Does the Kia EV9 Hit the Family EV Sweet Spot? [Video]

The Hyundai Group is leading the non-Tesla EV charge, with an aggressive rollout of vehicles built on the group’s E-GMP platform through its Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands and the Kia EV9 represents the Korean carmaker’s effort to stake a claim on the meat-and-potatoes three-row SUV market.

The EV9’s impressive technology, specifications, and reasonable $56,395 starting price make it a contender to help EV sales break out of the green-car niche and into the driveways of mainstream customers who are currently snapping up the brand’s very similar gas-powered Telluride as quickly as the company’s West Point, Georgia plant can produce it. The EV9 is currently manufactured in Gwangmyeong, South Korea, but production in West Point will start this summer.

The EV9 looks especially appealing when compared to the pricey, harsh-riding Rivian R1S reviewed recently. The 215-horsepower, 258-lb.-ft., rear-drive base EV9’s “Light” trim level comes with a 76.1-kilowatt-hour battery pack that is rated for 230 miles of driving range.

My preferred configuration would likely be …