When Hyundai’s E-GMP platform for electric vehicles arrived on the market, it cemented the Korean automaker’s place as one of the leaders of its industry. And in the absence of an influx of Chinese EVs, the Ioniq range of cars, crossovers, and SUVs is about as leading-edge as you’ll find in showrooms right now, particularly mainstream brands.
The first of the E-GMP cars was the Ioniq 5, which looks like a 1980’s hatch scaled up to the midsize crossover segment. Now made in the US, it has been a firm hit—and at the beginning of the month just got a hefty price cut, to boot. A midsized sedan followed, but these are a less common sight here given American car-buying tastes. Those tastes shaped the Ioniq 9, though.
The underlying technology might hail from Hyundai’s Namyang R&D center in South Korea, but the Ioniq 9 is the result of that technology expressed through the tastes of suburban America. Not so much the exterior styling, though. The hood is too low, the corners are more rounded, and it’s generally a less-threatening shape than the average domestic three-row SUV.
The family resemblance to the smaller Ioniq EVs shines through via the lights—”parametric pixels” in corporate design language—that frame the front and rear of the car. Sailing yachts were an inspiration to the design team, which shows up in the boat tail that continues, fairly or not, to evoke Range Rover vibes when I see it. But then, looks are subjective.