Compare the2024 Kia EV9VS 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Kia EV9 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

Both the EV9 and Grand Cherokee L have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The EV9 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Grand Cherokee L’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The EV9 has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

With its standard Forward Collision Avoidance Assist, the Kia EV9 is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Jeep Grand Cherokee L, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

Both the EV9 and Grand Cherokee L have rear cross-traffic warning, but the EV9 has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Grand Cherokee L’s Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the EV9 and the Grand Cherokee L have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Kia EV9 is safer than the Grand Cherokee L:

The EV9 comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Grand Cherokee L’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the EV9 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Jeep covers the Grand Cherokee L. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Grand Cherokee L ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 37 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is ranked 19th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in long-term dependability. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Jeep is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 16 places higher in reliability than Jeep.

The EV9 has more powerful engines than the Grand Cherokee L:

As tested in Motor Trend the EV9 GT-Line electric motors is faster than the Jeep Grand Cherokee L V8:

As tested in Motor Trend the EV9 GT-Line electric motors is faster than the Jeep Grand Cherokee L 3.6:

On the EPA test cycle the EV9 gets better mileage than the Grand Cherokee L:

The EV9 can travel with zero emissions for 230 to 304 miles (dependent on model). The Grand Cherokee L can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the EV9’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Kia EV9 higher (10 out of 10) than the Jeep Grand Cherokee L (5 to 7). This means the EV9 produces up to 19.8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Grand Cherokee L every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the EV9’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Grand Cherokee L:

The EV9 stops much shorter than the Grand Cherokee L:

For better traction, the EV9 GT-Line’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Grand Cherokee L (285/45R21 vs. 275/45R21).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the EV9 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Grand Cherokee L.

The EV9’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the EV9 is 1.4 inches wider in the front and 1.9 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Grand Cherokee L.

The EV9 GT-Line AWD handles at .87 G’s, while the Grand Cherokee L Limited 4x4 pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The EV9 GT-Line AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.8 seconds quicker than the Grand Cherokee L Overland (26.4 seconds @ .69 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

The EV9 is 7.7 inches shorter than the Grand Cherokee L, making the EV9 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the EV9 GT-Line AWD is quieter than the Grand Cherokee L Limited 4x4:

The EV9 has 1.4 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front legroom, 2 inches more front hip room, 2.4 inches more front shoulder room, 3.4 inches more rear legroom, 1.6 inches more rear hip room, 2 inches more rear shoulder room, 2.2 inches more third row headroom, .5 inches more third row legroom and 3.1 inches more third row shoulder room than the Grand Cherokee L.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the EV9’s middle and third row seats recline. The Grand Cherokee L’s third row seats don’t recline.

The EV9’s cargo area provides more volume than the Grand Cherokee L.

The EV9’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Grand Cherokee L’s standard rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully. Only its driver’s window closes automatically.

The EV9’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Grand Cherokee L’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Kia EV9 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Grand Cherokee L.

The EV9 (except Light/Wind)’s optional Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Grand Cherokee L Summit’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.

The EV9 was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2024. The Grand Cherokee L has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the EV9 as the 2024 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Grand Cherokee L has never been chosen.