Volkswagen ID Buzz vs Kia PV5 Passenger: which of these ultra-cool electric vans makes the best family car?

The ID Buzz is one of the most eye-catching new EVs around, but it’s got competition – from the equally stylish, equally practical, and much cheaper Kia PV5 Passenger.

Most vans don’t exactly pluck at the heartstrings but it’s fair to say that the Volkswagen ID Buzz challenged that assumption when it launched in the UK in 2022. Its superb retro styling, inspired by the classic Type 2 Microbus, combined with a practical electric powertrain and roomy interior with five, six or seven seats, meant it quickly became very popular.

Even now it’s still a great EV, and it’s only really held back by its high price tag. After all, £60,000 gets you some pretty fantastic cars – the new BMW iX3, for example, or a top-spec Tesla Model Y. And once you’ve added on a two-tone paint finish and some options, you’re knocking £70k.

Enter the Kia PV5 Passenger. This is another cool-looking electric van aimed at families with a lot to shift. It’s a similar size to the Buzz (though you can only get it with five seats for now) and offers a choice of batteries with up to 256 miles of range. That may be less than the Buzz, but the flip side is that it costs from just £32,995 – and even if you tick every single option box you can’t spend more than £40,000.

So it’s two-thirds the price, but is it two-thirds as good? I’ve spent plenty of time with both, so I’ll compare them head-to-head and let you know which one is best for you.

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Volkswagen ID Buzz vs Kia PV5 Passenger – design

I’ll keep this section short because it really does come down to personal preference. The Buzz is the more recognisable car – it’s clearly inspired by the classic Microbus with that huge VW emblem at the front, the (optional) two-tone paint finishes and even the three-stripe styling feature on the C-pillar intended to evoke the spirit of the intakes for the original’s air-cooled engine.

Where the Buzz is unashamedly retro, the PV5 is definitely futuristic. Its black bonnet and huge glass area give it a sort of spaceship vibe, helped by the S-bend LED daytime running lights that flow into the windscreen pillars. The wheel designs are cool too.

Personally, while I really like how the PV5 looks, I don’t think you’d have the same emotional connection to it that people do to the Buzz. But I’ll let you make up your own mind.

Volkswagen ID Buzz vs Kia PV5 Passenger – interior and practicality

Up front, the two vans share some similarities – a lack of physical buttons being one of them. Both have big touchscreen infotainment systems front and centre (12.9 inches on the diagonal for both models) and smaller driver information screens behind the wheel.

The Kia feels more conventional, though, with a flat dashboard and pretty standard black plastics. The ID Buzz feels more open and airy, and you can get it with a white dash and brightly coloured seats. It’s certainly more fun.

The Kia wins some points back for usability, because while it’s annoying that everything is controlled through the touchscreen, the interface itself is that bit simpler than Volkswagen’s. Though kudos to VW for having a quick way to silence all the annoying safety bings and bongs.

Both models feel extremely spacious in the front, though the VW has an ace up its sleeve – there’s a totally flat floor through the whole vehicle, which means you can reposition the centre console and even remove it entirely for step-through access to all rows of seats.

By contrast, the PV5’s rear seats are set notably lower than the front ones, and there’s a bit of a bulkhead separating them, so the whole affair feels a bit more separated.

In five-seater forms, both vans have absolutely cavernous amounts of interior room. Tall adults can stretch out, and they won’t struggle for headroom even if they’re wearing a top hat – plus, there’s room for three passengers across the bench. The PV5 has a slight edge, but there’s very little in it.

The ID Buzz plays a trump card, though, because it’s available in short or long-wheelbase forms and with five, six or seven seats. The seven-seater PV5 won’t arrive til later this year.

Boot capacity’s almost a moot point when both are this vast – but in five-seat mode it’s the PV5 Passenger that has the edge with a claimed 1,320 litres of space versus the ID Buzz’s 1,121 litres. The Buzz is slightly cleverer, though, with a multi-level floor laying flat with the folded seatbacks and concealing handy storage bins underneath it. The PV5 has a sloping floor and underfloor compartments instead.

Volkswagen ID Buzz vs Kia PV5 – range and charging

Van	WLTP combined range	Max DC charge speed	10-80% DC charge time
Volkswagen ID. Buzz	234-293 miles	185-200kW	30 mins
Kia PV5	183-256 miles	150kW	30 mins

On paper, the ID Buzz is the one to go for if you want the longest range. There are two batteries available and the largest has a maximum claimed range on a charge of 293 miles. That big battery’s only available in the very top-spec GTX model, though. The entry-level van does a still-impressive 282 miles.

The PV5 Passenger has two battery options too, but they’re both much smaller than the Volkswagen’s. The small battery will do up to 183 miles, and the larger battery 256 miles – again, on paper.

In the real world the gap between the two is virtually nonexistent. The large-battery PV5 and the small-battery Buzz – which are still £20,000 apart in price – can both manage about 200 miles on a charge, over a mixture of town driving, A-roads and motorway.

Motorway driving is hard work for efficiency for both of these vans, because they’re just so blocky and aerodynamic. It’d be unfair to expect them to slip through the air like a Tesla Model 3.

When it comes to charging up, they’re quite evenly matched too. The ID Buzz has a faster charge rate at 185kW versus the Kia’s 150kW, but it also has a larger battery. Either way, you can expect a 10-80% charge in around 30 minutes.

Volkswagen ID Buzz vs Kia PV5 – driving and performance

Both of these cars are great to drive – as long as you remember they’re big, boxy, heavy vans. The ID Buzz is genuinely quick, as even the base model gets a 286hp motor driving the rear wheels. The steering is light and accurate, the visibility great, and the suspension copes quite well with bumps.

In many ways the ID Buzz feels like driving a bigger, heavier Volkswagen ID4, which is in effect what it is under the skin. If you want more performance, there’s a twin-motor GTX model available, but this is a bit unnecessary – it’s very quick, but it’s not really any fun, and it’s less efficient than the basic model.

The PV5 isn’t as quick as the ID Buzz. The small-battery model has just 120hp, while the top-spec one gets 160hp. So while it’s certainly quick enough to keep up with traffic, overtakes or sliproads require more planning than they do in the Buzz – and a fully-laden vehicle feels more of a struggle.

It’s also not quite as much fun as the Buzz. It’s front-wheel drive, so you don’t get the nice sensation of being pushed out of a corner, and the steering just feels that little bit heavier and less direct.

Volkswagen ID Buzz vs Kia PV5 – verdict

So which of these vans is best? Well, there’s no denying the emotional appeal of the ID Buzz. It looks great, it’s good to drive, and it’s superbly practical.

But it’s impossible to ignore the price disparity. The Kia PV5 Passenger offers nine-tenths of what the ID Buzz does, but at two-thirds of the price. It matches it on range and charging speeds, has just as much space inside and feels even easier to use.

The Kia is also significantly cheaper to lease, and thanks to a seven-year warranty it’s a better bet if you’re planning on keeping it for a long time, too.

The Kia PV5 Passenger is undoubtedly the more sensible purchase, then. But I wouldn’t blame you if the retro allure of the ID Buzz is too difficult to resist.

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