The Hyundai Ioniq 9 Is the ‘Bullet Train’ SUV Ford Wouldn’t Build
The American-made electric model is roomy and efficient.
It sounded like a dream machine. Ford in 2023 revealed plans to sell a spacious three-row electric SUV with 350 miles of range. It would be light and so sleek that Ford CEO Jim Farley likened it to a “personal bullet train.” A year later, the dream was dead.
Ford canceled the model as it turned its attention toward developing new, more conventional hybrid SUVs. It never even got around to releasing an image of what it would look like, but there’s a new vehicle that might give us an idea. Just not a Ford.
The 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 seems to be a lot like what Ford had in the works. It is a large, three-row electric crossover with bullet-shaped nose and a body tapered toward the rear that is designed for low aerodynamic drag. It can go up to 335 miles per charge and is so roomy it is just two sliding doors short of being considered a minivan.
Better still for car shoppers, while the Ford was slated to be built in Canada, the Ioniq 9 is assembled at a new factory in Georgia, so it is sold tariff-free and qualifies for the $7,500 federal tax credit on electric vehicle purchases, while that program lasts.
Without the discount, the Ioniq 9 starts at $60,555 and can be optioned up to $79,090. It is technically a mainstream model, but the top trims bump up against electric luxury SUVs like the Cadillac Vistiq and Rivian R1S.
It closest competitor comes from much closer to home. The Ioniq 9 shares its platform with the Kia EV9, which is a corporate cousin that is built at a different factory in Georgia. Pricing is similar, but the styling of the boxy EV9 a stark contrast to the Ioniq 9, which is also slightly larger and a lot roomier inside.
Hyundai
The base powertrain is a 215 horsepower rear-wheel-drive system that delivers that 335-mile range, but a 303 horsepower all-wheel-drive option is still good for 320 miles. The high-end AWD Performance Limited I tested had a 422 horsepower all-wheel-drive system and 311 miles of range.
Those are very good range numbers, but made even better by the Ioniq 9’s charging system. It runs on an 800-volt system that can fill the battery from 10% to 80% in 24 minutes at a 350-kilowatt fast charging station. That is one of the shortest charge times of any EV on sale today. It is also equipped with a Tesla-style plug so it can be used at the Supercharger network, which needs 40 minutes to charge it, but widely available.
