KIA’S recent resurgence - which has undoubtedly placed it near the very top of the small to mid-sized sectors in which it predominantly competes in - has been nothing short of a revelation.

Everything that’s come has bowled motoring journalists over and with good reason: clever powertrains, transformed interior quality and ultra-modern designs have all amalgamated to make Kia a genuine rival to the German-dominated hierarchy.

Think about its electric-only cars - mainly its highly successful EV6, a ground-up new EV which has gone from strength to strength - and Kia’s revolution only get better, but when you go one step up you’re on a collision course for some truly heavyweight battles.

In the blue corner is Kia’s EV9, a true seven-seat flagship - in sole EV form - which has a £70,000-plus price tag in GT-Line spec, and it’s gunning squarely for the best from Mercedes, Volvo and Audi given its 99.8kWh, 380bhp battery which offers a frankly absurd 5.3-second dash to 60mph and a princely 318-mile claimed range.

It’s a big car, the EV9, but it’s unmistakably an EV9. Just like its smaller EV6 sibling, it’s distinctive and unique - there are far too many cars that look far too alike these days but this car can’t ever be guilty of following suit.

It is absolutely packed with gadgets: think self-parking, a driverless mode and autonomous lane-swapping on the motorway are all key parts of its USP. However, as ever, there are drawbacks with features such as these: it’s jam-packed with beeping, largely pointless driver aids which are a pain to switch off and are more of a hindrance than a help.

A key part to the EV6’s success was that it was always built as an EV-only platform - it wasn’t based on a normally-powered model in its range - and so it’s great that the EV9 has followed that now tried-and-tested recipe. You feel it’s been built to a very definite spec as opposed to being merged into a package; it’s bespoke and subsequently it’s worth its money.

Driving-wise, it’s as you’d expect: an EV6 with a larger footprint and more quality. Although its entertainment system is a model-wide one, the premium feel is evident: there are no scratchy plastics and Kia’s shown it’s a marque that’s able to take on rivals which, ten years ago at least, were a mere dream.

Sure, it leans - as any leviathan would in this sector - but it’s ridiculously potent for a car of its size and in turn becomes a rather entertaining thing to pilot.

There’s no end of space for rear passengers - a six-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl in my case - and there’s obviously the added bonus of having two extra seats or more boot space if needed.

The EV9 - which I believe Kia set out to do with it - leaves you asking yourself a very tough question if you’re in the market for such a thing: do you really need an Audi or Mercedes badge anymore? I think the answer to that is a conclusive ‘no’.