Kia has taken Audi’s crown as the king of Russian Doll design with the reveal of its new EV5 mid-size SUV.
The new Kia EV5 takes much of what has made the EV3 small SUV and EV9 seven-seat luxury SUV so successful and wrapped it up in a package that sits slap bang in between the two of them. The EV5 features strikingly similar design features, from the boxy 4x4-like proportions to the tiger-nose front end with ‘star map’ lighting signature on to the upright back with similarly slim rear lights. Kia calls its design theme ‘Opposites United’ – we’d say the three EV SUV models are very united in their look.
The same can be said of the inside of the EV5, which – but for a few plusher materials – looks very much like an EV3. There are twin 12.3-inch screens for the driver display and infotainment, intersected by an additional 5.3-inch screen for the climate control functions. That’s the same as in the EV3 and EV9, all sitting in one panoramic unit across the dash.
Like its siblings, the EV5 also gets some physical buttons under the screens to select frequently used functions, while a second layer of buttons adjust the temperature. It’s all very smart and – if our experience of the EV3 and EV9 are anything to go by – will be easy to use.
Given the success of the EV3 and EV9 – World Cars of the Year in 2024 and 2025 – Kia is clearly on to a good thing. And the EV5 shares much of its tech with the EV3, as well as the upcoming EV4 hatch and saloon models.
That means an 81.4kWh battery pack with a maximum claimed range of 329 miles – the bigger car will cover nearly fifty miles fewer than an EV3. There’s the same reasonable maximum charging speed of 120kW on a fast charger, meaning the usual 10 to 80 per cent charge in around half an hour, while performance is also reasonable with a 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds.
There’s Kia’s excellent one-pedal driving system, while Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) hardware means you can also power household appliances via a three-pin socket.
Of course, the EV5 offers much more space inside than an EV3, while there are only two rows of seats rather than the three in the EV9. The rear bench in the EV5 will fold completely flat, though, boosting luggage space from 566 to 1,650 litres with a two-metre-long load bay. There’s also an additional 44 litres of space in the frunk (or froot) under the bonnet.
Back inside there’s similar storage and plenty of cubbies just like in the EV3 – in fact, Kia says there’s 16.5 litres of space in its central storage unit, which includes a slide out drawer for those in the back. Despite all that space, the EV5 still keeps the front cabin airy with plenty of space between the front seats, helped by deep windows for a good view forward and big mirrors for a good view back.
Other tech highlights include a head-up display, a digital key that lets you access and start the car with your smartphone, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a pet mode to keep dogs comfortable if left in the car and entertainment packages that will keep other occupants happy with Netflix, Disney+ and YouTube, plus a host of games.
Kia’s ‘Hey Kia’ voice assistant has recently be upgraded in EV3 to include Chap GPT AI help and that appears in the EV5, too. Plus, of course, there’s the full suite of driver safety and assistant features on board.
There are no hints on pricing yet, but although the EV5 will sit alongside the Sportage (it’s slightly bigger) in Kia’s enormous SUV range we’d expect prices to start well into the £40,000s. What we can say is that first deliveries are expected to be at the end of this year – perfect timing for another World Car Award win in 2026.
