Wanted: Big, Practical, Luxury, 7-seat electric car. Is this the answer? | First impressions.
Welcome everybody. My name is Richard and I like to change cars a lot. Really, that’s why I started a used car business. I could run a car, sell it before I lost money, go and buy another thing, try it again. Anyway, today’s the day. I’ve just picked up my new daily driver for probably the next month, maybe two months, maybe longer if I really like it. So, little bit of background before I show you the car that’s sat right there. Uh, in fact, do you want to just see what it is to avoid the clickbait too much? Right, it’s over here. Look, here it is. The great big tank of a thing, the Kia EV9. So, let me explain. Viewers of the channel will know that as well as having Teslas and we use them day in day out and obviously a big advocate for electric cars, I also had a Land Rover Discovery in the background just because I have the practical needs. Now, there’s a bit of towing. That’s another issue. Can’t Well, you can tow quite a lot with this but not enough for what I need. However, I love the Land Ro Discovery for its sheer size and practicality. Occasionally, seven seats, plenty of room in the boot. And in reality, this is about as close as you can get to a Land Rover Discovery that is electric. Um, now recently I’ve been driving a VW Buzz. Love the Buzz. In fact, I did have an order in for a new Buzz GTX. So, that that collapsed at last minute for a long story. It doesn’t need to matter. So, in the end, I found myself a used Kia EV9. Now, what I like about cars like this, very expensive, new, this is a GT Line S, of course, top of the range model, which was something like 77 or,000 new, but today much cheaper. 18 months old, just under 5,000 miles on the clock, so it’s not the mileage, but much cheaper. And I’ve always loved this. Get that initial depreciation bite out the way, and then it makes for a brilliant used buy. Great value, especially for luxury type stuff. So, basically, for the next month, couple of months, three months, we’ll see how much I like it. This is going to be my daily. So, am I excited about this? What am I expecting to like and not like? Well, yeah. I like to try new things. I’ve only driven a Kia EV9 quite briefly before. It’s been highly reviewed by everyone who’s ever touched one of these. Everyone in the media always seems to praise it for just being a great great car. And I’ve only ever driven one quite briefly before. I didn’t even test drive this one before buying it. So, and is it exciting? Well, yeah. I like to try new things, but really it’s driven by practical needs. It’s just big and long and you can get seven people in and the space is great. It’s as big as you can really get an electric vehicle at the moment, unless you go to a van type electric vehicle like the Buzz. The trouble with things like the Buzz is they’re great. Love the Buzz, but you are still driving the van. It doesn’t have that kind of sense of luxury about it. So, what I’m hoping for here, it’s got most of the practicality of a Buzz, but with that sense of a bit of luxury as a color, I do really like this. Uh, inside the standard interior, which is the black and white. I’ll show you that briefly. You’ve probably seen it if you’re into EV9s. You would have seen other reviews and stuff like that. So, we’ve got that nice interior of massage seats and recliner seats and stuff like that. Topsp spec Meridian sound system. Hopefully, that’s good. But, like I say, I actually have never really spent much time in this. So, this is my first time having driven lots of EVs in the EV9. So, I’m going to jump in it now and do 150 mi journey back and I’ll let you know my first impressions. Okay, that was a continuous 2 hours 31 minutes in the car. I’m just getting out now. So, before I turn this off, I left with 100%. I’ve done a total of 130.6 miles and I still got 53% of the battery left, averaging 2.8 m per kow. And it was a real mixed bag. Sun and then torrential rain, then sun, then torrential rain, then sun, then torrential rain. So, good mixed bag, but good to see. still uh more than half the battery left. So range easily still 260 270 could be more. Uh pros and cons then and everyone’s waiting to have a look at it there. Uh quick few pros and cons that I’ve got so far. One refinement very very good. So very well insulated, very smooth, quiet, very refined. It’s got that kind of Land Rover or Range Rovery feel. I mean it feels like a big tank. It is a big tank and it’s refined and smooth and quiet. It’s not air suspension and you can tell that it doesn’t quite waft like an air suspension car would, but it’s comfortable. Two, I noticed the sound system. This Meridian audio was very good. Enjoyed that. Uh, three, the highway assist actually quite good like that. That was no problem. And so, good first impressions actually. Downside, as predicted, the software is just not pretty good. Yeah, it’s not pretty. It’s not good looking, but it’s functional. And I’ve got wireless Apple CarPlay, so I’m on that. That’s fine. To the efficiency, I said I don’t think it was going to be that good. Actually, 2.8 in the conditions we’ve just driven through, I don’t think it’s too bad. Um, and the other negative, again, predictable. Hyundai, Genesis, Kia, vented seats. You put it on the minimum vented seat and it’s too cold. So, you need like a a 0.5 setting rather than going up two more notches. Uh, I don’t quite like the finish on this roller shutter thing inside here. Have a look at this bit here. Oh, yeah. Good side. Seats. Very, very comfortable. They’re good. Love them. Uh, it’s good. It is good. I can see why everyone does rave about it. It does feel like a big tank. You got to be happy with that. But it’s good and refined and I think it is a viable alternative to Discoveries, Range Rovers, that kind of stuff. Right, that’s it. And there’s Joe and Serge waiting to have a look. It is comfy. Serge, you should get in the front. It is. I can tell straight away. This is a comfortable car. Oh, I don’t like them. I like the interior. It’s a lot of black plastic and stuff going on. But having said that, this kind of gray glossy finish. So, this has got loads of things. Look, there’s a thing here, and then there’s this, and there’s buttons there, and there’s that. And I could really annoy Richard. likes to get everything set completely perfectly. And if you use a car that Richard’s been using and you even he’s like, “Don’t change the seat. Don’t do this.” And I’m like, “Well, I I can’t drive it unless I move the seat.” But he gets very grumpy. So, in this car, I can imagine there’s lots of things that I could move and change. But yeah, it’s cool. It’s really really like it. There’s no good place to put your sunglasses. There’s a good spot here they could use, but you have to lift up the center console. It’s got the laid the sort of comfort seats with the leg rest, so you can put the autopilot on and then just lie down, go to sleep. Oh, that’s not cool. Good. No, it’s comfy. No, cuz it’s just it’s a fabric, so it’s going to hold dirt and you won’t be able to wipe it off. So, I’m not a fan of that. It’s comfortable, though. It’s like it’s like a Oh, I know what it is. It’s like It’s like a a string vest that’s been stretched over there. It’s like a anti macassa over an old sofa. Yeah, it is. It is. Kids these days don’t know what antimas are. Just tap the doy edges in on it. Yeah. So, I feel like that might that might have its downside. Like it. Oh, yeah. I’m sure. Maybe it give the seats a two tone. That should have been dark gray. Wireless charge. You like the feel of this? Yeah. I mean, must be the only time I’ll ever feel it. I’ve don’t ever felt the roof of my own car. That’s not a thing on the list of things to do. Right. Now, if I have you got this all set up how you like it. Yeah. Just leave it. Prediction. Oh. Oh. Can you reach the pedals? What’s this guy? Oh, this guy’s just going to Oh, okay. That’s really handy. This is really Yeah, perfect. Leg room’s quite reasonable. Did you move your seat forward? Maybe. Smooth. Quite a lot of things happen. And often Oh, there’s one. How did you know that was going to happen? I don’t know what it is. No, the dashboard’s quite small. The information there’s a lot. There is a lot on there as well. I don’t want to put my head back on your string vest. Oh, it’s nice. It’s fine. Unless you got greasy hair. I mean, Serge has got gel in, so I’m not sure how that’s wax. It’s wax. Actually, just because Rich doesn’t know what hair products are, don’t rub it in. Just don’t use. Yeah, it’s a lot quieter, isn’t it, than the Model Y? Bit wallowy, but still smooth. But yeah, that’s pretty good. Oh, that was effortless. This is cool cuz it feels like a pillow here. What? The string vest? Yeah. Yeah. You re you reclin in there, are you, Rich? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Off you go. Drive. I’m ready for a little nap. Hey, chauffeer. Chauffeer. What? Just trying to intimidate this car in front of you. Uh, yeah, but it’s wrong. It says it’s 40 here, and it’s actually 60. Yeah, it’s pretty cool. It’s a cool thing. I must admit, I’m a fan already. And you’re like 5 m away from Yeah. Well, you’re not going to park it then. What’s wrong with that? It’s fine. Tom can walk around it. I don’t care. We can buy another guy behind you. Well, there go and get one then. Do you want to see? Right. Leave that seat there. Um or should we put a normal height person in it and then see s get that seat in the opposition? Yeah. S you’re normal. Said no one. So, are you comfortable like that? Yeah. Okay. So, I’ve moved my seat forward. So, I’m still like this would be like a normal car. If I leave the seat right back, it’s ridiculous, right? So, if I now move this to like a normal car, like still comfortable like that. Um, I’ll try and get behind. Let’s have a look. I’ve got to put the seat up first. Okay, let’s try this. So, it hasn’t remembered where I put the seat. I kind of want it to go down and where I put the seat. Hang on. Let’s try that. I know it does. You got to kind of force it down first. Yeah. I I mean I’d be good for a while. I reckon, you know, I’ll do a couple of hour journey happy enough. I reckon I’ve got cup holder and USBs and I can recline quite a long way. Then I can wedge my knees against the seat in front and actually get a pretty good nap. I reckon. Yeah, it’s it’s all right. It’s, you know, it’s not a it’s not a VW buzz. If you need proper easy massive leg room, seven of you, then you’re going to have to drive a van. And the buzz is pretty good as vans go, but or Evaro or an EQS. But good though they are, they still feel like you’re driving a bit of a van. Okay. Well, I’m quite happy. This is quite reasonable car. If they did a if they did a Tesla screen and like proper dog mode and the, you know, the native mapping was great and, you know, the sort of built-in sentry mode and dash cams via your phone and all that kind of stuff. Don’t mess it around, Joe. It’s not even funny. I’m not I will play with your car remotely. You I was actually just seeing if I could find a different radio station, but it took me to the nav. So, you’re on media. You’re looking for radio station. Yeah, I pressed media and it was displaying that. So, I went up here to go to search. Yeah, like that. And what sort of media are you searching for? Well, I don’t know. Just like country music or something. I was just trying to find radio station. Country music. Well, it doesn’t matter what I want because it didn’t seem to want to find it. Do you listen to country music in your car? Yeah. 8% no listen to country in this country. Mark. Oh, here we go. Absolutely. I got it. It has. I was being stupid. Okay. Well, we’re going to carry on playing. Uh, so I think from us for now, that’s it. Thank you for watching. We’ll see you next video soon. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music]
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THIS VIDEO:
So, I bought a new car. But what is it?
In this video, I cover my first impressions, and what I dislike but also love about the electric tank that now sits on my driveway!
Richard Symons
R Symons LTD “RSEV”
Used EV Specialist based in New Milton, Hampshire on the South Coast near Southampton and Bournemouth
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