2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 First Drive Review: A Fitting Flagship

Hyundai just made the game harder for everyone else.

There’s no point burying the lede here: the 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 is an exceptionally impressive vehicle, taking a brand known for leaps-and-bounds progress to yet another level. After spending the day wheeling one around beautiful Vancouver Island—in what turned into (for me) an unplanned quasi range-test no less—it’s clear the Ioniq 9 is a suitable new flagship for the Korean brand, delivering comfort, style, and practicality in spades.

This whole model. Like the other all-electric Ioniq options in the Hyundai family, this one rides on the E-GMP platform, though this is the largest iteration yet. Larger even than the Kia EV9, which got the jump on the Ioniq 9 by a year and a half. Compared to Kia’s three-row, the Ioniq 9 is a little bigger in every direction: a length of 199.2 inches (5,060 millimeters) puts it two inches longer than its sibling, and right between the Tesla Model X and Rivian R1S. The wheelbase stretches to 123.2 inches (3,130 mm), longer than any competitor.

That large footprint makes it possible for Hyundai to sling its highest-capacity battery pack under the vehicle as well. An 110.3-kilowatt-hour pack is the only option; no small batteries for a rare base model to keep the advertised starting price low here. At the time of writing, Hyundai hadn’t confirmed whether that capacity is gross or net, but we’re assuming the former as that’s usually the quoted figure for its EVs.

There are three powertrain choices for the Ioniq 9 at launch. The rear-drive, single-motor setup is the range champ, its 215 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque pairing with 335 miles (539 kilometers) of range. The dual-motor, all-wheel drive model bumps power to 303 hp and 446 lb-ft, trimming range to 320 mi (515 km). A high-performance AWD option delivers 422 hp and 516 lb-ft while still maintaining a range of 311 mi (500 km).

Much of this long-distance capability can be chalked up to an aggressively aero-optimized shape. A drag coefficient of just 0.269 makes the Ioniq 9 slipperier than the Ioniq 5, but not as much as the streamlined Ioniq 6. Hyundai has achieved this without leaving the design with all the visual tension of a bar of soap, too. There are clear links between this and the other Ioniq models, specifically in the hundreds of Parametric Pixels dotting the exterior, but the 9 goes its own way. The light bar up front gives it mega-Kona vibes, while the large black-out panel below has shades of Santa Fe. There are adaptive vents down in the chin a la Ioniq 5, but they can now move fore and aft in addition to tilting open, adjusting air flow as needed.

It's the rear three-quarter that I believe shows off the Ioniq 9 best. Here the teardrop tapering of the body is most apparent, with the pronounced downward curve of the roof terminating in that huge, wraparound lighting element framing the liftgate. The 9 bucks the trend of smaller rear windows, as the tail is more glass than metal, and the look is kept clean by the tucked-away high wiper and H logo etched into the glass itself. Other clever design nods include the way the chrome window surround aligns with the rear of the roof rails, or the black trim that connects the front lights to the rear. There are a few green exterior hues too, including the barely-there one seen here.

Every model on the launch is the top trim, known as the Calligraphy Design in America or (deep breath) Preferred AWD with Ultimate Calligraphy Package in Canada. This trim delivers the full 422-horsepower shove, and it is deceptively quick when in Sport mode. That’s not really the Ioniq 9’s natural attitude however, so sticking to the standard mode matches the feel. Here the Ioniq 9 is plenty quick to dispatch dawdling trucks on mountain passes, and it delivers its power smoothly and linearly. I-Pedal, Hyundai’s regenerative setup, allows for full one-pedal driving, and now also features a dynamic mode that the company says learns from drivers’ habits. Unfortunately, it still doesn’t stick to the most aggressive setting when shifting back to drive from reverse, or turning the vehicle off.

Taking a longer, scenic route than originally planned, through some very hilly roads and left “idling” for about 30 minutes due to an accident down the road, the Ioniq 9 returned a very competitive 22.0 kWh per 100 km, which translates to 2.82 miles per kWh. That aligns almost exactly with the quoted range. Charging capability is the same as other E-GMPs, though the larger capacity means a few extra minutes (40 min) of DC fast-charging to do the industry-standard 10-to-80 percent charge. The Ioniq 9 ships with the North American Charging Standard (NACS) port, and Hyundai will include a CCS adapter with purchase.

I’d be curious to see how the base rear-drive model performs. Hyundai says it will take 8 or 9 seconds to reach highway speeds, but around town is where EVs shine. Will people accept mid-aughts compact car acceleration for the huge range?

While the Ioniq 9 never “shrinks” around you like some sportier three-rows out there, it remains a hugely predictable and consistent handler. Like other EVs, it carries all its weight down low, so it feels planted through all the undulations of our drive route, and turn-in is sharper than the curb weight alone suggests. There’s a decent amount of weight to the wheel in the standard drive mode; Sport adds, while Eco reduces. There are also multiple terrain drive modes should you be encountering inclement weather on the family road trip.

Even on the large 21-inch alloy wheels, the Ioniq 9 rides with the quiet grace we associate with luxury cars. The combination of well-judged damping, triple-sealed glass, active noise cancellation, and that slippery drag coefficient turns the big Hyundai into a bank vault on wheels. My drive partner and I would pre-emptively wince ahead of some bad-looking bumps in the road, only to have the Ioniq 9 roll over them with a muffled rumble. For an even better bit of context: while this can't match the sportiness of the Lucid Gravity, another three-row EV, it arguably rides better.

And it’s so spacious. Even the third row has 39.7 inches (1,008 mm) of headroom, and 32 inches (813 mm) of legroom. That latter number tells only half the story: it's comfortable back there for two adults. The one bug bear is that the power-folding seats are very slow in their operation, something I noticed at the Ioniq 9 reveal last year and hoped would be improved for production.

The cabin design succeeds where the Ford Taurus failed so badly at 30 years ago: making the circle the dominant shape. Nearly everything is rounded in here, from the perforated door panels to the memory buttons to the cubbies between the footwells. It feels natural and inviting, especially in the two-tone treatment of this range-topper. Hyundai has leaned further into sustainable materials here too, with recycled PET bottles making up the carpets. The “bio” suede of the Calligraphy headliner would fool anybody into thinking it’s real unless told. Crucially, the way-back doesn’t feel like an afterthought, with the same perforated and twin-tone treatment, plus sizable cupholders.

The sliding center console now moves further than the one in the Ioniq 5 and feels more solid doing so. It also offers an internal cubby that can slide independently, making it easy to pass items to the second row.

It isn’t a complete home run, mind you. While I appreciate the marble-like finish of the Calligraphy trim—even if “Calligraphy” isn’t written in, well, that—the metallic-like trim that surrounds it isn’t entirely convincing. This isn’t even so much a Hyundai issue as it is across all the Korean brands: it still “looks” plastic.

Hyundai’s latest infotainment system is a good one: quick and easy to use, with plenty of main menu customization to tailor it for your most-used apps. Should you need to dive in for further details, there aren’t myriad sub-menus to get lost in, either.

This top-shelf tester comes with everything Hyundai offers, including the full-recline Relaxation seats, which now covers the front four seats—though you won’t want all four occupied at once. The driver benefits from the Ergo Motion Seat, which subtly expands and contracts bags within the seat on longer trips to keep the driver attentive.

An important note: the Ioniq 9 uses a separate climate system for the rear of the cabin. Not only is this more efficient than piping hot or cold air all the way from the front, it allows for a rear-only mode should you want to camp in the car.

Hyundai's suite of driver assists work as expected, with standouts including a crisp 360-degree camera (with Blind Spot View Monitor, of course) and a usefully large head-up display, keeping eyes up on the road. We found Highway Drive Assist an odd one: it is very lax with wanting hands on the wheel, going for full minutes before any sort of reprimand.

Pricing for the Ioniq 9 does reflect its move upmarket, though maybe not as much as you might think.

In America, the kick-off price is $60,555 including destination for the Ioniq 9 S, the only rear-drive option. Moving up to the dual-motor SE requires $64,365, and the SEL adds things like 20-inch alloys, power-folding mirrors, hands-free power liftgate and more for around $3,500. From there the $72,850 Limited includes the 422-horsepower setup, the $76,590 Calligraphy ladles on the fanciness, and the Calligraphy design adds unique wheels for an additional $1,500.

The Canadian trims are different. The Essential RWD acts as the entry point, for a reasonable $62,049 CAD including destination. Buyers have two $67,049 CAD choices: the Preferred AWD bundles in more features with the 303-hp setup, while the Preferred AWD+ prioritizes the 422-hp powertrain. The Preferred AWD Luxury Package runs $78,549 CAD, and the only way to get the six-seat setup with the full-recline seats is the Preferred AWD+ with Ultimate Calligraphy package here, totalling $83,549 CAD.