Kia’s new electric car – which follows hot on the heels of the big-selling EV3 small crossover and the rather brilliant EV4 electric hatchback – is a very imposing machine to look at.
The lazy way to describe the EV5 is as an electric Sportage. Kia would rather you didn’t as the two cars are slightly different in size, and the Sportage is the company’s bestseller and they don’t want to confuse happy customers. The comparison is an obvious one, however.
It’s a comparison that visually the EV5 easily wins. Perhaps the familiarity with the Sportage has bred a touch of aesthetic contempt, but the EV5, with its broad shoulders, EV9-like rear end and ultra-slim LED lighting, wins the styling contest between the two. It looks especially good in the classy Magma Red paint of our test car.
The EV5 is also genuinely more physically imposing than the Sportage and, indeed, more so than most of its electric competition.
RM Block
Indeed, Kia actually makes play of the EV5 being the tallest car in its class – at 1,675mm, it’s around 40mm taller than the big-selling VW ID.4, and that’s great if, say, you have big hair, or wish to wear a top hat while driving.
However, it’s unarguably less good for efficiency as height adds to frontal area; far more than the simpler coefficient of drag, a car’s frontal area is what’s critical to its aerodynamic efficiency.
Remember the amazing six-wheel Tyrrell Formula One cars of the 1970s? Everyone thought that having four small wheels at the front was about finding more grip, but it wasn’t: it was about bringing down the car’s frontal area to make it faster on straights.
But I digress. The EV5 comes in one mechanical specification with an 81.4kWh battery pack (using nickel manganese cobalt NMC chemistry) and a 217hp electric motor driving the front wheels.
This compares well with the VW ID.4’s 77kWh battery and its 204hp electric motor. But there is a difference between the two in range terms. The Kia, at its best in basic Earth 2 specification, offers a maximum claimed range of 530km, while the Volkswagen can manage a claimed 566km on one charge.
Now this needs a bit of clarification and nuance. The VW won’t do 566km on one charge. And likely the Kia won’t do 530km. In our experience, the VW’s real-world range is more like 450km, while the Kia EV5 – at least according to our thus-far brief test drive – should manage around 430km.
So the difference, 20km, isn’t vast, but it does seem curious that Kia, normally so good at giving its electric cars brilliant ranges, is going into this particular battle with one hand poised, if not quite tied, behind its back.
It’s also worth saying that in all other aspects, the EV5 is pretty much crushing it. The handsome looks we’ve noted extend to the interior.
Okay, so the big grey dashboard looks like a chiselled plastic monolith, but the layout of the screens and the proper, physical buttons is exemplary as is the comfort of the front seats. There are acres of storage space and, on all but the base model, heated front and rear seats.
Don’t bother, incidentally, trading up to the expensive GT-Line model as its wheels and body kit exact a further penalty on range, dropping it to 505km officially.
Instead, go for the mid-spec Earth 3, which gives you pleather seat upholstery and all the other toys you might like, yet keeps its price below €50,000 and only costs you 10km of range, which is probably within the margin of real-world error.
Unlike the smaller EV3, which feels curiously devoid of character to drive, and rather more like the excellent EV4, the EV5 is something of joy behind the wheel.
No, it’s not a sports car and nor, thankfully, is it trying to be one. Although the steering has a slightly odd rubbery sensation to it, it also manages to feel positive and responsive. The EV5 also has a really nice habit whereby it seems to sigh and exhale in concert with the road surface.
The ride quality is excellent, it doesn’t lean over in corners and the brake pedal is reassuringly firm – not always a given with EVs. It can feel a touch big and bulky at times, but refinement, aside from some tyre roar on coarse surfaces, is excellent.
The EV5 is also fantastically practical. The boot holds 566 litres, which is 19 litres less than that of the Skoda Enyaq, but the Kia swerves around that rivalry by having a 44-litre “frunk” storage area in the nose, which the Skoda lacks.
Rear seat legroom is fantastic, and there’s just about enough width for three people to get comfy in the back. Basically, the EV5 looks and feels like a slightly smaller EV9, rather than an upsized EV3, and that’s the right way to do it.
Pricing is a bit stiff, though. The entry-level Earth 2 model, although well-equipped, runs you €47,625. Both Skoda and VW can beat that quite easily, even if they may not have as much standard stuff inside. Renault’s rather brilliant Scenic is also better value for money.
Can the Kia leap that barrier? It might. After all, the pricier EV6 has wormed its way firmly into Irish buyers’ hearts without a bargain price tag, and it’s easy to imagine the EV5’s imposing looks and excellent cabin cracking open more than a few cheque books. It just needs a touch more range, that’s all.
