Kia is firing on all cylinders. After the success of the Kia EV6, the company is about to follow things up with the much larger Kia EV9. But it isn’t stopping there. Kia recently announced a few other new electric cars that are set to join its lineup in the near future — including the EV5.
If the EV5 is anything like the EV6 or EV9, of course, it’ll be an instant success. But it may still be some time before we see the car in the real world. Curious to learn more about the Kia EV5? Here’s what you need to know.
Design
Despite the lower number, the Kia EV5 will actually be larger than the EV6 crossover — but not quite as large as the EV9 SUV. It’ll be more of a “compact SUV,” offering a boxy design that’s similar to the EV9, but with only two rows of seats instead of three.
Renders of the car from Kia indicate that it will follow the same overall design language as the EV9. That means it’ll have a blocky design, with unique LED light signatures at both the front and the back. It’ll have a length of 181.7 inches, which makes it a little shorter than even the EV6, but it’ll be much taller than the EV6, and thus have more interior space.
The interior design will largely follow that of other Kia cars too. There are two 12.3 inch displays at the front of the car, for infotainment and instrument monitoring. Unique to the EV5, however, is a kind of weird bench front seat that looks like it should offer a middle seat — but with no seatbelts and a slightly raised middle. It’s unclear if this will be sold in all regions, however, it does seem as though the Chinese production model will get the strange front seat.
Price and tax credit status
It seems as though Kia’s naming scheme has less to do with size, and more to do with price. We’re expecting the EV5 to be a little cheaper than the EV6, meaning that it’ll hopefully start at around $40,000 — though that remains to be seen.
There are conflicting reports as to whether or not the EV5 will be sold in the U.S. It doesn’t seem as though the company plans to build the car at its U.S. plant — which means that it won’t qualify for the federal EV tax credit. Some reports suggest that the car won’t come to the U.S., while others note that it will be sold in North American. Both could be true, if it’s sold in Mexico and/or Canada. Hopefully, it will make its way stateside, but if it does, it likely won’t be for a few more years.
Models
We don’t yet have information about the individual models of the EV5 — however you can expect that at least a few models will be sold. The car will be available in both single- and dual-motor configurations — with the single-motor model reaching 214 horsepower and the dual-motor configurations hitting 308hp. In other words, the EV5 won’t be the fastest car around, but it should still get some of that electric car zip.
There will be standard range and long-range models — though it’s unclear if both single- and dual-motor configurations will get both battery options. Hopefully, we’ll hear more about the models in the near future.
Charging speed and range
Kia EVs have long been hailed for their excellent fast charging speed — thanks in large part to the fact that they offer an 800-volt architecture. Unfortunately, Kia has confirmed that the EV5 will not get that 800-volt architecture — meaning that it won’t reach the same 350-kilowatt, blazing-fast charging speeds that you’ll get from the EV6 and EV9.
In China, Kia will offer models with a 64kWh battery in the standard range models, and 88kWh batteries in the long range models. Battery sizes will likely differ a little depending on the market that the car is sold in, so we’ll have to wait and see what the battery sizes will be on models outside of China. Kia says that the single-motor EV5 will get a huge 447 miles, with the dual-motor model getting 329 miles. We’re a little skeptical of these numbers, though. It’s unlikely those will be the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-estimated numbers that the company will advertise if it sells the EV5 in the U.S. In fact, Kia’s numbers come from the Combined Charging and Load Cycle standard — and estimates suggest EPA numbers are around 35% lower than those. That would put the standard-range model at around 290 miles and the long-range model at around 214 miles.
Tech features
The EV5 will come with a range of tech features to make the experience of using the car even better. As you would expect, you’ll get basics like backup cameras, as well as adaptive cruise control and lane-centering tech that will combine to make for a somewhat autonomous experience on the highway. Also like other Kia cars, the car should offer CarPlay and Android Auto, hopefully through a wireless connection. Kia has said that it will even fit the car with its Remote Smart Parking Assist tech that allows for automated parking. Again, like other features, it’s hard to know which of these features will make their way to a U.S. model, if one ever launches.
