The New York Auto Show has revealed quite a bit about the automotive industry and that includes details about the Kia EV9. Along with the U.S. specs, we got an up-close look at it only to notice that it doesn’t have swiveling seats like overseas versions do. Kia tells Carscoops that they won’t be available in the U.S. any time soon.
In the middle of March, the EV9 made its global debut with styling that is nearly identical to the concept that preceded it. Included in that debut were second-row captain’s chairs that swivel 180 degrees so that rear-seat occupants can face one another. Sure, that might constrain leg-room a bit but it’s a novel and fun family feature.
As other journalists noticed, including from MotorTrend, the swivel seats weren’t anywhere to be found in the EV9 on display at the New York Auto Show. We reached out to Kia to find out what the deal was, and they confirmed that American customers would have to come to terms with facing forward in those seats.
Read: Everything Else We Saw At The 2023 New York International Auto Show
A Kia spokesperson confirmed to Carscoops that “The swivel seats are not part of the plan in the U.S. at launch, like a handful of other features mentioned in the global release. We are always studying ways to bring innovative features to life.” So it looks like American customers won’t be getting swivel seats in the EV9 – for now at least.
But it’s not all bad news as the EV9 will still have the same second-row super-lux chairs from the Kia Carnival. These chairs have power adjustability, heating, ventilation, and even thigh support extensions, offering a luxurious and comfortable seating option.
We also asked Kia about the seating arrangement for the six and seven-seater versions, and they confirmed that the third row of the EV9 will seat two passengers, resulting in a 2+3+2 configuration for base models with a three-seat bench and a 2+2+2 configuration for models with captain’s chairs.
And while we were at it, we inquired about the U.S. specifications for the single electric motor powering the rear wheels in the long-range model with the 99.8 kWh battery, which is rated at 201 HP in the international version (as compared to 215 HP for the standard range model with the 76.1 kWh battery), as Kia has not yet released output figures for North America. The spokesperson replied, “We’ll share more details about the powertrain configurations as we near launch.”
Additional reporting by John Halas
