Kia PV5 Passenger (2025 - ) Electric review

The PV5 Passenger is available with a choice of two battery sizes, one a 51.5 kWh pack providing up to 183 miles of range and the other a 71.2 kWh pack giving you up to 256 miles. The jump in price to get the bigger battery pack is not a huge one, so we’re pretty sure most people will opt for the longer range, primarily because that means more driving between charging. Charging times on a 150 kW charger are as little as 30 minutes from 10-80 percent, and the usual rules apply: public charging will cost more, while charging at home will cost less as it's tied to your energy tariff. In fact, the jump in price between battery sizes and trim levels is not that big in any combination you might choose… a top-spec version is still just below £40K. If you can find one on a good finance or lease deal (and we’re assured by Kia you will) you’ll be laughing. It's also confirmed as one of the Kia vehicles eligible for the Government's Electric Car Grant, taking £1,500 off the cost of vehicles available at all trim levels and battery sizes, which is nice.

Covered by a seven-year/100,000-mile warranty, and a separate eight-year warranty for the batteries, the PV5 Passenger is a reassuring package. You’ve got a lot of time on your side with coverage of that length. Service intervals are pretty standard, too, required every two years or 20,000 miles depending on which comes first. And while it might be too early to talk about the long-term reliability of such a new vehicle, Kia already has a good reputation for making electric cars that go the distance. All of that experience has been poured into the PV5 Passenger, so it’s a good bet it will prove itself a solid investment for anyone willing to sign on the line.

A five-star Euro NCAP safety rating goes a long way these days, and Kia has been shouting from the rooftops since the confirmation that the PV5 vans nailed it. The PV5 Passenger comes with a huge list of safety systems as standard on the ‘Essential’ entry-level trim – including collision assist, lane keep assist, smart cruise control and more – and even a full suite of parking sensors and a reverse parking camera. The step up to the top ‘Plus’ trim level adds a few more features, like blind spot assist and a safe exit warning, but you won’t feel like you’re missing out if you opt for the entry-level trim. We can’t stress enough how big a deal it is that a passenger van is so kitted out with safety spec as standard… that you get it all for a sub-£40K price provides real peace of mind.

The PV5 Passenger is only available as a five-seater right now, but 2026 will see more seating configurations made available, including a confirmed seven-seater version. The interior is clean and intuitively laid out, providing ample head and leg room for passengers in both seating areas (the back row can also be dropped to increase boot space). In the front you get a driver and passenger seat, and in the back is a three-seat bench. There are loads of storage spaces, including a pop-top compartment on the dashboard behind the steering wheel, a decent glovebox, good door storage, back-seat pockets and more. Tech is also everywhere it needs to be. The driver gets a seven-inch cluster behind the steering wheel, and the centre of the dashboard is dominated by a crisp 12.9-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. USB sockets and charging ports are spread throughout the vehicle, with two USB-C in the front and others available for the second row passengers. The material choices for the seats are the usual hard-wearing fabrics a family vehicle of this type needs, but the steering wheel is covered with leather-effect material. The base trim level is very well equipped, with the jump to ‘Plus’ adding heated front seats and outer second-row seats, a heated steering wheel, and a wireless phone charger. As we’ve already mentioned, the cost jump to the highest trim level is not huge and the comfort gains are well worth the investment. Is it as comfortable as the ID.Buzz? No, but the ID.Buzz has set a high benchmark in that category. However, it costs over £20K less to get a PV5 Passenger… so there’s that.

There’s no questioning how packed with features the PV5 Passenger is at the entry level. The fact it comes as standard with parking sensors and a reverse parking camera is a key indicator that Kia has no intention of hiding useful additions behind pay walls. You even get things like rain-sensing windscreen wipers, full LED lights, electric front windows, and tinted rear windows from the outset. The jump to the top trim adds 16-inch alloy wheels, folding door mirrors, heated front and outside rear seats, a heated steering wheel, powered adjustable driver and passenger seats, and a useful three-pin socket in the ample boot space. The useful heat pump for preparing the battery for charging is the only must-have addition we’d recommend on the paid-for options list, and at nearly £800 it’s a no-brainer if you get a PV5 Passenger on finance.

If you opt for the smaller battery size, the motor driving the front wheels outputs around 120 horsepower. The larger battery size ups that to 160 horsepower, and we found both flavours to be powerful enough for any driving conditions. It’s a surprisingly nippy vehicle, handling motorways and tight country roads without breaking a sweat. Overtaking is no problem, and the acceleration speeds make it easy to get up to pace and break away if you need to. The wishbone suspension on the front wheels also proved itself on a pothole-covered dirt road… there was bounce, but no uncomfortable lurches or jolts. Although smooth and relatively quiet to drive anyway, the Cargo version felt way more planted and secure when loaded with 350 kg in the back – we have no doubt a full load of people in the Passenger will do the same here. The only downside is the odd double A pillar and small windows set either side of the main windscreen. They do hamper your view considerably while trying to check your peripherals at junctions, and was about the only time we felt anything close to irritation while driving this wonderful little electric van.