Electric SUV gains black styling details and special interior trim, but also a 73 lb-ft torque boost from its dual-motor drivetrain
April 16, 2025 at 14:00
- Kia has revealed the EV9 Nightfall Edition alongside the EV4 at the New York Auto Show.
- The Nightfall gets gloss-black exterior trim, 20-inch alloy wheels and black leather seats.
- An electronic boost increases the 379-hp drivetrain’s torque output from 443 to 516 lb ft.
Special editions aren’t usually very special at all once you’ve scraped beneath the surface. Just think of all the pointless Corvette, Mini and MX-5 specials we’ve been subject to over the years. But the Kia EV9 Nightfall Edition is one we’re happy to give house room to because, while it’s not radically different, it really should be a little better to drive than the stock electric SUV it’s based on.
Revealed today at the New York Auto Show alongside the EV4 and K4 hatch, the Nightfall Edition is on the face of it your usual special lashed together by the marketing department to give a model some added appeal once the initial rush of excitement has faded, and tide it over till facelift time.
Related: Kia’s First Electric Sedan Is Here To Beat The Model 3 At Its Own Game
It’s based on the six- and seven-seat mid-range EV9 Land but adds gloss-black exterior detailing on the front grille, skid plates (gloss-black skids plates? yep, highly practical), mirrors, roof rails and mirror caps. There’s also a bespoke paint color available, Roadrider Brown, though we’ve no idea what it looks like because for reasons best known to Kia it issued pictures of a Glacial Pearl White version.
A new design of 20-inch wheels round out the exterior upgrades, but the tweaks continue inside, where the Land’s rather drab gray and black cabin gets a sporty makeover courtesy of an all-black color scheme. Both the headliner and the seats – which feature a much smarter, performance-themed stitching pattern – are black.
It’s Boosted
And that’s where most special editions end, but the Nightfall Edition keeps going. Because the 379 hp (384 PS / 283 kW) dual-motor electric drivetrain inherits the Boost mode normally reserved for the GT-Line EV9 (or available as a $900 Feature-on-Demand on Land models).
That mod bumps peak torque from 443 lb ft (600 Nm) to 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) and drops the zero to 60 mph (97 km/h) time from 5.7 seconds to 5.0 seconds according to Kia’s spec for the Land with and without the FoD. But Kia claims the Nightfall Edition can do the job in 4.5 seconds. Cars always feel faster at night, right?
We like the look and spec of the Nightfall though it’s hard to make a value call on it until Kia tells us how much more it costs than the $69,900 Land. But the Premium can’t be too high because the GT-Line is $73,900.
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