Kia EV5 review

Driving position

If you’ve ever driven a modern Kia or any other purpose-built EV, then the interior of the EV5 should feel pretty familiar.

It’s all about an open and airy feel, with comfortable seats and plenty of adjustment – electric in all but the entry-level spec.

A nice, square-shaped rear windscreen offers good rearward visibility, and for the most part, seeing out of the front and sides is as you’d expect.

The wing mirrors are also wider than your average, which is really handy for painting a full picture of what’s behind you in traffic or in the car park.

But the EV5 does have some of its own character – it’s not necessarily a blatant copy of its siblings. Being an SUV, you sit pretty high, and you can see the (carefully sculpted) bonnet ahead.

If you’ve never driven an SUV before, you might feel it gets in the way if you’re trying to squeeze through a narrow gap, but you’ll soon get used to it.

You’ll also be pretty pleased with the amount of vertical adjustment in the seat, so if you want to sit low and sporty, you can do it. Other electric SUVs struggle on this front due to the placement of the batteries under the floor, so the Kia EV5 jumps ahead here.

Tech and features

Kia EV5 trims

– Air

– GT-Line

– GT-Line S

Much like Kia’s other bigger SUVs, an ultra-wide, three-screen setup sits atop the dashboard. Though, it feels more like a single, three-in-one configuration than having three iPads strapped to the dash.

Previous versions of this setup have already been criticised for the middle section, which is blocked by the steering wheel and forces you to peer around it. It’s a shame Kia didn’t respond to early complaints before deciding to use it again in the EV5.

The mid-section is a climate control area, but at least you can control all the essentials like temperature, fan speed and direction from physical buttons on the dash, so it’s not all bad news.

You also get a few shortcut keys on the centre console, but they’re entirely touch-sensitive. There’s no feedback like vibration.

Still, if you’re not quite ready to go ultra-minimalist as you would in a Tesla Model Y, the Kia EV5 feels far more conventional… more normal.

Kia also deserves credit for its good selection of trim levels, starting off with Air, which comes with twin-12.3-inch displays and a 5.3-inch display nestled in between them, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and a good amount of active driver aids, like adaptive cruise control and a lane-centring system.

All versions also come with front and rear parking sensors, and either a revering camera or a 360-degree parking camera for top-spec editions.

GT-Line models feel more complete, with faux-leather trim, wireless phone charging and a powered boot lid, and these are the ones we’d go for.

Electric motors and power

Kia EV5 performance stats

– Power: 214hp

– 0-62mph: 8.4 seconds

– Top speed: 102mph

– Driven wheels: Front-wheel drive

The EV5 launched in the UK with just one electric motor option – it’s a good middle ground, but some extra power wouldn’t go amiss.

214hp might sound pretty warm if you’re coming from something smaller or lighter, but in a car that weighs over two tonnes, it’s merely sufficient.

The 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds is beat by the Renault Scenic (7.9 seconds) and the Nissan Ariya (7.4 seconds), for example, but then there are other cars like the Toyota bZ4X and VW ID.4 that do come with slower motor options.

Kia hasn’t ruled out a GT model with more power, but that didn’t make the cut for the EV5’s initial launch.

Handling and ride comfort

Although rivals are quicker, the EV5 never feels slow on the road, and there are clear differences between eco, normal and sport drive modes to make the throttle response feel sharper.

Kia’s engineers also deserve credit for one of the most comprehensive regen systems in the industry – a system designed to slow the car down when you lift off the accelerator pedal by putting resistance on the motor to mimic engine braking (but to a much higher effect).

Three levels of regen can be set using the paddles behind the wheel. You can also turn it off altogether if you prefer to coast, enable automatic mode where it’ll take into account speed limits and cars in front, and turn on one-pedal drive to come to a complete stop using the system if you like to maximise range.

In terms of suspension setup, it’s clear that the EV5 is tuned for comfort and stability rather than enthusiastic driving.

We took the EV5 out in Air and GT-Line S trims, through the country lanes of East Sussex. While we never found it uncomfortable (it was actually very quiet), it did feel wide in the narrowest of lanes.

Boot space

Kia EV5 boot space

– Boot space: 566 litres

– Incl. Rear seats folded: 1,650 litres

– Front boot (froot): 44 litres

The Kia EV5 just about inches ahead of its key rivals in terms of boot space, trumping the VW ID.4 (543 litres) and Renault Scenic (545 litres), but you’ll barely notice a difference. The biggest difference is against the Nissan Ariya (466 litres) and Toyota bZ4X (452 litres).

You also get a froot (front boot) which is really handy for storing things you don’t need access to regularly, but when you do, you don’t want to be digging around the boot for. Things like your charging cable, for instance.

The seats fold flat, so you can slide things right to the back, and there’s no real lip at the entrance so don’t worry about lifting heavy items.

The false floor hides extra storage beneath, or you can drop it if you need all the vertical real estate you can get your hands on.

In terms of actual usability, the EV5 is up there.

Rear seats

The EV5’s fairly long wheelbase (distance between the front and rear wheels) means interior space is strong.

There’s plenty of legroom, as is the case with other electric family SUVs, but the EV5’s boxy shape does help improve width if you need to carry three abreast.

Storage solutions

A multi-level centre console consists of an upper tray, a storage box, a lower tray and a sliding rear tray (access from the back) – so you’ve basically got a chest of drawers between the two front seats.

Besides the usual cup holders and door bins, there are plenty of USB-C ports and even a three-pin domestic socket in the boot if you go with GT-Line and GT-Line S models with vehicle-to-load (V2L), which is perfect for camping trips.

Kia EV5 hatchback dimensions

– Height: 1,680mm

– Width: 1,875mm (excluding mirrors)

– Length: 4,610mm

– Kerb weight: 2,069kg-2,092kg

Safety

The EV5 is a safety superhero, with a five-star Euro NCAP rating and scores that are broadly in line with the much bigger, much more expensive EV9.

It’s also positioned as an electric alternative to Kia’s own Sportage, which has a similar five-star rating.

All cars come with adaptive cruise control, Highway Driving Assist, lane-centring, blind-spot assist and more – the only real difference between trim levels is that the GT-Line S model adds a 360-degree parking camera and additional self-parking aids.

Special shoutout to the fact that you can choose your own combination of lane centring and/or adaptive cruise control, so you can manage the parts you want to and get help with the parts of driving you’re less keen on.

Range and charging

– Range: 313-329 miles

– Battery size: 81.4kWh

– Max charging speed: 127kW

– Charge port location: Front right, under driver’s mirror

– Charge time (AC): 0-100% in 11 hours 40 minutes (81.4kWh) using a 7kW charger

– Charge time (DC): 10-80% in 30 minutes

– Efficiency: 3.5-3.7mi/kWh (claimed) vs. 3.8-3.9mi/kWh (our testing)

– Charging cost: From £5.70

Another day, another efficient Kia. It seems like every time we drive an electric Kia, we’re able to exceed its efficiency figures without even trying, and that’s huge.

Our relatively short test drives were both under an hour, on a mix of country lanes and town roads in mild winter weather, so expect even better figures in the summer.

Air is the one to go for if you want maximum efficiency, with better aerodynamics and smaller wheels, but in our experience, there’s not a huge difference between the two.

It’s also worth noting that a heat pump is only optional (yes, it’s still not standard) on GT-Line S editions.

A rapid charge top-up in around 30 minutes is a standard affair, as is 11kW AC charging (but most UK homes are limited to 7kW anyway).

Reliability

Not only is Kia known for solid reliability, but the EV5 dips into the brand’s dependable parts bin.

It’s built on the so-called E-GMP platform, which means it shares parts with the EV6, EV9, Hyundai IONIQ 6, Hyundai IONIQ 9 and Genesis GV60, so we know everything is properly tried and tested.

Let’s not forget Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty, so even if you’re a used buyer, you might still have coverage remaining.