The upcoming Hyundai IONIQ 9 the three-row EV SUV was caught inside and out by our colleagues at Baldauf ahead LA Auto Show reveal in November. This reveals the full production lighting, along with a good look at the interior. We just got a thoroughly revealing look at Hyundai’s new 3-row EV, with detailed looks at its interior, and our best glimpse yet at its production lighting.
This EV was foreshadowed by Hyundai’s “SEVEN” concept, leading many to believe that it would be called the Ioniq 7 when it reached production. The current rumblings predict that it will, instead, be called the IONIQ 9, as its a three-row SUV which will serve as Hyundai’s counterpart to Kia’s EV9 three-row that burst on the scene last year.
Regardless of its name, it’s clear that Hyundai’s new three-row will stay remarkably faithful to the modernistic concept, even capturing its modern lighting which rings its entire rear hatch in LED lights. Even with its black vinyl camouflage strapped to its rear hatch, we can see the red ring of light shining through, in dramatic fashion. Up front, the LED signatures are also a direct match to the concept. The front turn indicators are spotted as a series of yellow dots blinking at the corners, in a style we’ve seen before—typical Hyundai design flair that we’ve come to expect.
The three-row Ioniq is remarkably smooth, with a flowing silhouette, and smooth integration of its side glass and pillar interfaces. Part of the front fender swell is visible, which is a direct match to the concept, so we expect all of the show vehicle’s surface development to see production in some form.
A Detailed Look Inside
We managed to get some great looks at the IONIQ 9’s interior, with shots from both the driver and passenger sides.
We see a large landscape screen expanse, which contains the driver’s instrumentation, and then flows to the center stack for the infotainment display. Sleek HVAC vents stretch horizontally along the dash, atop a row of buttons which will handle the audio for all three rows of seating. Capacitive touch icons sit at the bottom of the stack to handle the HVAC settings, with large temperature dials at the outer edges.
We see a very unique door handle design, comprehensive steering wheel controls, and some curious switchgear to the right of the steering wheel and around the center arm rest. Hyundai’s take on the new Ioniq’s interior certainly seems to be forward-thinking.
Detailed Range Info Spotted On Screen
First of all, it looks like the odometer on this prototype shows a mere 108 miles, so this is a very new build with fully production-spec details. The Driver’s cluster prominently displays the driving range indicator, and it gives us a good idea of the range that this EV Will provide. We watched this prototype drive for about ten miles from the tech center, when it finally came to rest.
At this point, the range indicator showed a 95% charge on the battery, with a likely remaining range of 308 miles. The graphic also showed Maximum and Minimum ranges: 480 miles at the Max, with 204 miles at minimum. We’re not sure what factors are taken into account for these values, but it appears that more than 300 miles are expected with normal driving conditions.
Hyundai’s new three-row IONIQ 9 (or IONIQ 7—time will tell) is now well on its way to completion with this fully production-spec prototype. The dramatic lighting and modern design of the concept is now solidly part of reality. And now we can show that a handsome interior has some design flair of its own, making for a pretty compelling addition to Hyundai’s burgeoning lineup of EV offerings.
