a seat that moves like that. Someone queue up the Jeopardy! theme song.
Cargo space is 86.9 cubic feet with both rows folded; 46.7 with the rear row down; and 21.9 in the back. Advantage, Acadia.
The floor space between the front seats is nice for a fairly large bag or package, but the phone cubby has a flat bottom, so my iPhone tended to travel around a lot.
In and out: It’s a bit of a climb as with any SUV, but we got our 90-year-old companion into the second row no sweat. “Son just puts a knee under my rear,” she joked. I wasn’t so bold.
Play some tunes: The Ioniq 9 may be futuristic and cool, but still offers a couple of silver dials for adjusting volume and tuning in the infotainment system. They’re subtly designed and still I found them useful. The row of silver buttons for sources remains, a Hyundai tradition that I support.
The 12.3-inch infotainment screen works simply. Sound from the Bose Premium Audio is solid, about an A-. The Acadia wins here, though.
Keeping warm and cool: Everything is handled via small icons on an ebony touch pad underneath the infotainment system. It mostly works OK, but the tiny blue or red lights for the seat heater and cooler fade in the sunshine.
Where it’s built: Ellabell, Ga.
How it’s built: Consumer Reports has not offered a prediction for the Ioniq 9 reliability, but the Ioniq 6 EV sedan gets a 3 of 5 and the Ioniq 5 two-row EV SUV gets a 2.
In the end: It’s $10,000 more than the Acadia, and I know that’s a lot, but the Ioniq 9 would definitely be a much better experience. But if you need real passenger space, one of the Kias will serve you better, or a Highlander.