Kia EV5 review

If I were a Kia EV5, I'd feel a little hard done by. As an electric alternative to the brand's best-selling Sportage, you'd think the EV equivalent would be front of the queue for production and development – but Kia has somehow released six other EVs before getting around to doing the EV5 – which should be a best-seller. Does the delay hint at a car that's perhaps slightly less than the sum of its parts?

Well, there's no doubting the EV5's eye-grabbing looks. It gets Kia's latest madly shaped 'star map' LED daytime running signature up front, and a trendy thin lightbar at the back. At 4.6m long it's 7cm longer than a Sportage, with the extra length giving the EV5's back-seat passengers acres of legroom. The 566-litre boot is also huge, and there's a 40-litre frunk for your charging cables. So far, the EV5 is getting an A+ for style and practicality.

While the EV5's interior is laden with tech and well-equipped even on entry-level Air models, we're starting to tire of the two-tone grey slabbiness of Kia cabins. The quality is fine, and there are some interesting angles on the passenger side but, next to the cloth-draped dashboard of the Skoda Enyaq, the EV5 feels about as lively as a dentist's waiting area. And yes, we did just suggest that a Skoda is stylish inside. The times they are a-changin'.

All EV5s get a big 81kWh battery, a 214hp motor on the front axle and a claimed range of between 310 and 329 miles. Sadly we never saw efficiency figures above 2.8 miles/kWh (admittedly at temperatures of about 8C), meaning a real-world range of 230 miles is more realistic. Our experience with the Tesla Model Y and Skoda Enyaq suggests they will each muster a real-world 290 miles in similar conditions.

That said, the Kia comes with the brand's seven-year warranty, and it's comfortable and pain-free to drive, with less touchscreen faffery than the Tesla. It's a solid family car, but we just wish Kia would work on the efficiency and interior sparkle.

The EV5's cabin will be very familiar if you've sat in the smaller Kia EV3. All EV5s get two large 12-inch displays – one centrally mounted for your sat-nav, music and other infotainment functions, while the driver also gets a display for your usual speed, range and driving data. Kia's also snuck a small five-inch monochrome climate control display in between the two big screens, giving you always-on access to change the fan settings, direction and so on. It's a nice idea in theory, but it's nearly always blocked from view by the steering wheel.

You still get some physical switches to adjust the temperature, and there are six haptic shortcut buttons underneath the central screen so you can jump to infotainment menus quickly and easily.

The EV5's infotainment system is very easy to use, with large tiles giving access to the wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto systems, as well as to some other apps such as YouTube, Disney+ and Netflix. We were impressed by the top-spec GT-Line S car's Harman Kardon sound system, but we have also driven lower-spec models and weren't disappointed by their simpler speaker setups.

Mid-spec GT-Line models (without the S suffix) and above get a wireless phone charger in the central cubby hole, but all models get a bevy of USB-C fast-charging ports in the lower central storage area. 

While all versions of the EV5 get a heated wheel and heated front seats, you get ventilated and massage functions on GT-Line S cars. Entry-level Air models come with manually adjustable, comfortable grey cloth pews, while GT-Line and GT-Line S have electrically adjustable two-tone artificial leather items.

Top-spec models also get a head-up display that reflects your speed and the current speed limit in the windscreen, as well as your sat-nav directions. It's not the world's biggest or most-impressive HUD, but it does the job and adds a premium touch – but you'd hope so for a £47,000 EV5. Other GT-Line S trinkets include a fingerprint sensor for starting the car, and a panoramic sunroof.

The EV5 might be touted as a Sportage-sized electric SUV, but it's actually a useful 7cm longer in the wheelbase than its petrol-powered brother. That results in more rear legroom than the Sportage, and enough rear-seat headroom for a tall adult, even with the GT-Line S models' sunroof. You can recline the rear seat backs or sit them bolt upright using a lever on the side of the seats, but we found the seat base didn't provide enough support for our thighs. As with many EVs, the rear floor feels a touch higher than in a combustion-powered car, resulting in a slightly unnatural bend in your knees which is noticeable for adults on long journeys.

The top-spec model's sunroof doesn't quite stretch over the heads of your back-seat passengers, but it brightens an otherwise quite gloomy cabin.

Your back-seaters get two USB-Cs, mounted on the sides of the front seats, and the outer rear seats are also heated on all except the entry-level Air models.

Rear-seat passengers have small-but-deep door bins which can easily hold a chunky bottle of water (but not much else at the same time), and there's a centre armrest containing a pair of cupholders.

Up front there's a full-width glovebox (unlike the Skoda Enyaq's paltry half-width effort), deep and long door bins, plus a useful carpeted cubby under the centre armrest. There's also a tray in front of the armrest with the wireless phone charger (again, unless you get the Air model), and yet another big storage area on the floor in between the front seats. It's a pretty epic cabin for a game of hide and seek.

The EV5's boot space is also excellent – and only 20 litres shy of the ridiculously spacious Skoda Enyaq. The EV5's boxy 566-litre space has some useful storage cubbies at the side, plus some underfloor storage for your valuables. There's a three-pin vehicle-to-load socket on GT-Line models upwards, allowing you to run appliances off the EV5's battery. You'll also find a 40-litre frunk under the bonnet for storing charging cables.

Pop the boot shut and you'll find a reversing camera on all EV5 models, with top-spec models getting upgraded to a useful 360-degree camera with a top-down view of the car when you're parking. All EV5s can tow up to 1.2 tonnes on a braked trailer. 

This bit's easy – all EV5s get the same battery and motor setup. All get an 81.4kWh battery and a 214hp motor powering the front wheels, getting the EV5 from 0-62mph in 8.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 102mph.

If you want the most range out of an EV5 you'll need an Air model with a 329-mile official claimed range, while GT-Line and GT-Line S models get 313 miles – mostly because they have bigger 19-inch alloy wheels compared to the Air's 18s. As we noted at the start of this review, we didn't see anything like the official claimed efficiency figures of 4miles/kWh, instead getting closer to 2.5 miles/kWh in mixed usage.

The battery can charge at up to 150kW on a fast charger, which is a little slower than the Skoda Enyaq's fastest rate. Regardless, you'll get from 10-80% in half an hour if you use a 150kW fast charger.

The EV5 is very much in the sensible, comfortable and not-at-all sporty camp when it comes to driving dynamics – which is exactly what we look for in a family SUV. It controls its two-tonnes mass reasonably well on most roads, with only a few sharper thuds hitting your backside at low speeds. 

Out on the motorway it's refined and pretty hushed in the cabin, and the seats provide proper comfort and support for long schleps. 

We got the occasional scrappy display of wheelspin out of wet junctions that you don't get in the rear-wheel-drive Enyaq or Tesla Model Y, and the Kia shares the Skoda's grippy-yet-unexciting handling dynamics. 

There's nothing about the EV5 driving experience to annoy you – especially when you learn you use buttons on the steering wheel to disable both speed-limit warning bongs and lane-keeping assist systems. Naturally you'll have to do this on every ignition cycle, but that's true of every other modern car and at least you don't have to delve into the touchscreen to do so.