Over 5 meters long, nearly 2 meters wide, massive and imposing, the Hyundai Ioniq 9 is the star of one of the coldest tests of the year. We took it across the Italian, Austrian, and German Alps in early January, with temperatures around -15°C and never above freezing. Yet it always kept us warm.
I would immediately define the Ioniq 9 as a sort of “paradox on four wheels.” A paradox because its dimensions are enormous for any city and for most European streets (finding a parking spot is rarely easy), given that it’s a SUV clearly designed with American and Asian tastes in mind. And yet, many of its qualities are best appreciated in the city: over speed bumps, cobblestones, and potholes, it delivers a comfort that is truly rare. In short, as long as you don’t have to stop, it’s incredibly comfortable. When it comes to parking—outside or in most urban garages typically designed by drunken architects—good luck.
As the flagship of the Korean brand, it’s a paradox because it comes from a mainstream manufacturer but offers premium solutions and interior quality that even many expensive cars can only dream of. My test was unusual: I covered 3,000 km in about four days, all in freezing conditions, along with three friends. It’s easy to see how four adults in a car like this travel better than in a limousine (we could even have brought a bottle of champagne to store in the compartment under the center armrest, but it’s not refrigerated—just to note one difference).
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The elegance of pixels
The Ioniq 9 builds on concepts already seen in the Ioniq 5 and 6, but evolves them further. Hyundai calls its style “aerosthetic,” a balance between futuristic elegance and aerodynamic efficiency—at least as much as possible on a beast like this. The powerful body, with a curved roof and tapered rear, achieves a surprisingly low drag coefficient of 0.259, aided by slim digital mirrors and active underbody flaps that direct airflow and cool the battery and motors.
Beyond the technical aspects, worthy of both a luxury car and a supercar, the Ioniq 9 pushes the pixel element beloved by Koreans to the extreme, especially with the large arch defining the rear lights. It’s a car that likes to be noticed, although it’s probably not the most visually successful of the family.
Not luxury, but…
I’ve always considered the Ioniq 5 a benchmark: an elegant, playful lounge. But it seems obvious now that I was thinking too modestly. The Ioniq 9 rightly approaches the experience of a five-star hotel suite, both in terms of cabin size and its walk-in-closet-like trunk (sorry, luggage compartment) thanks to a 3,130 mm wheelbase and flat floor, as well as the materials—especially in this Calligraphy version, highlighted in italic on the dashboard with a silver background, the only detail slightly out of place.
This is the seven-seat version (in Italy, the six-seat one with sliding central seats isn’t available), but four adults—including two over 1.90 m like myself—won’t have anything to complain about. The inspiration is modern interior design, the kind found in luxury spaces. And it shows: premium materials for upholstery, large windows including a panoramic sunroof covering the entire roof, heated seats, heated steering wheel, curved screens, Schuko socket, even a UVC sterilizer for smartphones or personal items—though I’m not sure how often it will be used daily.
The mentioned walk-in-closet trunk allowed the two more extravagant members of the group—myself included—to travel with a checked suitcase each, plus room for several more trolleys, backpacks, bags, and more. If we had wanted to bring skis, moon boots, or other bulky items, there would have been no problem. And the Bose audio system? Naturally, it works well—though I’ve experienced better.
Snow is its asphalt
The lineup includes three versions: Long Range RWD with 215 hp (rear-wheel drive, best for long distances); Long Range AWD with 303 hp; and Performance AWD with two motors producing 428 hp, 700 Nm of torque, and 0–100 km/h in 4.9 seconds. That last one is the test car, with impressive numbers for a car over 5 meters long and weighing more than 2.6 tons. But that’s not what impresses most. Even more remarkable is how it sometimes masks changes in terrain: on snow or asphalt, it remains smooth and fluid. It’s not designed for heavy off-road use, but it handles light off-road conditions very well.
This performance is thanks to multilink suspension, dual-valve dampers, noise-reducing tires, and active noise cancellation. Regenerative braking can be used in single-pedal mode or traditional modulation. Steering is precise and pleasantly weighted, while the body remains stable in corners—a notable achievement for a car of this weight, which is electronically managed, though sometimes noticeable. Other features reinforcing its giant status include side-wind stability control and torque vectoring, all optimized by various driving modes: four for city and three for light off-road. A surprising detail is the digital mirrors: normally I dislike them, but in several situations—especially with freezing windows while the cameras remained clear—they literally saved me a lot of time.
The climate system uses a heat pump that recycles residual heat to maintain interior temperature without excessive energy use, with pre-conditioning available before departure. The results are impressive for a car like this, even at -15°C: energy consumption rarely drops below 29 kWh/100 km (in my test), yet on highways it covers 350+ km from full to empty, and over mixed routes at these temperatures it comfortably exceeds 500 km. Its nature is that of a long-distance traveler, aided by an 800-volt system with DC charging up to 350 kW and 10–80% charging times under 20 minutes. If the charging station delivers full power—which isn’t always guaranteed—the stops feel almost nonexistent. On such long trips, in fact, the stops become voluntary.
