VinFast is a Vietnamese automaker that recently started selling electric vehicles in the U.S., including two SUVs: the two-row VF 8 with five seats and the three-row VF 9 with seven seats. The automaker has roughly 35 U.S. dealers at the moment, with more coming, where you can test-drive and buy or lease its EVs. A VinFast dealer brought a number of vehicles to the 2025 Chicago Auto Show, and I was particularly interested in the VF 9 because there aren’t many three-row EVs available, so I wanted to check it out and see how it compares to something like the Kia EV9, our Best EV of 2025 and a car that we own.
Related: More 2025 Chicago Auto Show Coverage
How Much Is a VinFast VF 9?
The 2024 VinFast VF 9 starts around $70,000 for the base Eco trim (not including destination fee). VinFast vehicles don’t qualify for the current $7,500 federal EV tax credit for purchasing, but leases do and might be a good option for such an unproven marque and vehicle even though VinFasts have a 10-year/125,000 mile warranty. VinFast is currently offering a $599 per month lease for 24 months.
Some EV makers offer free fast charging or charger installation, but VinFast is giving buyers and leases an interesting perk: a free electronic bicycle, the VF DrgnFly eBike, which sells for about $2,600 otherwise.
An EV9 starts around $55,000, but the EV9 Long Range with all-wheel drive is a similar configuration to the VF 9’s standard AWD configuration and starts around $65,000, which is closer to the VF9’s starting price.
What’s the VinFast VF 9’s Electric Range?
The base VF 9 Evo trim level has an EPA-rated range of 330 miles in its standard 402-horsepower, two-motor AWD configuration. That’s impressive, but it also has a honkin’ battery capacity of 125-kilowatt-hours usable energy — and not because of it being a particularly efficient SUV. Our EV9 is EPA-rated at 280 miles of range with its usable energy around 95 kWh.
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How Big Is the VinFast VF 9?
The VF 9 is longer than the EV9, as well as a touch wider and with a longer wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear wheels), but it’s also shorter, which gives the SUV a unique look. It’s long and low, more like a sleek wagon than a boxy SUV, and I can see some visual parallels between it and the Lucid Gravity that was next to the VF 9 on the show floor. I was happy to see Continental tires on the VinFast rather than a cheaper tire, and there’s an interesting aerodynamic element upfront that passes through the grille and up through openings in the hood.
VinFast VF 9 Interior Size, Quality and Technology
The VF 9 has three rows of seats standard, and the second row is available as a bench seat or with captain’s chairs like the one we sat in. The front and second-row seats are comfortable but not as roomy as I expected considering the exterior size. The seats themselves are cushy and plush for at least a short stint at the show.
It’s a bummer that the captain’s chairs come with a fixed center console between them, however, because one of the greatest benefits of captain’s chairs in a three-row SUV is how it allows people to access the third row without moving the second row, like when car seats are installed.
The third row is very limited in use versus an EV9’s, which can be used for adults. The VF 9’s seat is low to the floor, and my knees were highly elevated. Plus, there aren’t lower Latch anchors in the third row, only top tethers, so there aren’t as many options for car seats back there as in the EV 9, which does have Latch anchors at the bottom.
The touchscreen and controls are a hybrid of what you’d find in a Tesla Model Y or Model 3 and what you’d find in a traditional car. The 15.6-inch touchscreen houses many controls for the telescoping steering wheel, side-view mirrors and climate control, but the gear selector and turn-signal and wiper stalks are all of the physical variety. There’s no traditional instrument panel like a Model Y or 3, but there is a head-up display to show speed and other vitals on the windshield.
The VF 9’s interior quality is decent. It feels like a premium product but not quite full-blown luxury, which is similar to most electric SUVs in this price range except for our 2025 Luxury Car of the Year, the Genesis Electrified GV70.
Final Auto Show Impressions
Our up-close look of the VinFast VF 9 at the 2025 Chicago show validated that, yes, this is a real car. It’s on sale now, and the units we were looking at are ready for sale to consumers. We’ll absolutely have to reserve final judgment until driving the VF 9 and putting it through our testing of efficiency, range, cargo and car seats, which is something we hope to do soon.
More From Cars.com:
- What Is a VinFast EV?
- Research the 2024 VinFast VF9
- Research the 2025 VinFast VF8
- Long-Term Kia EV9 Update: What We’ve Learned After 10,000 Miles
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