If you’re cross-shopping a three-row electric SUV, the Model Y L and the Hyundai IONIQ 9 land in a similar price range but take different approaches to range, speed, and seating.
Price and range
The 2026 IONIQ 9 starts at $60,555 and runs up to $79,090 across six trims, according to Hyundai’s own announcement and pricing coverage from CarBuzz. Every trim uses the same 110.3-kWh battery, with EPA range topping out at 335 miles on the base S trim and dropping to 311 miles on the higher-performance Calligraphy trims. Tesla’s Model Y L starts at $61,990, according to Teslarati’s coverage of the US launch; GetTesla has previously covered its EPA-rated range in detail.
Size and seating
The IONIQ 9 is the larger vehicle on paper: 199.2 inches long with seating for up to seven and 86.9 cubic feet of total cargo space behind the front seats, per CarBuzz’s specs. The Model Y L seats six, with second-row captain’s chairs standard rather than a bench, which trades outright seat count for easier access to the third row.
One owner’s side-by-side impression
YouTuber Kim Java, who reviews EVs from a beginner-ownership perspective, put the two vehicles side by side in a video posted September 19, 2026.
Her video is one person’s hands-on impression of driving and sitting in both vehicles, not a substitute for the spec sheet — if range, price, or cargo space is what will decide your purchase, confirm the current numbers directly with Tesla and Hyundai before you order, since trims and pricing shift over a model year.
Photo by Dextar Studio ™.
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