Kia EV5 Review & Prices

This is the Kia EV5, an electric car with loads of space inside, making it the ideal family car and the spiritual successor to the incredibly popular Kia Sportage.

If the Sportage is England footballer Harry Kane – hugely successful but coming to the end of its career – the EV5 is youngster Dane Scarlett, coming through the ranks with high hopes of being the next big thing.

If you’re looking at the EV5 there are plenty of alternatives to consider, though, such as the Skoda Enyaq, Renault Scenic, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Tesla Model Y Standard.

The Kia is off to a good start, because it looks big and imposing. It’s understated but classy, with the cool, slim headlight design up front and chunky rear end.

Inside the simple look continues. There are creases in the dashboard adding some visual distraction and the chunky temperature switches are easy to use on the move, but it’s a touch grey and dull.

Kia EV5: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 313-329 miles
Efficiency: 3.6mi/kWh
Battery size: 81.2kWh
Max charge speed: 127kW
Charge time AC: 7hrs 20mins, 10-100%, 2.8kW
Charge time DC: 30mins 10-80%, 127kW
Charge port location: Right front
Power outputs: 214hp

The infotainment screen is clear and easy to use, and the instrument display gives you all the information you need without looking too cluttered. Between the two is a slim climate screen, which should be a useful shortcut but is actually blocked by the steering wheel.

Storage is fantastic, particularly in the front, where you have multiple large cubby holes and a usefully large glovebox and door bins. This, coupled with the fact everything is really solid and well put together, means the EV5 feels made to cope with the trials and tribulations of family life.

This continues in the rear, because although storage is slightly underwhelming, there’s buckets of space for rear seat passengers, which also means you’ll have no trouble fitting a bulky child seat.

Boot space is good, if not class-leading. At 566 litres it’s a bit roomier than a Peugeot E-3008 and Renault Scenic, but down on the Skoda Enyaq and Tesla Model Y.

Good but not class-leading also describes the range. The entry-level model goes up to 329 miles in official tests; you can go further in the Skoda Enyaq and Hyundai Ioniq 5, but you have to spend a little more, while the Renault Scenic costs less and goes further than all three.

Fast charging speeds aren’t quite as good as alternatives, either. A 30-minute 10-80% top-up time isn’t terrible, but you can expect to do that five to ten minutes quicker in a Tesla Model Y.

That is a bit of a shame because the Kia EV5 is excellent for long-distance drives, being smooth, quiet and comfortable at motorway speeds. It irons out speed bumps and potholes around town, too, making it ideal for the school run. However, on a bumpy country road you do rather wobble about over bumps, which is a recipe for car sick passengers.

Overall, though, this feels like an admirable evolution for anyone who’s lived with and loved a Kia Sportage, and is looking for the natural next step into EV ownership. If you’re interested, check out the latest Kia EV5 deals on Carwow, or EV5 lease deals for a great monthly price. You can also browse used EV5s as well as other used Kias from our network of trusted dealers. You can sell your car through Carwow, too.

Prices start at just under £40,000 for the entry-level Air model with the longest range, rising to over £42,500 for the GT-Line and £47,000 for the GT-Line S. As is typical with Kia, you can only get a heat pump on top-spec models, and it costs £900 extra, which feels stingy.

That pricing is in line with alternatives, with the Skoda Enyaq, Tesla Model Y and Hyundai Ioniq 5 all falling in the £40,000 to £50,000 bracket, though the Renault Scenic does start from less than £36,000, which makes it mighty appealing.

Air models come well-equipped, with the triple-screen setup inside, 18-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats and steering wheel, and some useful driver assistance kit. GT-Line models get a sportier look, LED headlights, wireless phone charger and artificial leather upholstery, while GT-Line S adds a head-up display, Harmon Kardon sound system and a sunroof.

Smooth and comfortable, but the EV5 can get a bit bouncy on a B-road

In town

The Kia EV5 feels like a big car in town, so it’s good news that visibility is good all around, though we preferred switching it to ‘eco’ mode via the wheel-mounted drive mode button, which made the accelerator a little less sensitive and allowed for smoother progress.

It deals with bumps really well, so whether you’re navigating broken roads, large potholes or aggressive speed bumps, you never have to worry about thuds and crashes transmitting through the cabin.

You get front and rear parking sensors as standard, as well as a reversing camera, which makes navigating tight parking spaces that bit easier.

On the motorway

At higher speeds the Kia EV5 continues to be quiet, refined and comfortable over bumps. It’s a shame the range isn’t better, then – if you do a lot of motorway miles you’ll probably find you spend less time recharging in a Scenic or Model Y.

However, take fast charging times out of the equation and the EV5 is up there with the most relaxing family SUVs on the motorway. On top of this, the standard-fit adaptive cruise control is really nice to have, and the lane-keeping assistance aids are unobtrusive until you actually need them.

On a twisty road

Twisty roads are easily the EV5’s weak point, but then it is a family friendly SUV so it shouldn’t be a deal breaker. The steering is nicely judged, so it’s not so light that you’re constantly adjusting your line, and there’s a ‘sport’ mode that makes the throttle feel more urgent when you accelerate. It’s just not much fun.

The main complaint on a bumpy B-road, though, is the suspension. Where it soaks up sharper bumps nicely around town, on a country road at higher speeds it has a tendency to bounce you around a bit. Even as the driver there were a couple of times where we felt a bit queasy, so it’s likely it’ll be even worse for passengers.

The boot is usefully large and there’s loads of rear seat space, but the person sitting in the middle will be uncomfortable

There’s good space up front, and the seat can be lifted up high to give a commanding view of the road ahead. The steering wheel doesn’t come towards you particularly far though, so taller drivers might find their driving position compromised.

Storage is excellent, though. There’s a huge tray low down between the front seats, a deep space under the armrest, and a large tray ahead of that with two retractable cup holders and a wireless charging pad on all but entry-level models. The door bins can take a bottle of fizzy drink and the glovebox is pretty big, too.

Space in the back seats

Again, there’s loads of space in the back, with acres of legroom and headroom. Unlike many electric cars the floor isn’t too close to the seat cushion, so you get good under-thigh support, which is good for long journeys. The rear seats recline, too, so you can get really comfortable.

Storage isn’t quite as impressive as up front, because although there’s a neat hidden cubby hole that pulls out from between the front seats, the door bins are tiny. It’s also quite tight for three, and the middle seat is hard and perched high, so friends and family will feel like they’ve pulled the short straw if they have to sit here.

All that legroom also means you’ll have no trouble fitting a bulky child seat, and the ISOFIX mounting points poke out from between the cushions so they’re really easy to access.

Boot space

The boot is big and spacious, with its 566-litre capacity putting it around the middle of the pack among alternatives. You get 520 litres in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Peugeot E-3008, while the Skoda Enyaq has 585 litres and the Tesla Model Y 854 litres.

The space is big and square so easy to make the most of, and you even get a three-pin plug socket. There are hooks to hang bags off and useful underfloor storage for your charging cables. The only complaint is that you have to go round to the back door to fold the rear seats, but at least once you do you get a nice flat floor to push heavy items across.

The infotainment system is ultra-fast and easy to use, but the climate display being blocked by the steering wheel is really annoying

It feels a bit mean to complain about the Kia EV5’s lack of interior pizazz, because it’s a genuinely lovely place to spend your time. The seats are comfortable and everything around you feels solid, with high quality materials on the things you touch. It’s just a bit grey and bland.

The bank of screens atop the dashboard are thoroughly modern, with clear graphics and ultra-fast responses to your inputs. You get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard, too.

There’s a welcome touch of old school with the chunky climate switches below the screen, which make it easy to change the temperature on the move. Though it is odd that the climate settings screen is hidden behind the wheel, so you need to peer round to see what the temperature is.

GT-Line and above come with a wireless phone charging pad next to the centre armrest, and there are USB-C slots lower down in the dashboard.

Entry-level Air cars come with manual seat adjustment and cloth upholstery, but if you step up to the GT-Line trim the cloth is swapped for artificial leather. Top-spec GT-Line S cars also get a Harmon Kardon sound system, which is a great upgrade for music fans.

The Kia EV5 has the same 81.4kWh battery whichever trim you go for, but in the Air it promises up to 329 miles, while GT-Line and GT-Line S cars get a range of 313 miles on account of the extra on-board kit.

That compares quite well with alternatives, because for the same £40,000 starting price in the Skoda Enyaq and Hyundai Ioniq 5 you’ll go sub-300 miles. However, it doesn’t take much to find cars with better range for similar cash. The Enyaq goes 359 miles from about £42k and the Ioniq 5 goes 354 miles for £44k, while the Renault Scenic has a whopping 381 miles of range for just £37k.

Charging speeds are about average, but not up there with the best, either. You’ll get from 10-80% in half an hour, which is a bit slower than the Enyaq and Tesla Model Y, but smashed by the 18-minute charge time of the Ioniq 5.

The Kia EV5 benefits from the lowest first-year road tax rates, and electric cars are the cheapest way to run a company car, too.

The Kia EV5 scored full marks in Euro NCAP safety testing, with particularly high scores of 83% and 85% for adult and child occupant protection respectively.

You get plenty of assistance kit as standard, including adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping, blind-spot monitoring, and a safe exit warning. Top-spec models add a blind-spot camera, 360-degree parking cameras, and remote parking.

The Kia EV5 is a brand-new model, so we’ll have to wait and see how reliable it is. There have been no concerns about the EV9 and EV3, though, which have been on sale a while now.

Kia finished 18th out of 31 manufacturers in the Driver Power ownership survey, which isn’t a fantastic showing, though it should be reassuring that you get an excellent seven-year/100,00-mile warranty.