How Do a Camper, Bikes, and a Cargo Box Affect EV Range?
We tested the Kia EV9's range with added accessories including a roof box, bikes, and towing a camper. Towing especially reduces range, highlighting the need for a larger battery or gas engine when it comes to long-distance towing.
This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article Read Next
Can you practically haul skis or bikes or a camper with an EV? To answer that question, I saddled MotorTrend 's yearlong review 2024 Kia EV9 Land with three big-kid toys and measured their impact on range.
The toys we gathered up would make for a great summer vacation. General RV loaned us a Modern Buggy Little Buggy 12LRK, a 1,685-pound teardrop camper with a sleeping space for two, an exterior kitchen, and a rooftop tent. A Kuat Piston Pro bike rack provided a platform for two full-suspension mountain bikes, while a Yakima SkyBox 16 Carbonite cargo carrier clamped to Kia's $360 accessory roof-rack crossbars added 16 cubic feet of lockable, weather-resistant cargo space to the 20 cubes behind the EV9's third row. Suppressing a strong urge to drive off into the woods, I steered the EV9 to our Michigan proving ground where I tested each accessory individually and the full rig with all three toys attached. How We Tested EV Range
It would have taken days to run MotorTrend 's standard EV range test on public roads for all four configurations. That's not just a pain in the butt; the changing traffic and weather (which directly affects air density and drag) would compromise the results. To eliminate those variables, we performed coast-down testing on the proving ground's 1.6-mile straight.
Coast-down testing measures a vehicle's road-load force, or the amount of shove it takes to overcome air resistance, drivetrain friction, and tire losses to maintain a given speed. Automakers regularly use it as part of EPA range and fuel-economy testing, following the procedures and calculations outlined in SAE International's J2263 standard.
We used a simplified version of the SAE J2263 test for this story, but the basics are the same: Accelerate to 80 mph, shift into neutral, and let the Racelogic Vbox Touch data loggers record the speed trace as the vehicle slowly decelerates. The test is a rolling demonstration of just how aerodynamic and efficient modern cars are. With all the accessories removed, the EV9 sailed for more than a mile and was still traveling 40 mph at the end of the straight.
The power curves above are calculated from the road load force. It takes 35 hp to maintain 70 mph in the bare, stock EV9. Pushing the roof box through the air raises that to 38 hp, while pulling the trailer at 70 mph requires more than double that. The Range Results
An EV's MotorTrend Road-Trip Range represents how far it can travel at 70 mph using 95 percent of a full charge. Early in its stay, we established that our long-term EV9 Land can cover 270 miles in that test—a fantastic showing for a vehicle with an EPA range of 280 miles. The table below shows how range drops with the Yakima roof box, mountain bikes, and Modern Buggy camper hooked up.
See any surprises? We were expecting a bigger hit from the Yakima roof box, both on its own and when it was mounted along with the camper and bikes. We were also surprised to see that the bikes mounted on the back of the Kia had a larger impact on range than the cargo carrier (though the difference is small enough to be insignificant).
We're not surprised to see the Modern Buggy camper takes a huge bite out of the Kia EV9's range. While the teardrop camper is fully shielded by the EV9's frontal area, the rooftop tent sticks above the SUV's roofline and likely creates significant turbulence.
Kia engineers clearly knew that towing long distances would be a fool's errand. The moment you plug a trailer's electrical connector into the EV9, the range estimation plummets to just over 100 miles on a full charge, slightly under-promising so that the EV9 has a chance to overdeliver.
As long as you aren't traveling far, the EV9 is a fantastic tow vehicle. The factory-installed hitch is easy to access and features huge ears that make hooking up safety chains easy. The blind-spot cameras give you a great view when changing lanes, and with its upgraded 516 lb-ft of torque, our EV9 Land effortlessly tugs light loads.
Our big-kid toy test proves that it's possible to still cover long distances in an EV with a roof-mounted cargo carrier or rear-mounted bike rack installed. Towing, though, remains the one hurdle that can only be solved with a massive battery—or a gas engine. For More on Our Long-Term 2024 Kia EV9 Land: Can the 2024 Kia EV9 Electric SUV Replace a Gas-Powered Family Hauler?
We Downloaded More Torque and New Features for Our Kia EV9. Was It Worth the Cost?
Our Kia EV9 Charges Like a Champ—So Long as You Avoid Tesla Superchargers
Why Did Our Kia EV9's First Service Cost $322? Aren't EVs Supposed to Be Cheaper to Maintain?
Did Our Yearlong Kia EV9 Do a Crime?
1,100-Mile Road-Trip Roulette: Kia EV9 vs. Two Toddlers, One Dog, Single-Digit Temps, and Holiday Travelers
What the Kia EV9 Gets Right and Wrong About the Future of Cars
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