The 278-mile Kia EV2 is here, and it could spell trouble for the Renault 5

On sale Spring 2026 | Price from £25,000 (est)

‘Mighty oaks from little acorns grow’ is an old proverb that means something relatively small and simple could secretly be harbouring greatness. Think a miniature clamshell containing precious gemstones, an SD card with thousands of pages worth of critical information, or this: the swazzy new Kia EV2. 

It’s the Korean marque’s cheapest and littlest electric car yet, with quirky looks that share plenty of similarities with Kia’s larger and more luxurious products, plus a competent set of figures that could disrupt the sales success of our reigning Car of the Year, the Renault 5. 

It rests atop Kia’s dedicated E-GMP electric car underpinnings, and will initially be offered in two versions. The entry-level Standard is equipped with a 42.2kWh (usable) battery and 145bhp electric motor, resulting in 197 miles of range, 0-62mph in 8.7secs and a model-wide top speed of 100mph. By comparison, a base-spec R5 E-tech 120 will deliver four fewer miles of range while taking three-tenths longer to reach 62mph. 

Your other option will be the Long Range, which gains a bigger 61kWh (usable) battery for an increased 278-mile range. That’s a 25-mile improvement over the comparable R5 E-Tech 150, though it is around a second-and-a-half slower to 62mph since the trade-off is a less powerful 134bhp motor. 

Regardless of which model you choose, rapid DC fast charging means a 10-80% top-up is complete in around 30 minutes. That’s similar to the R5 and Hyundai Inster, but quicker than a BYD Dolphin. What's more, the EV2 will also be the first Kia model to support both 11 and 22kWh AC charging. 

Moving on to design, and it’s a busy exterior with lots of talking points: vertical headlights, meaty wheel arch cladding, roof rails and various 16-19in wheel designs, to name a few. In terms of size, it's slightly wider than the R5 but shorter than the Dolphin, so it is quite diminutive in spite of the stocky appearance. 

To complement those compact dimensions, Kia has focused heavily on saving space inside. You'll have a choice of four or five-seat options with the EV2, and if you opt for the former, you'll get sliding and reclining rear seats which can extend rear legroom by as much as 73mm (to 958mm all in) when needed. Alternatively, you can push the seats forward to unlock a huge 403 litres of boot space – 77 litres more than you get in the R5. That’s supported by an extra 15 litres in the frunk, too. 

Elsewhere, the EV2’s interior is cloaked in eco-friendly materials and fabrics, with key elements including a trio of screens – that’s a 12.3in driver’s display, 5.3in climate control screen and 12.3in central touchscreen bolted together – plus an eight-speaker Harman Kardon audio system. Ambient lighting strips also run along the dashboard for that little extra, well, ambience. 

The safety suite is pretty comprehensive too, and includes systems like front collision avoidance and blind spot monitoring. You can even toggle a neat 'remote parking' mode, which sets the car up to park automatically while using the smart key from outside, and should prove particularly useful on lazy evenings. 

Your EV2 will also come equipped with a nifty 'EV route planner' integrated, which maps out charging stops for you along a given journey to help try and minimise range anxiety. Finally, you'll also be treated to both vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-grid compatibility, which will allow you to send unused energy back to the national grid or power up external devices as and when needed. 

Production for the EV2 will begin in February for the Standard model, with the Long-Range and sportier-looking GT-Line variants set to start in June. We’ve yet to receive a confirmation on pricing structure, but we’re expecting things to kick off around the £25,000 mark – that would make it around £2,000 pricier than an R5.

Read more: All the electric cars coming soon

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