The new darling on the electric SUV scene this season is the 2026 Hyundai IONIQ 9.

He’s spacious but practical, smart but powerful, colorful yet subtle…. and all the car geeks can’t stop talking about him.

This car has been named Germany’s Premium Car of the Year. Top Gear names it the best seven-seater of the year (based on models available in 2025). Heck, even writers in Texas have named it Best Electric SUV of Texas.

That is a lot of praise from all over the world, where most countries are far ahead of the United States when it comes to electric cars.

The IONIQ 9 is in many ways just like the Hyundai Palisade, just in electric form.  Both are considered midsized vehicles but truly present as much larger.  The IONIQ 9 has a more uniformed, “buttoned-down” look, according to U.S. News and World Report, but I find it is still quite attractive (there will be a more bedazzled off-road version available later this year, as seen below in burnt orange with ‘Big Time’ written on the side).

It’s also 2.5 inches longer and has a wheelbase that is 9 inches longer than the Palisade.

This is a smooth car that truly is luxurious. It does not try to emulate to roar of an engine.  For all you EV geeks who like to keep track of every kilowatt, you will lose your shite over this car.

Range on the IONIQ 9 is better than most EVs.  The base S trim is Rear-Wheel Drive and can average 335 miles, which is impressive. If you climb up to the SE or SEL trims for All-Wheel Drive (which I would advise), your average range will drop to 320, which is still impressive, though as you stroll merrily along, you may still get what is known as range anxiety.

I really enjoyed driving this luxury electric beast. I still enjoy the roar of the engine, but the IONIQ 9 is the joyride that delivers, assuming you have the $60K+ US that is the starting price (well, at least, that was the starting price a few months ago.)

(Important Note: tax credits for electric vehicle purchases are no longer available from the federal government in the United States, but they may still be available from individual states.)

Happy November to all our readers everywhere on the globe – and it is indeed (so far) a very very happy November here in the colonies.

Allow me to tell you (again) what happened here in the United States that is still making me smile several days later. In small Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the hateful sheriff and the Moms For Liberty School Board were all voted out and now progressive, forward-thinking people will allow citizens and children to live and breathe freely.

Heck, even in this very off-year, two Democrats pulled off an upset victory on the Georgia State Public Service Commission.

To celebrate, here’s Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand singing Happy Days are Here Again.

But we must not let our guard down, not for a minute.  When losers with a history of violence feel scorned, then come back with the intent of causing even far more harm.

Case in point: as we speak, the U.S. Supreme Court is reconsidering whether or not same-sex couples have the right to legally exist.

But know this: I am still searching for even one right-wing win from Tuesday night, and I cannot find one.  This is something that I did not see coming, and I am a well-known pessimist.

So – time to sing Happy Days are Here Again, in the style of FDR from the post-Depression era.

Hopefully, we really are ‘post-depression’.