Ilocos via ICE, hybrid, and EV

Choose your own powertrain with Kia

- By NEIL PAGULAYAN

Its been a while since I drove as far north as Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte. This time, it would be with Kia and some cars from their their lineup: the fully electric EV9 SUV, the Hybrid Carnival, the Hybrid Sorento and gasoline powered Sonet. This would give us a taste of what it would be like to drive an electric, electrified and an ICE vehicle on a long road trip. How would they fare on a long road trip to Ilocos?

Kia EV9 GT-Line

We set off from Solaire North in Quezon City, and our first vehicle to drive was the Kia EV9, Kia's full-sized, electric, flagship SUV.

Driving it is a Permanent Magnet Synchronus Motor powered by a 99.8-kWh lithium-ion battery, which puts out 384-Ps with 700-Nm of torque and drives all four wheels. And even while on the Eco drive mode, still manages to accelerate like a sports car. The EV 9 has a range of 505-km, and of course that all depends on how you drive.

The interior appointments are high-tech and luxurious, most notable are digital side mirrors, where you have cameras mounted where the side mirrors would usually be. They're digital monitors inside the cabin located at the lower corner of the A-pillar, easily seen through your periphery. To make challenging long drives bearable, the driver's seat gets a massage feature, and so do the second row occupants in the captain's chairs.

As expected, the drive through the tail end of rush hour traffic on EDSA to NLEX and on to SCTEX was a breeze for the EV9. Not that we needed at that power on tap, but it sure made instant overtakes so easy. The ride was plush, but not too firm and NVH levels were low, with very minimal road noise making its way into the cabin at highway speeds. This allowed me and my car mate to enjoy our playlist at a moderate volume and to talk to each other without raising our voices. It helped that there was no engine to make any noise, and the premium Meridien 14-speaker audio system sounded pretty good too.