Which 3-Row EV Is Best? Volvo EX90 vs. Kia EV9 vs. Volkswagen ID. Buzz

Those three-row EVs that you've been waiting for have arrived. And now that they're here, you finally got some good options. You could go with the luxurious, design-forward Swede with the minimalist interior, or perhaps the groovy, retro-future electric bus with all the personality in the world. Or perhaps you just shouldn't complicate things and just go with our favorite, the techie, comfortable, not to mention award-winning, Kia EV9. So today, we're going to take you through the good and bad of each of these electric SUVs. I'm very awkwardly sitting right now. My legs are out like this. And of course, we're gonna show all that stuff that you can't find out from a Google search or a day at the dealership. And of course, they've all been on the world-famous Edmunds EV range test because here at Edmunds, we test everything. Are you ready? Before we get into all that, please like and subscribe so we can keep making videos like this one. And for more information on any of these vehicles and any other new or used vehicle, head over to edmunds.com. Now we know the EV9 really well, and we love it. This vehicle is part of the Edmunds year-long road test fleet, so our whole staff has driven it, and it serves as a great benchmark for these other two vehicles. We're gonna see what they can do better, what they might do worse, but one thing is for sure, neither of them can do this. And stop. That's perfect. That smart parking feature is cool, but we found the EV9 to be pretty great when you're driving it from inside of the vehicle as well. Acceleration is good with plenty of power, and although it can occasionally feel a little too soft on the road, it makes the ride smooth, and you still feel like you have good control of the vehicle. And yes, the driver assists are also great with super high-res cameras for parking and blind spot monitors, and on the highway, it stayed centered in its lane and could even change lanes for me on its own. But as anyone who's owned a three-row SUV will tell you, it's all about the interior. There is a lot to like about this cabin, but man, I love these headrests. The mesh is super supportive and breathable, and they're an indicator of how much attention to detail Kia has paid to this interior. Everything from the attention paid to the small but meaningful details to these great materials and just the overall design, look, and feel, this is a luxury-grade cabin that you're getting in something with a Kia badge. The front of the EV9 is great for small-item storage. You get a big bin down there, and this flexible area right here where you can store smaller items, and then when you need it to be, you can pop these things out, and then you have two cup holders, one of which is even big enough to fit this big water bottle. Now, this cup, this will also fit into the cup holders in both the second and the third rows. There is a great blend of physical buttons and controls on this interior, so you're not overly reliant on this touchscreen. However, what's in the touchscreen we really like. It's got a simple menu structure and standard wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Great there. Now, the only problem ergonomically with this interior is this climate control screen, which for some reason they put right here, and that means that it's blocked out by the steering wheel whenever you're driving, but thankfully, there are redundant physical controls for the climate, so you can control fan speed, temperature, mode, all right down here. You don't actually really need to touch that screen at all. I love it when a company pays almost as much attention to the second row as the first row. Now, these seats might be missing the headrests, and they might be missing some of the power adjustments like lumbar support, but you're getting heated and ventilated second row seats, and they contain plenty of adjustment. So if I wanna give room to people in the third row or take all the space for myself, I can do that. The other thing we really like about this second row is this pullout bin right here. It has a little thing on top that's rubberized so things won't slide around, and you can use this as a table while you're on the go, and then you close it up, and you have a nice storage bin here for second row passengers, and of course, since this is a Kia, you're gonna get a USB port for every seat in the six-seater versions like the ones that we have here. If you wanna bench, you're gonna have to go to one of the lower trim levels, so you can seat six or seven. Now, before I drag my adult-size posterior into that third row, there are a couple different ways that I can get back there. One, I can just climb right through the captain's chairs right here, or two, this seat has a power release, so I just press a button, and then you can climb in that way through the door. Now, here I am in the third row for the patent-pending three brines test. This driver's seat and the second row seat are set up to where I'm comfortable, and I'm just under six feet tall, and as you can see, I still have leg room to fit back here, so it passes, and the other thing that I like, there's plenty of room under this seat to fit your feet, so you don't have to jam them in somewhere. Other things we like about this third row, you actually have a few different recline settings for the third row, so you can get comfortable, you got a big window so you won't get car sick, and the air vents are in the ceiling right where they belong. On paper, the EV9 has the most cargo room behind its third row, and it was able to fit three out of our four bags. We'll see how the other ones do. Underneath, not much storage, and the load-in height is kind of high, so heavy items might be hard to get up here. Now, the thing that we do like about this cargo area is that on the right side, there are two switches so that you can lower the second row seats as well, so from the back hatch here, you can lower both the third and second rows to make a really big, flat cargo area. And now it's time to talk about value. This GT-Line model here is admittedly very expensive for a Kia, but with the build quality, with how quiet the cabin is on the road, and with generally how many features you're getting, it still feels like a decent value in every bit of a $75,000 SUV. And if you wanna pay less, the good news is with the Kia, it's got the lowest base price of any of the vehicles here. And yes, you're gonna get smaller wheels, less power, and a few less features, but most of the good stuff that we showed you, it's present on the lower trim models as well. Combined with Kia's best-in-the-business warranty and free charging credits, and it's clear that the EV9 aces the value test. So now that we've established the Kia's near-luxury credentials, it's time to find out what happens A big part of a vehicle's luxury credentials is serenity, and that is definitely something you're going to get in the new Volvo EX90. Its cabin is super quiet on the road. Multiple drivers on staff called it one of the quietest cars they'd ever driven, and we drive a lot of cars. On top of that, the ride is pretty soft and comfortable considering this thing's got giant wheels, but it's also still stable if you need to make an emergency maneuver or find yourself on a twisty road. The driver assists, however, are not so good. Our pal Clint was driving this thing last week and mentioned multiple times when the systems would just cut out. Volvo promises full hands-free autopilot-level capabilities are on the way. That's why there's this LiDAR hump full of sensors on the roof. But what's here right now is unreliable and just bad. One thing, though, that we have to point out is the throttle response. So right now I'm driving the EX90 in its normal mode, and I'm going to hit the throttle. One, two, three, and there we finally go. There's a long delay between when you're hitting the throttle and when the vehicle actually gets moving, and you kind of have to time that in when you're driving around. Has over 500 horsepower, but it doesn't really feel like it because of the slowness of that response. However, if you put it into its performance mode, just like this, and then we do the same thing, immediate power, and then it feels really, really substantial. So if you want that responsiveness, you're going to have to go through performance mode. Then there's the interior. Now, just like the Kia, Volvo does a great job with the small details, like these little Swedish flags that you're going to find on the seats. But I think overall it is a step up than what you're getting in the EB9. It's a bit harder to find those cheaper points. They're definitely there in the Kia, but here in the Volvo, they're just a little bit more well-hidden. Oh, and in typical Volvo fashion, these seats are super comfortable. They look thin, but don't let that fool you. They're really supportive. Now, this wool upholstery that looks awesome and breathes really well, it is a no-cost option on this trim level. Nappa leather actually comes standard, and if you get the leather, unfortunately that's the only way to get seat ventilation. When it comes to small item storage, not as good as the Kia. There is this big sort of large bin area down here, but up here in the center console, all the space is pretty much taken up. So there's not as many places to put small items and things, though I will say in the center console, it has this cool kind of false bottom, so you can actually open up the bottom here, and it about doubles in size, and you can kind of hide stuff that you don't want people to find. Now, these cup holders, though, they are quite small. They don't fit this big water bottle, but they will fit your big dumb cup if you have one of those. Six USB-C charging ports, so two for each row, and a wireless charging pad right here that also doubles as a spot where you'll put the key to start the vehicle. Unfortunately, there are some problems in here. First of all, taller drivers are going to have a problem finding a good driving position because there isn't quite enough steering wheel adjustment. And every EX90 comes with this really big glass roof, which looks great and lets a lot of light into the cabin, and it actually does a pretty good job managing heat. So unlike a Tesla, you're not gonna bake inside. However, midday sun will come right through there, and it has a tendency to hit the dash in just the right place, so it shines right into your eyes when you're trying to drive. I also really don't like that on the doors, you're only seeing two window switches, and that means that if you want to control the rear windows, you have to hit this touch-sensitive button, make sure that the rear windows are highlighted, and then you can adjust them. This is both over and under-engineered at the exact same time. But our biggest complaint is this touchscreen, and it doesn't have to do with its operation or the way that it looks because it looks great and is actually quite responsive. The problem is, they've just crammed too much stuff into it. You look at this dashboard, and you just wish for a few more physical controls, like for the heated seats and for the climate. Instead, everything is buried into the screen, and while minimalism might be cool at the Apple Store in your car, it doesn't feel quite as good. Now, if we expand the conversation to include tech more broadly, things look even worse for the EX90. Over our time with it during our rating and review process, it's thrown no fewer than 10 different error messages at us from charging problems to safety warnings, and even through a critical suspension error on the highway and limited the vehicle's speed to 60 miles an hour. Now, these don't seem to be real errors because each time, we've simply turned the car off, turned it back on, and they've disappeared. So if you're looking at this system, we like the Google integration, especially Google Maps, and we also like the fact that you're still getting Apple CarPlay, which you can't say about all EVs, but simply put, the software, it's just not there yet. From the second that you get into the EX90, it's clear that its confines are a lot tighter than the EV9. Getting in is a bit tougher, and as you can see, this seat is pushed back all the way. It can only go forward from here, so there's not nearly as much leg room, but headroom is really good. Now, the nice thing in the EX90 is no matter what trim level you get, we're in the top ultra trim level here, you can still get a second-row bench, and we like that flexibility, but if you want captain's chairs, those are a $500 option. Now, cup holders here, they are a problem. They come here in the center seat, which folds down like so, but they're pretty small. They won't even fit our big, dumb water bottle in either one. The third row is the weakest part of the EX90's interior, and it starts before you even get back here. Now, if you have the bench seat like this one, that means you're gonna have to climb in through the door, and even though these seats tilt and slide forward, the opening simply isn't big enough to make access back here easy. Once you do get back here, it's pretty awful. This thing straight up fails the three Bryans test. I can't actually close my legs any more than this because they hit the seat backs, and also, there's not really any room underneath the seats to put your feet. This would be a lot easier if I didn't have legs or if I wasn't adult-sized. The other thing, too, back here, the cup holders are even smaller than the ones in the second row, so there's no way that your cup is gonna fit, although I will say, I do like the placement of the air vents, and that's pretty much the only good thing I have to say about it back here. Though it has the least cargo room behind its third row on paper, the EX90 fit the same amount of bags behind its third row as the EV9 did, and it has a much larger underfloor storage space. There's also a little panel right here where you can then fold down the power-folding third row, the only vehicle here with that. Now, when it comes to overall space behind the second row and behind the first row, the EX90 is way down compared to the other two vehicles, so for moving larger items, it's gonna be a bit more difficult, but this one also has an air suspension, so you can lower it, so it's actually easier to put heavy things in the Volvo than either of the other two vehicles. As you might expect, the Volvo, it's gonna cost ya. The base version of the EX90, it costs $10,000 to $15,000 more than the cheapest all-wheel drive versions of both the EV9 and the ID.Buzz. Part of the reason, though, that this thing costs so much is that you get a ton of standard features. Premium paint, big wheels, panoramic roof, Bose audio, heated steering wheel, head-up display, surround view camera, those are all things that you're gonna have to pay more for in the other vehicles, but they come on every EX90. You can add an air suspension, massaging seats, and soft-close doors for about $4,500 if those features are important to you. And, of course, there's a performance upgrade, but at five grand, we don't think that that is really worth it. The best version of the EX90 is probably the base car, with you just adding on the little things that you want. While the EX90 certainly has potential, our experience with this particular test vehicle left us feeling like it's not really worth the money. Now, this could change, as with all vehicles that are so reliant on software, Volvo has a chance to figure this stuff out, and we hope that they do. Okay, so now that we've covered luxury, it's time to have some fun. I like driving the ID.Buzz. Yes, it's technically the slowest car here we have based on our test results, but there was more than enough grunt, and it's still two seconds quicker to 60 miles an hour than any other minivan. It's also incredibly easy to see out of this thing. Even with its high belt line, these big vertical windows mean you can always have an eye on the cars around you. I do wish that there was a one-pedal driving mode like in some EVs, and the ride, it's a little bit firm if that's something that bothers you. It's also measurably noisier compared to the other EVs, probably because of its body aerodynamics and airy, resonant interior. While I was on the highway, I learned the semi-self-driving tech is capable and competent. It's more consistent than the Volvos, but not nearly as effective as the Kia at making your life easier through highway slogs. But for vehicles like these, they could drive awesome, and that doesn't matter if you don't like the interior. The ID.Buzz is the clear winner when it comes to room behind its first and second rows. It's not a moon, but it is a van, so it's just absolutely cavernous, and it's nice that the opening is a big sort of square, rectangular shape as well. And behind the third row, technically less cargo room than the Kia, and we were only able to fit three of our bags back here, and we couldn't fit the big bag at all, although if you took out this cargo shelf or dropped it down to its lower setting, you could easily fit all four bags. The reason that you'd wanna leave this shelf in, though, is that if you fold down the third row, it's the only way to get a flat cargo floor, so if you plan to use the ID.Buzz to camp or something like that, you'll have to leave the shelf in so you can put in an inflatable mattress or something else to be comfortable on. And once you make it up front, it feels just as expansive as the cargo area does. There's tons of headroom, these big wide seats, giant windows all around you. This feels so much more roomy than the other two SUVs, and I can't really think of anything else that feels as big as this, except for maybe something like a sprinter van. Now I have to say that the overall sort of feel, the cabin and the materials, it is a step behind in what you're getting in the Kia and certainly the Volvo, though these seats, they do come with available massage functionality and they are pretty comfortable even for long trips. What isn't very good is weirdly small item storage for something this roomy. You get a pretty good door pocket or two and you have this nice shelf here above the glove box, but other than that, you really stretch for small item storage. The wireless charging pad is tucked in here right in front of the driver, so there's a good spot to put your phone, but if you look around, there's not really anything else. This might look like a storage, but it's actually for the cup holders to fold out, and the cup holders, they aren't even that big. They'll fit your cup, but if you've got a big water bottle, no frigging way. Technology in the ID.Buzz is kind of eh. In the same way that the EX90, we didn't like the control scheme, they also tried to jam way too much stuff into this screen here, and we also don't like the fact that these touch-sensitive buttons for the temperature and the volume control right below the screen, they don't work very well either. You do wish just for more physical controls, and that's becoming a theme on modern interiors, and I just wish that automakers could hear us and consumers cry out for more buttons. Now, we also have to fault the ID.Buzz because its window controls, just like in the Volvo, are nonsensical. A single row of buttons with a little switch you have to flip to go between front and rear. This is a bad solution. It was bad when they introduced it on the ID.4, and it's bad now. Now, this screen does come standard with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, thankfully, so you can listen to your favorite band with ease. Although there are things on this interior that I would like to change, charging options isn't one of them. At least two USB-C ports available for each row, and an extra bonus one located up here in the mirror housing to power a dash cam. Even though it's pretty easy to get in and out of all these vehicles, nothing beats a sliding door, and that is what really makes the ID.Buzz unique among this set of SUVs. Now, technically, this has less leg room on paper than the EV9, but I mean, nah, that ain't the case. This thing is roomy and expansive. You got nice big windows all around, and in a nod to the old bus, this window, they even open sideways. Small item storage in the second row is also bad. You get some decently sized door pockets, and I like this little pouch here where you can put your phone, but other than that, there's nowhere to put your stuff, and even worse, there's nowhere to put a cup. That's right, this is a quote-unquote minivan without second row cup holders, and that is an unforgivable sin. Now, you can take the center console and drag it back here and click it in like so, and that gives you a little bit of storage here on the back and on the front, but not much, and at most, you can take these little dividers and make one cup holder for two people to share, but that means they're gonna fight over it, and when it comes to the third row, the ID Buzz is clearly the class of this field. If you look on the spec sheet, it's actually got more leg room in the third row than the second row, and in the second row, and in the first row, and this seat, it's actually scooted back as far as it can be, and this thing would pass the three Bryans test so easily. We went and got Anders. He's 6'4", and he's gonna move the seat up to where he's comfortable, and as you can see, when he does that, all of a sudden, I can almost stretch my legs out completely. Now, the air vents in the third row are in a great spot. You get a big window, but it also suffers from the second row problem of not having a good cup holder because our cup doesn't even fit into that weirdly square-shaped thingy there. However, it's so roomy that we would say that if you're going to put passengers in the third row regularly, this is the one to get. The ID Buzz is either pretty good or very bad on value, depending on what you compare it to. If we're comparing this against other minivans, it's not gonna be flattered by the comparison. A fully-loaded Toyota Sienna with a much nicer interior and a lot of features is about $1,000 less than the base model of the ID Buzz. However, this fully-loaded Pro S Plus version with all-wheel drive is also by far the cheapest vehicle that we have in our test today. So up against the other electric three rows, it starts to look pretty good, and that's even before you factor in the free maintenance and about 1,200 miles of free charging credits. Now, admittedly, against the other two vehicles, its cabin is not as nice. We didn't even come close to dropping the L word while we were sitting in there. However, what it lacks in luxury, it makes up for in space. So the only real ding when you're considering the ID Buzz against its electrified competition is range. Like every electric vehicle that comes through the Edmunds garage, all three of these SUVs went on the Edmunds EV range test, which means that they were driven on the same route, aiming for a 40-mile-an-hour average speed with a 60-40 city-highway split to simulate real-world driving. Here's how they did. The Volvo sneaks out a win, going 310 miles on our test with the EV9 close on its heels at 306 miles, but bringing up the rear was the ID Buzz at just 262 miles, which is plenty for daily driving, but maybe not a lot if you're going to go on long road trips. And very briefly, we have to talk about charging. Now, each of these vehicles has a CCS port, but if you go down the line a little bit, they will all come with an NACS port, AKA a Tesla port, so they'll be able to charge at Tesla's supercharging stations. In the meantime, though, you can get an adapter for each of these vehicles so you have access to those stations now, except for in the ID Buzz, which won't have access until this summer. So after a long day crawling all over these things inside and out, here's what we learned. The stylish and luxurious Volvo EX90 is hard to recommend because it comes to us with software that seems just half-baked. Volvo has time to turn this around, but as of now, it's not the one that we would recommend of this test unless having the best-looking interior and having some wheels without the manufacturer logo in the hubcap is really important to you. And then there's the ID Buzz, which weirdly shares some ergonomic and control issues with the Volvo. However, it's got two big things going for it, and the first one is simply that it's big. Look at it parked here next to these other two. It is so imposing. So if you're gonna carry a lot of cargo or a lot of passengers frequently, that might make this your choice by default. And the second thing is it looks awesome. I hope at least some of you guys choose this one over the other two because whenever I see them going down the road, it just puts a big smile on my face. And that brings us to the Kia EV9. Now, this has the highest overall Edmunds rating of the three vehicles here for a reason. While there might be small individual things that the Volvo or the Volkswagen do better than the EV9, neither of those vehicles is as well-rounded. There are really no drawbacks with the Kia. We love how comfortable it is. We love the interior that you're getting. We love its technology. And we also love the fact that it's just super easy to live with. And this remains the best choice for most people. But if your needs don't match up with the Kia, these two can fill in, or maybe the Volvo can if you give it another year or so. So which one of these would you choose? Let us know in the comments below. And also let us know if there's any other questions you have about any of these vehicles, or even if I should clone myself to make that three brines test more realistic. And then I won't have to host videos with Clint anymore. I'll work with much better company. Thanks for watching.