Kia launched their PV5 van at the 2025 CV Show & on paper it looked incredibly attractive, coming with a good range, decent payload & being aggressively priced. Here in the UK Kia are best known for cars but way back when, they originally made vans & pick-up’s beginning with Mazda re-badges. So the PV5 then is an evolution rather than an evolution. A year on from the PV5’s launch we spent a week in one & the good news is that it’s really rather good.
Model choice
Currently there’s just one version an L1 H1, although this is about to change with the addition of some PV5 conversions, with a choice of two batteries; a Standard Range with a 51.1kWh pack & a Long Range fitted with the larger 71.2kWh battery.
Trims
Two. Essential, which comes with 16” steel wheels, a 7.5” digital driver display, 12.9” infotainment screen, LED headlights & daytime running lights, electric windows, automatic air-con, start-stop, smart entry & exit, wireless Apple CarPlay & Android Auto, two front USB’s, Bluetooth with voice recognition, rain sensing wipers, front & rear parking sensors & a reversing camera system.
And Plus, which adds V2L capability, wireless phone charging, heated seats, a heated steering wheel & extra safety features. A heat pump is extra though.
Drivetrain
Max power 160 bhp (120kW)
Max torque 250 Nm
Max speed 84 mph
0-62mph when fully laden 12.4 seconds
Outside
Kia have cleverly designed the PV5 to look futuristic with high bonnet front & corner headlights. The charging port sits lower down under the flat grille. At the side you get really chunky door handles & a smooth profile whilst the rear is flat with slim edge rear light clusters ,a simple KIA logo & PV5 badge.
Inside
The switchgear mirrors Kia’s electric car offerings with the right side steering wheel gear stalk & the same steering wheel controls that feature brake regeneration paddles. The digital drivers display is viewed through the steering wheel & offers up important info such as speed, range & regeneration levels. The centre dash mounted screen features short cuts beneath allowing you to alter the climate & acres the infotainment & the phone, which is great. The set-up is also recognisable from Kia’s car range & works perfectly well. In the centre dash twin USB inputs sit next to a 12v socket with the vans parking cameras located just above. The electric window switches sit high on the door rests & the electric brake is on t right side of the steering wheel.
Quality & finish
A mixed bag. Dash top & front are excellent, whilst the door finishes & lower down plastics look cheaper. Colour wise it’s shades of blue-grey as are the seat fabric & finishes. Some of the cabin features recycled materials. Our main criticism is that the colour way makes it a bit dark in the cabin, especially with the black bulkhead.
Cabin practicality
Kia has done a good job here. Storage includes a good sized glove box, a massive centre space with twin cupholders & a slim area perfect for your phone, three door levels including drink holders, a centre cubby hole, a slim space beneath this & another small space on the right side dash top. If you look more closely there’s also space behind both seats where you can store the charging cable in it’s bag & the puncture kit. Located beneath the passenger seat is a small opening storage space. Both the driver & passenger seats are multi adjustable & the steering wheel is reach & rake. Compared to for example, Farizons SV it’s impressively thought out.
Driving range
Standard Range 51.1kWh 184 miles
Long Range 71.2kWh 258 miles
We tested the Long Range model & interestingly the van will give you a max & min range when you climb aboard, so in early April when fully charged this ranged from 166 miles to 242 miles.
Charging & economy
At home using a 7kWh charger, the Standard Range will charge from 0-100% in 7 hours 45 minutes, the Long Range doing the same in 10 hours 45 minutes. https://www.rolecserv.com/ev-products/evoOut & about on a rapid-charger, a 150kW peak charging DC rate means a 10% to 80% top-up will take under 30 minutes.
When it landed our PV5 was showing a decent 4 miles/kWh. However an 80 mile motorway test at steady 70mph saw this fall to 3.6 miles/kWh.
Practicality
The load space ranges from 3.4m – 5.1m cubed. Payload is decent 790kg on Standard Range & 690kg on Long Range. If you want dual siding side doors these cost an additional £355 + vat & were fitted to our test van, the payloads fall to 665kg & 725kg respectively. The PV5 will tow 750kg & features a useful 419mm low step-in for loading & the space will fit two Euro pallets.
Prices
The Long-wheelbase L2H1 version is priced from £27,645 excluding VAT & that’s before the £5,000 Plug-in Van Grant, for which the PV5 qualifies thanks to its 2,650kg gross vehicle weight.
Warranty
7-year/100,000-mile warranty
8-year/100,000-mile high-voltage battery warranty
12-year/unlimited mileage anti-perforation warranty
5-year/100,000-mile paint warranty
1-year Kia roadside assistance
Driving modes
Three are available, which are Eco, Normal & Snow. There are four levels of regeneration lifted from Kia’s electric cars plus an Auto setting & these are adjusted via the seeing wheel paddles.
Comfort & ease of use
Here is where the PV5 shines brightest. Simply put it’s the most car-like electric van we’ve driven with comfortable seats, an ergonomic cabin with simple & straightforward controls all of which are easy to reach from the driver’s seat. Like Kia’s cars the driver safety system can be a touch annoying & you’ll have to access the cars menus to adjust these each time you re-start the engine. But, it’s easier to do this in the PV5 than in the Kia EV5 for example which is good news.
Driving
Light steering & the PV5’s small dimensions; 4,695mm long, 1,923mm tall & 1,895mm wide, make it a doddle to drive in town. And acceleration is ample.The seating is high as well so forward vision is excellent. We drove the PV5 unladen but even then it handles poor road surfaces & speed bumps with aplomb & the cabin is incredibly quiet at under 40mph. The volume does increase as you speed up & on the motorway the tyre noise is noticeable, but it’s not terrible. If you need to stop quickly the brakes are well balanced & utilising the regen levels via the paddles is super easy as well.
On the motorway you can select & engage adaptive cruise control & this makes any longer journeys much less stressful. Indeed Mrs W accompanied me on a couple of trips & commented in how the PV5 was more like car in it’s ride quality than you’d expect in an electric van, which is high praise ended !
If you’re working
Kia have thought of most things here & whilst the load space is affected by the rear wheel arches getting into & out of the van is really easy as is loading. The 50:50 split rear doors open to 180 degrees & reveal a small step to get up into the van & with the option of twin sliding side doors, couriers for example, can access the load from either side of the van.
Whilst the cabin come with two front seats & cross cabin movement can be achieved, the lower down centre part of the dashboard does jut out a touch & with the steering wheel angle, it’s not as easy to do a you’d think.
Rear view
The PV5 may drive like a car & come with a really good reversing camera & an amazingly small turning circle, but there’s one caveat. The forward & side view is excellent with the large windscreen, short front end, tall door windows & cut-out’s in the A pillars. But there isn’t yet a digital rear view mirror option, so even with the clear reversing camera & the large exterior door mirrors, there is a significant blind spot at the rear.
Pros
Drives & feels just like an electric car. Comfortable, practical & user-friendly cabin. Easily accessible rear load space. The Long Range model has a great driving range. Both versions come very well equipped. Looks fantastic from the outside especially in black !
Cons
Payload is only average. Cabin finishes are a bit dull.
Verdict
We selected the PV5 Cargo as our Van to Watch 2026 & now we’ve driven one it most certainly is. Utilising it’s electric car know how, Kia have first time, built an almost perfect small electric van. Not only does its exterior size mirror a large car, so does the way it drives, how it handles UK road imperfections & how the cabin feels too. Throw in some clever cabin storage, easy rear & side access & you have an almost perfect combination.
On the downside, even though it’s aggressively priced, we’d want to pay extra for the heat pump & a digital mirror would be an excellent option as well.
An amazing first effort from Kia 4.5/5
As tested
71.2kWh FWD 4dr
£30,500
