KIA PV5: A Modular and Smart Electric Van or Just Another EV?

KIA PV5: A Modular and Smart Electric Van or Just Another EV? 

KIA wants to conquer the world of commercial and passenger transportation with flexible electric Van architecture. It's off to a good start. When KIA revealed the PV5, we could almost hear the collective happy sounds of both commercial vehicle fans and car enthusiasts. “Platform Beyond Vehicle" car, can be a PV5 Van, a people mover, a camper, or anything you want given it enough time and money. The passenger model is probably the most interesting one in the line-up, purely because it allows you to imagine real people buying and using it daily. Importantly, it is not another Ford, Mercedes, Stellantis, or Renault van. PV5 is certainly a van, but it doesn't look like too much stuff. It does not feel like one. It's also KIA, and that's good because the company is on the EV roll.

 

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KIA expects that over time the PV family will become the mainstay on the roads around the world. Its distinctive appearance should help, but the people who helped it will also make it. During development, KIA knew it best and did not decide to plow things. It spoke to those who use it, or who made the software used with it. It is an often-mentioned fact that Uber and Samsung played a role in making it happen. If you don't know how to do something, it's a stupid idea to simply make it happen by chance and hope that everything will pay off. KIA wanted to create a car that could be used for ride sharing. It might have made an old-school MPV and called it a day, or you could even ask the world's best-known ride-sharing platform what works. Of course, anything that works for a ride-share driver will also work for people with large families. Win-win.

In the UK, KIA wants to shift to 1,250 PV5 in 2026, most of which is in passenger plus mode of 71.2 kWh, and globally it is estimated that more than 250,000 PVs will hit the road by 2030. KIA offers an alternative to what is an otherwise widely monotonous segment, and it feels like a one.

Spec and Features

KIA has a pretty good foundation for building the PV5: the E-GMP platform that supports various EV models has been tailored for commercial business. Here is E-GMP.S (Electric-Global Modular Platform for Service), and it is suitable for dropping different tops on board as per user spec. You can have your PV5 in several ways. As a van (for the ones), as a crew cab (for some things and some people), as an accessible vehicle in a wheelchair, or in a passenger spec (for people and a few things).

Passengers, planned big sellers, come in 3 trims: essential with 51.5kWh battery, essential with 71.2kWh battery, and plus with the same chunky slab. The base car, equipped with a small battery, has 120 horsepower and clips 62mph (0-100km/h) in 13 seconds. It will take you 183 miles in a single charge. The PV5s with a larger battery gets 256 miles of charge and thanks to the more powerful 160hp, the 184 lb-ft motor can get from 0-62 mph in 10.2 seconds. The top speed is capped at 84 mph for all. It is not active in any dimension. In the UK, regardless of the battery size you go to, your PV5 passenger will take 150 kW DC fast charging and get 30 minutes of time to top-up from 10-80 percent.

The essential trim is quite generous. It comes standard with folding seats, tinted glass, OTA updates, Apple Car Play / Android Auto, 16-inch steel wheels, 12.9-inch infotainment screen, 7-inch instrument binnacles, and as many active safety kits as KIA can throw at it. For a little more cash, plus trims include alloy wheels, heated seats, V2L functionality, powered tailgate, fewer advanced ADAS functions, and more. At its core, the PV5 is a Van, meaning that its hard and soft points need to be worn hard and take miles / abuse well. The result is slightly less than a perky interior design. It is a function on the form, here, it works well.

In the form of passengers, the function of PV5 is to take people. Initially, the PV5 comes with 5 seats, but with a 7-seater on the way. Now, on most EVs, people at the rear can feel a little like their knees are raised by their ears because of a thick floor-mounted battery. But the PV5 is so tall and long that you can sit down without feeling like you're hiding in a cupboard. People of average height have an impressive amount of space to put their feet on. It's such a touch that you realize what KIA has learned from its industry partners. The PV5 feels extremely normal while driving. Yes, it's still a big box, so it's not a luxury express, but comfortable enough to drive around town for a decent spell. For the job of moving people, it is a league above the various SUV options that are kicking. Ample glass allows in plenty of natural light as well and makes the interior feel bright and airy. Honestly, it's great.

Driving Experience

PV5 is a bit big on European roads. Or at least it should feel that way. But because it's a big 'ol box, you can easily put it anywhere you want on the road. Its mirror is huge, its sides are slubby, and it is easy to see the sides. So, it's as easy as pie to spot false cyclists, huge curbs, and anything that could scrape off the paint. Its high driving position, large windshields and twins, and huge side windows give an incredible view and a lot of light that might sound like a simple victory, but most new passenger cars have small windows that keep you low and, if you're lucky, let in drips of sunlight.

There are a handful of drive modes — normal, eco, snow— but to be honest, you can do it, just leave it normally, unless you're worried about running out of range for the day. The control feels "like a car," which means "it doesn't feel like a massive airy cave on wheels. “The steering is light, but you can feel what the front is doing in a pinch. My tester had a lot of stand-ups from a 160-horsepower motor, so overtaking was not a problem. I couldn't try the 120-horsepower version, but I might need a little more planning for such a move.

The sloppy boxiness of the PV5 does not come with a small problem. Crosswind on the highway can be a bit more mobile than you want. Thankfully, if the lateral wind-assisted movement seems to happen, a stability control warning will pop up and let you know KIA is looking for you. As you would expect from KIA, there are a handful of brake regen settings as well as an i-pedal mode for one-pedal drive. It's a system that works well and you can grab a little extra here and there. It's a wide and fun drive, but those big windows have some annoyance. The window shelves are low, and the seats don't sink as close to the floor as you want, so you can't easily put your arms down as you go.

Technology and Charging

KIA's in-house infotainment is as good here as anywhere else. Smooth and easy to use, it has a lot to go for it. Most people will probably bypass it and go straight for 'ol faithful, CarPlay. While it was not necessary during testing (prohibiting crosswind assist), many ADAS are installed to keep it safe. When it's time to refill the battery, the fast-charging speed of 150kW should be a winner on the go. Frustratingly, the PV5 could not get quite a bit of speed with a normally reliable charger and was topped with no more than 100kW.

As for the figures for WLTP, a pinch of salt is always needed. KIA believes it will get a peak efficiency of 3.6 miles per kWh, but a mix of gritty UK weather and a typical driving net an average of 3.2. It still gives just shy range of 230 miles on a charge that's not bad at all given that it's shaped like a brick.  Like the EV5 and other KIA EV cars, a twisted gear selector can cause confusion. It's not the end of the world thing, but it can cause unintended swearing when nudged in the wrong way.

Price and Verdict

KIA generally has a lot to rest on PV5. If you can hunt down the EV end of the commercial vehicle market, you can unleash endless money glitches, but you can do both commercial and personal jobs, and passengers treat people incredibly well while cargo models load well. People movers are slowly but surely being superseded by SUVs and other such fashionable cars, and this is more than just a big "ol” box The only other car in that space you can think of as a close competitor is the VW ID. Buzz; It's made for people and looks great and can be a little more "fun" about it. But it is much more expensive than PV5. What you lose in "fun" In PV5, you get value. The big battery passenger is essential and its sub-£40,000 price appeal is immense. No, it is not possible to lurid yellow from the plant, but it is connected to it, which indicates that it does not honor him. It is a tool to do the job. It just happens to be a good one. You can use it with no melting face. It gives the impression that it does not have a low voltage operation due to the design.