BIGGER ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER

Mat Gallagher looks forward to a more compact SUV

- Mat Gallagher

Earlier this month I got to drive the Kia EV9. This is the company’s flagship electric SUV and has received rave reviews. It was a contender for our T3 awards but it got pipped at the post by some very strong competition. I really enjoyed driving the EV9 but I don’t think it’s for everyone. Partly for one of the reasons I loved it: it’s absolutely huge. This 7-seater SUV dwarves most cars on the road, with the exception of a Land Rover Defender 130 and a couple of other big 7-seaters. It makes it feel like you’re driving a truck – though to be fair, a very tech-heavy truck. The SUV has been the mainstay of electric vehicles so far. Not just because they have become the most popular car style globally, but because that bigger and taller form factor makes them much easier to fit with the batteries an EV requires. However, most people don’t need an SUV, let alone one as big as the EV9.