Kia EV5 Air



Korean firm Kia has a pretty enviable record with its burgeoning EV range of vehicles. Both the EV6 and the EV9 are brilliant options in their respective classes, and while neither of the two follow-ups is quite as show-stopping nor as endearing overall, the EV3 and EV4 remain highly proficient zero-emission machines that are easily recommendable. Indeed, the newest, smallest EV2 is also winning critical plaudits, so by rights, and with such a background of repeated success to call upon, this EV5 - an electric analogue for the evergreen and big-selling Sportage - should be a shoo-in for class honours. Shouldn't it...?

Test Car Specifications

Model: 2026 Kia EV5 Air 81.4kWh
Price: EV5 range from £39,345 for Air as tested, car with options £40,020
Motor: 160kW front-mounted motor
Battery: 81.4kWh (usable) NMC lithium-ion
Transmission: single-speed reduction-gear automatic, front-wheel drive
Power: 217hp
Torque: 295Nm
Emissions: 0g/km
Range: up to 329 miles (16.9kWh/62.1 miles, or 3.7 miles/kWh)
Max recharging speeds: 11kW AC, 127kW DC
0-62mph: 8.4 seconds
Top speed: 102mph
Boot space: 566 litres all seats in use, 1,650 litres rear seats folded down, 44 litres front boot
Max towing weight: 1,200kg (braked trailer)
Kerb weight: 2,069kg

Styling

There's nothing wrong with the exterior of the Kia EV5. It has a strong sense of proportionality and a commanding stance, while it looks particularly good in Magma Red (a premium paint at £675) and doesn't struggle visually due to being on a set of 'mere' 18s. Indeed, it also doesn't need GT-Line specification to give it plenty of kerb appeal, as the 'Star Map' light clusters fore and aft do a lot of the attraction work for it. Silver and black detailing completes the aesthetic, and ensures the EV5 looks good.

Interior

Kia's interiors are normally excellent and, from an ergonomic point of view, the EV5's is a hit. The twin 12.3-inch digital screens work beautifully well, although we would say it's another one of the Korean firm's cars where the dedicated 5.3-inch climate control touchpad is tucked a little too far behind the steering wheel (certainly from the driver's perspective, at any rate). Nevertheless, with plenty of proper buttons on the wheel, and a few more key shortcuts on the dash, operating the Kia's systems is no drama at all.

And, regrettably, you could say much the same thing about the visual aesthetic: no drama at all. Maybe this EV5 suffered from being in basic Air specification, but its fascias are an unremitting morass of grey plastic, while the upholstery is a dour grey cloth as well. Other Kias have more pleasing light-and-shade finishing inside than this, and their materials feel somewhat better to the touch, too. Hmm.

Practicality

No qualms with the size of the Kia EV5's cabin. There's plenty of passenger room in the second row, thanks to a mammoth 2.75-metre wheelbase and a completely flat floorwell in the back, and on top of that the Korean SUV has a 566-litre boot at the rear, along with 44 litres of under-bonnet storage located at the opposite end of the vehicle. Fold down the rear seats and a peak of 1,650 litres of capacity is liberated, while there are plenty of good storage solutions and locations dotted helpfully throughout the passenger compartment. The EV5 doesn't particularly miss a beat in this regard, then.

Performance

Just one motor and one battery pack is available for the Kia EV5 at the time of writing, although a hotter GT model is on the way. The question is whether 217hp and 295Nm are big enough figures to be propelling more than two tonnes of electric SUV around. Kia quotes an 8.4-second 0-62mph time for the EV5 Air, but in truth it never quite feels as strong as even that modest stat would have you believe. At least the pick-up of the throttle feels more naturalistic than some other mainstream EVs, while the carmaker has judged its four-stage regenerative braking very well indeed.

The EV5 also seems satisfactorily efficient day-to-day. We had a mammoth 879-mile week driving this SUV up and down the UK, during which time it averaged out to 3.5 miles/kWh; a fine return, considering there was a lot of high-speed motorway running mixed in, and not too far off the official 3.7 miles/kWh figure. Thus, 250-300 miles ought to be easily achievable in the EV5, all year round.

Ride & Handling

Dynamically, the Kia EV5 Air feels ever so slightly lacklustre. The other EV cars are all super-smooth for ride comfort and great for rolling refinement, but the Five seems... less so. Tyre roar can be a little elevated at times, but that's as nothing to the weird, longitudinal see-sawing motion the Kia seemed to generate when it was cruising at speed. Therefore, while it never crashed and thumped disconsolately about the place, neither was the EV5 that comfortable for long-distance duties, because it sometimes felt like you were on a boat, bobbing about at sea. Most odd.

Add in handling that is unsurprisingly uninvolving, due to that aforementioned kerb weight and steering which is on the lighter, number side of things, and despite the fact we spent almost 22 solid hours at the Kia's wheel in just seven days, we didn't really gel with it. In truth, we found its oscillating ride qualities quite tiresome after a while.

Value

At a starting price of less than £40,000, the Kia EV5 Air seems decent value, if not extraordinarily cheap. We think you'll probably want a GT-Line as a minimum, to hopefully delete the drab interior of the Air and, potentially, to possibly alter the way the EV5 rides, and in that case you're looking at the best part of £43,000.

Complicating the EV5's case was that, in the immediate aftermath of being greatly underwhelmed by its showing, the £35,245 PV5 Passenger showed up for testing and immediately proved it was several leagues above the SUV in terms of overall enjoyment and slick driving manners. We know which one of Kia's two family-movers we'd have in a heartbeat on the back of this fortnight of testing, and it's the van-shaped one that's a good five grand cheaper to buy.

Verdict

This could be a spec-related thing, in that a GT-Line EV5 might be more impressive than the Air, but we've driven basic Kia EVs before and been more than happy with them. Curiously, the EV5 - which should be, by rights, the most talented thing the carmaker builds as it competes in the market sector that will spin the mightiest of profits - feels spectacularly 'mid' in so many ways. It's almost like Kia phoned in the idea of an electric Sportage, and of all the EVx cars we've tried over the years, this is the least likeable and dullest zero-emission thing in the company's showrooms. A pity; this transpires to be a minor blot on the EVx-line's otherwise estimable copybook.