Kia PV5 review

Did you notice that Dunkin’ dropped the word Donuts from its name? Well, it did so to broaden the brand’s horizons and open up its appeal to those wanting things like breakfast and coffee, not just dougnuts. The new Kia PV5 Passenger is Kia’s ‘donut-dropping’ moment. 

Based on a versatile skateboard platform, the PV5 is the brand’s first all-electric van and one that wants to be all things to all people. You see, due to it being modular, the rear-end can be swapped to be pretty much anything you want, from the PV5 Cargo (which we’ve reviewed separately) to a pick-up and everything in between.

In this review, we’re focusing on the Passenger version that’s designed for transporting, well, passengers. Available with five seats (a seven-seater is coming), its closest rival is the VW ID Buzz, a car with which it shares many parallels – namely practicality. 

But has Kia hit the ground running with the PV5 Passenger or would you be better off with the ID Buzz or more traditional electric SUVs, including the Kia EV6 and Tesla Model Y? 

How fast is it and which motor is best?

You can have the Kia PV5 Passenger as either the Standard Range with 120bhp or Long Range with 163bhp, both of which are far less than the 282bhp that you get from the VW ID Buzz. Indeed, on paper, the PV5 will take 12.8sec or 10.7sec respectively to get from 0-62mph, while the ID Buzz takes just 7.6sec. 

Even so, when we drove the most powerful version in the real world, it had no trouble getting up to speed quickly, thanks to the electric motor’s instant torque. True, power tails off once you get towards motorway speeds, but we can’t imagine you’ll have any issues when driving normally.

Is it agile and is the ride comfortable?

The PV5’s suspension is tuned on the softer side, meaning that it soaks up lumps and imperfections with relative ease. It’s very similar to the ID Buzz in that respect and way more comfortable than the Tesla Model Y, which moves you around in your seat as you drive along. 

As you might expect, like the ID Buzz, the PV5 wasn’t exactly designed for supreme handling on a country road. Despite that, its handling is tight enough, with body lean kept under control and the PV5 feeling predictable if you do decide to push on. For an electric car that’s more engaging, you’ll want to look at the smaller Kia EV6 or the Model Y. 

As the PV5 Passenger is essentially a van with seats inside, it’d be easy to assume that it’ll be hard to drive, but that isn’t the case. In fact, with a turning circle of 10.8m and light steering at slow speeds, it’s incredibly easy to thread the PV5 through city streets. 

Better still, as speeds increase, the steering weight builds progressively, giving you a good idea of what the front wheels are up to. 

Is it quiet and how easy is it to drive smoothly?

You have three different levels of brake regeneration in the PV5 and a one pedal driving mode, which you cycle through using paddles behind the steering wheel. All three modes feel natural as you lift off the accelerator pedal, slowing the PV5 predictably and smoothly.

When you do need to use the actual brake pedal, its weighting feels far more natural than that of the ID Buzz, making it much easier to slow to a stop smoothly. 

Even at speed, you’ll hear very little wind and road noise and less than in the Model Y. Indeed, the only thing that ever really disturbs the peace is the odd bit of suspension noise as you drive over imperfections. That’s likely caused by the massive open space behind the rear seats and isn’t something from which the ID Buzz suffers. 

What’s the range and efficiency like, and how quickly can it charge?

If you go for the Standard Range (SR) version, you’ll find a 51.5kWh (total capacity) battery underneath the PV5’s floor. That gives it a range of up to 183 miles, which is less than than almost any of its rivals, including the Peugeot e-Traveller, Tesla Model Y and Volkswagen ID Buzz. 

As a result, we think you’ll likely want to upgrade to the Long Range (LR) because it increases the battery to 71.2kWh (total capacity) and the range to 256 miles. That’s comfortably more than the e-Traveller and much closer to the ID Buzz’s 283 mile range, but still some way off the smaller Model Y. 

In our testing, the PV5 Cargo Long Range proved impressively efficient over a long test route and we calculated that it should get very close to its official range. We doubt the Passenger version would be any different, which bodes well when it comes to banishing range anxiety. 

Every PV5 charges at a maximum rate of up to 150kW and should get from 10-80% in around 30 minutes, matching the ID Buzz and only slightly slower than the Model Y. Plugging into a 7kW home charger, meanwhile, will see the PV5 charge from 10-100% in up to seven hours for the Standard Range and 10 hours for the Long Range. 

“To help the PV5 be more efficient in cold weather, you can add a heat pump to the top-spec Plus as an optional extra” – Dan Jones, Senior reviewer

What does the interior look like and is it well made?

As with most new members of Kia’s EV line up, the Kia PV5’s interior is simplistic, with very few physical buttons and a large 12.9in touchscreen infotainment system dominating the dashboard. 

Prodding around, you can quickly tell that the PV5 is closely related to an actual van. You see, while it might have showroom appeal at first glance, most of the surfaces are covered in hard plastics, rather than the soft touch materials that you’ll find in most car-based rivals. In fairness, the same can be said for the VW ID Buzz, and you cannot knock the sturdiness of build quality of the PV5.

Is the driving position comfortable and is it easy to see out?

Despite being a van, there’s only a low step to climb into the PV5, making it really easy to climb into the seats. Once you do, the front seat places you high above the road and is comparable to that of a Range Rover or the ID Buzz. 

The driving position lines you up perfectly with the steering wheel and pedals and it’s easy enough to tailor it to your liking, thanks to the entry-level Essential giving you plenty of manual steering wheel and seat adjustment. That version doesn’t give you adjustable lumbar support, though, which is a shame.  

For that, you’ll need to go for the Plus trim, which gives you electric seat adjustment and adds adjustable lumbar support.  

Thanks to the high driving position, your view out of the front of the PV5 is really good. Things aren’t quite as good when you need to look out at junctions, though, because the thick and heavily raked pillars can get in the way, despite there being large cut outs. 

Your view out of the back and over your shoulder, meanwhile, is excellent, owing to the sheer amount of huge windows and the very small rear pillars. To make manoeuvring into parking spaces easier, every PV5 comes with front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera.

Is the dashboard and infotainment system easy to use?

As we already mentioned, you won’t find many physical controls inside the PV5. As a result, you have to make all changes to the air conditioning system through the permanent icons at the bottom of the touchscreen. 

That’s far more distracting to do on the move than in the Peugeot e-Traveller, which has physical controls, but the same as you’ll have to do in the Model Y and ID Buzz. At least the infotainment system is more user-friendly than the ID Buzz’s system, with sharp graphics and a really quick reaction to all of your prods and presses. 

Standard features include built-in Google Maps sat-nav, wireless Apple CarPlay/ Android Auto smartphone mirroring and over the air updates to make sure the system stays current. Stepping up to top-spec Plus trim adds wireless phone charging into the mix, too. 

The other screen that you’ll find inside is the 7.5in digital driver display, that sits behind the steering wheel. It has a really crisp display, making it easy to read, but you can’t use it to display things like a large map or anything like that.

“The PV5 uses a clever AddGear clip system that allows you to clip things like cup holders to certain spots throughout the interior. I think it’s a neat trick and hope that Kia lets people 3D print their own accessories, like Dacia” – Dan Jones, Senior reviewer

How much space does it have for people?

There is so much space inside the Kia PV5 that you’ll likely struggle to figure out what to do with it all. Indeed, sitting in the front, even two really tall and broad adults will have loads of head, leg and shoulder room. 

There’s also lots of clever storage spaces up front, too. Those include a tray for your phone, a pull out cubby at the bottom of the centre console, a covered cubby on top of the dashboard and three different levels of door bin.

As in the front, those sitting in the rear will have more space than they could ever need, with limo-like leg room and loads of head room. Three people sitting abreast in the rear will also have lots of space, thanks to the wide interior affording them lots of shoulder room and the totally flat floor increasing foot space.

It’s worth noting that, despite all of the space, the PV5 is currently only available with five seats, while you can have the Volkswagen ID Buzz in Long Wheelbase form and with seven seats. Kia has confirmed that a seven-seater will join the range in the future but, until then, those needing seven seats will want to look at the ID Buzz or more traditional SUVs including the Kia EV9 and Peugeot e-5008.

How much room does it have for luggage?

As is the case with passenger space, the PV5 also has loads of luggage space. Indeed, even with all five seats in place, you’ll have up to 1320 litres of boot space to play with, which will be more than enough to swallow pretty much anything. 

For reference, we managed to fit 16 carry-on sized suitcases into the boot of the ID Buzz SWB, which has a slightly smaller boot on paper. 

Should you find yourself needing even more space, the rear seats in the PV5 can be split in a 60/40 configuration and folded flat. Doing so leaves a fair step up from the boot floor, though, which isn’t ideal when feeding long items through from the boot. Speaking of which, for those items that are especially long, you can remove the front passenger seat to gain even more space. 

Like the ID Buzz, the tailgate is huge and is hinged at the top, giving you a massive opening when loading things into the boot. The only problem with that is the amount of space needed behind the car to actually open the thing. 

“I’d usually say that it’s a shame when an EV doesn’t have a frunk… but given the PV5’s sheer amount of practicality, I’m not sure anyone will miss having one” – Dan Jones, Senior reviewer

How much does it cost and what equipment do you get?

Price is a major strength for the Kia PV5 Passenger, with the entry-level Essential Standard Range undercutting every rival by quite some margin – buy it outright and it’ll cost you around half the price of the entry-level VW ID Buzz Life. Opting for Essential Long Range doesn’t add much to the price, so it’s worth considering if you want the extra range.

As the name suggests, though, Essential trim covers the essentials when it comes to standard equipment, coming with 16in steel wheels, automatic LED headlights, electrically-adjustable and heated door mirrors, automatic air conditioning, adaptive cruise control and all of the bits we’ve already mentioned. 

We’d go for the top-spec Plus version, though, because it adds lots more niceties and still costs less than rivals. It gets 16in alloy wheels, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, the electric front seats with lumbar support, a power tailgate and vehicle-to-load (V2L) charging. It also gives you the option of adding a heat pump for more efficient interior heating in winter months.

Is it reliable, and how long is the warranty?

With the PV5 being a completely new model, it wasn’t included in the 2025 What Car? Reliability survey. Kia as a brand, though, managed to place an impressive 8th out of the 30 included manufacturers. 

That puts it one spot below Tesla, but above the rest of its rivals, including Peugeot in joint 11th place and Volkswagen way down in joint 24th. 

Better still, should anything go wrong, the PV5 is covered by Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile standard warranty. Its battery, meanwhile, is covered by a separate eight-year warranty, providing it doesn’t drop below 70% capacity. 

How safe is it, and is it easy to steal?

The safety experts at EuroNCAP are yet to test the PV5 for safety, but it gets all of the safety equipment that you’d expect as standard, including automatic emergency braking (AEB) and lane-keep assist. 

Upgrading to the Plus trim also adds rear-cross traffic alert, blind spot monitoring and safe exit warning into the mix. To keep thieves at bay, every PV5 comes with a Thatcham category 1 alarm and immobiliser with interior protection.   

“When you look at how much the PV5’s rivals will cost you to buy, I find it amazing just how much cheaper it is. Especially given that Plus trim comes with a decent amount of equipment” – Dan Jones, Senior reviewer

Buy it if...

-You want a really practical electric car

-You value reliability and a long warranty

-Value for money is a priority 

Don’t buy it if…

-You’re after a seven-seater  

-Agile handling is high up on your list of priorities

-You want the longest range electric car 

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