A family hauler doesn't have to be forgettable. This blue 2026 EV9 was picked up the same day we finished its Icon Rocklear install, our permanent paint protection coating, and the set shows you why owners do this while the car's still brand new. The metallic blue reads deeper than it did on the lot, with crisp hex reflections running across the flat body panels EVs are known for.

The EV9's an unusually honest test of a finish. Kia styled it with almost no curve: upright sides, a nearly vertical tail, squared arches, and long door skins carrying a single crease. There's nothing for a mediocre coat to hide behind, and any waviness in the surface would show up as a wobble in the reflection right down the side of the car. The low angle rocker and door frames here are shot for exactly that, and the reflection holds straight through them.

Doing it new is the cheapest version of this job. Icon Rocklear bonds into the factory clear coat rather than sitting on it as a layer that wears off, so what it locks in is the finish the car's got on day one, before a first summer of UV or a winter of grime has had a chance at it. It resists that fading and the dulling that follows, it keeps dirt and grime from getting embedded in the paint, it doesn't yellow, and there's no waxing and no annual inspection to keep up with.

Twenty photos: front three quarters from wide establishing frames down to close crops, straight on front and rear, the EV9 badge on the rear quarter, plus headlight, grille, wheel, mirror, rocker and door panel details. If you've just taken delivery of something, now's the cheapest time to do this.