Kia PV5 Cargo (2025) Review

Introduction

It’s not every day that a new manufacturer joins the commercial vehicle world. Ok, recently we’ve had Farizon and GWM, and they’ll be joined by BYD and Skywell, but if you’re going to place a bet on which one will be leading in a few years, your money would be on Kia.

Kia? Yes, as well as building some of the best-selling (and well-respected) cars in the UK, it’s moving into the LCV world with a range of vans from tiny to huge. It’s starting with this, the Kia PV5, an all-electric compact(ish) van that brings with it a lot of promise.

Built to be battery-powered from day one (so no diesel vans awkwardly converted to electric), offering more space than its rivals, and at a price that undercuts its traditional diesel-powered rivals, it’s got all the makings of being a huge success.

But the competition is fierce. The UK’s best-selling compact electric van, the Peugeot E-Expert, has recently been updated, and the new Ford E-Transit Courier is an excellent urban van. Then there’s the Maxus eDeliver 3, Nissan Townstar EV, Renault Kangoo E-Tech and Toyota Proace City Electric, and so on. The new Kia needs to be good...

Key Features 

Kia has kept things simple with the PV5. You can choose between two batteries: the Short Range, with 51.5kWh and up to 184 miles of range, or the Long Range, with 71.2kWh and a claimed 258 miles. Both drive the front wheels through a motor with 122hp or 163hp, respectively.

On the launch L2H1 model, there’s 4.4m3 of space in the back, with payloads topping out at 790kg for the Short Range and 690kg for the Long Range. There’s an impressively tight turning circle for urban work, rapid charging at a competitive 150kW, and Kia’s sector-leading seven-year warranty.

It’s all wrapped up in a van that looks ultra-modern without being weird, and comes with a price tag that will make the accountants at Stellantis, Ford, and Volkswagen weep.

Performance & Drive

We were handed the keys to the Long Range model, with a 71.2kWh battery pack that feeds power to a 163hp motor at the front of the van. A lower-capacity 51.5kWh model is also available, featuring a 122hp motor. You’ll save £2,500 by opting for that, gain a bit of payload, but lose a chunk of range — down to 184 miles from 258.

Of course, how far you go on a charge is closely tied to how much cargo you’re carrying, what roads you’re driving on, and even the weather each day. Our experience of the Kia PV5’s efficiency was quite a surprise, which you’ll see in the Running Costs section...

On paper, it’s not as powerful and won’t go as far as a Volkswagen ID Buzz, but it is more potent and goes further than an E-Partner. While it gives up more than 100hp to the ID Buzz, performance still feels punchy. Fully loaded, Kia claims it’ll reach 62mph in 12.4 seconds, which is quick enough to join a motorway from even the shortest slip road without worry.

That does depend on getting the power onto the tarmac, though, and the skinny Nexen tyres struggled with that more frequently than I might have liked. All-season tyres are an option, which are likely to offer more grip but sacrifice a little efficiency.

On the motorway, it’s impressively refined. The suspension is soft and smooths out the worst of the road surface, and the aerodynamic work Kia has done has worked wonders on noise levels. At 60mph, the loudest thing in the cab was the air conditioning fans.

It’s stable at speed, but slow down and the steering lightens to make urban work easier. There’s an 11-metre turning circle, which is about the same as the much smaller E-Transit Courier, so performing three-point turns or reversing into awkward gaps becomes a cinch. The soft suspension pays dividends in town too, damping out most imperfections — even speed bumps, although the front of the van can scrape the road on the way down.

What makes life more difficult are thick A-pillars. Despite the addition of a tiny quarter light, visibility at some angles is almost non-existent, and it’s possible to lose pedestrians and entire cars in the blind spot.

Running Costs

We said the economy was surprising. And it’s good news. We drove the Long Range PV5 with a 400kg load in the back (and a fairly substantial load in the driver’s seat!), and took it on a route that included motorways, steep climbs and descents, and plenty of tight urban roads — with the air conditioning on full blast to keep the cab cool.

After all of that, the onboard computer told us we’d done just over 3.6 miles per kWh. With a 71.2kWh battery pack, that means a range of 257 miles. That’s just one mile short of the official figure. How it behaves on a cold winter’s day in Yorkshire is something we look forward to finding out, but initially it looks to be properly efficient.

Charging can be done at up to 150kW on rapid chargers, topping up from 10–80% in around half an hour. Plugging into a home charger will get the van from completely empty to full in about 10 hours, so an overnight charge should always leave the van ready for a full day.

Kia’s car warranties are among the best in the business, and that’s going to be true for its vans; they’ll all come with seven years or 100,000 miles of cover, with servicing required every two years or 20,000 miles. For those taking a long lease or purchasing outright, that will hold a lot of appeal.

Interior & Tech

A modern van needs a modern cab, and the Kia PV5 delivers there. It’s very spacious, but that’s largely due to the fact that the first vans will be two-seaters, whereas most of the competition offers three seats. Kia will join that club next year, but for now, luxuriate in the room available. Storage is generous, with large door bins, under-seat boxes, dash trays, and Kia’s AddGear rail system for mounting bins, hooks and device holders.

Dominating proceedings is a 12.9-inch Android Automotive OS touchscreen with built-in Google Maps, live traffic and voice control, supported by a 7.5-inch digital instrument panel for the driver. It feels modern and intuitive, avoiding the clunky systems that often hold vans back. Log in with your own account and you can stream your own music, download apps, and personalise much of the system. And there’s even wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay if you want to rely on your smartphone.

The main drawback of this digital-first cab is the row of tiny shortcut buttons at the bottom of the screen, which are fiddly when parked up and almost impossible to use when moving. A couple of physical knobs for climate and volume would make life easier, Kia. Just saying.

Payload & Practicality

The first Kia PV5 vans will be L2H1 models, offering 4.4m³ of space in the back. A shorter L1H1 model is coming next year, joined by a taller L2H2 van. For now, you’ll get a van with 0.5m3 more cargo volume than an ID Buzz Cargo and E-Partner (even in XL length), as well as a little more than the cavernous Kangoo E-Tech.

The load length is 2,255mm, with a height of 1,520mm and a width of 1,330mm between the arches. Payload is up to 790kg for the Short Range van, or 690kg for the Long Range model we’re testing. That tops the best of its rivals, which can carry up to 712kg in the ID Buzz and 781kg in the E-Partner.

All told, there’s enough space for a couple of Euro pallets, but there’s a catch — you’ll need to put them in a ‘T’ shape, with the forward pallet set sideways, but there’s no way of getting that pallet in through the side door and the floor isn’t flat enough to allow you to push it into place from the back.

Kia can fit a high flat floor, which is an innovative solution that creates an entirely flat floor raised above the wheel arches, leaving secure under-floor storage for ladders, charging cables, and other items. The rear step is incredibly low at just 419mm, and the side sill is even lower, making access easier for repeated drops. Barn doors are standard at the back, with a tailgate option due later.

Alongside the usual tie-down eyes and LED lighting, there’s also a plug socket in the back for V2L, or vehicle-to-load. This allows power tools, lighting or a laptop to be powered directly from the van’s drive battery. No more asking customers to plug equipment in.

Safety

Kia expects the PV5 to achieve a four-star rating in Euro NCAP testing. Standard kit includes autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control, with higher trims adding Highway Driving Assist, surround-view cameras and blind-spot monitoring.

Options

Two trims are offered: an entry-level Essential and plusher Plus trim, each available with Short or Long Range batteries. They’re each well-equipped, including the large infotainment screen, digital cluster, and driver assistance features, LED headlights, climate control, cargo box lighting, and more. Plus trim adds heated seats and steering wheel, vehicle-to-load capability, wireless phone charging, and some extra safety technology.

Useful options include dual sliding doors, a heat pump (but only on Plus models), and premium paint — that’s anything other than flat white.

Eventually, there’ll be a three-seater option, a crew cab, chassis cabs, dropsides, box vans and more, with conversions done either at Kia’s factory in Hwaseong, Korea, or by locally approved converters.

Rival Vans

There’s a lot of competition in this sector of the market, led by a quartet of vans from Stellantis. The best seller is the Peugeot E-Expert, but that’s identical to the Citroen e-Berlingo, Fiat E-Doblo and Vauxhall Combo Cargo Electric. These are pricier than the Kia, with lower payloads and smaller load volumes, but they’re familiar and can be found with some great deals. Toyota's Proace City Electric is another copy of the Stellantis van, but with an appealing service-activated 10-year warranty. 

The Ford E-Transit Courier is a lovely van that’s significantly smaller than the Kia PV5. That’s great for tight city streets, but it means you give up a lot of cargo space. Range is lower, too, but that won’t worry too many people darting around a city.

The Renault Kangoo E-Tech and its near-identical sibling, the Nissan Townstar EV, offer almost as much load space and are great to drive, but the price tag is too high to recommend.

The Kia’s most obvious rival, the Volkswagen ID Buzz, is marginally bigger in every dimension, but still can’t carry as much as the Kia. It’s more powerful and can go a long way on its slightly larger battery, but you’ll pay handsomely for the van.

Arguably, any of the larger electric vans, like the Vauxhall Vivaro Electric and Ford E-Transit Custom, could be considered rivals. The Kia could undercut them enough to have many considering making the switch to something smaller.

Verdict

The Kia PV5 is an impressive debut for a brand-new entrant to the UK van market. It offers real-world efficiency that (in our limited testing) matches its claims, a refined and modern driving experience, and a tech suite that’s ahead of many established rivals. The turning circle is excellent, the cab is well thought out, and the warranties inspire confidence. It does all the van things you need a van to do, with an impressive load volume and competitive payloads.

It’s not perfect, though. The A-pillar blind spot is frustrating, traction could be stronger, and loading pallets isn’t as flexible as some rivals. But overall, the PV5 feels like a thoughtfully engineered van that’s genuinely competitive from day one.

The fact that it’s got a price tag that undercuts its diesel-powered rivals (once you include the Plug-in Van Grant) makes for an incredibly compelling option. Only those covering large distances each day will find fault.

For owner-operators or fleets looking at compact vans, diesel or electric, the PV5 deserves to be at the top of any shortlist. Kia might be a newcomer, but the PV5 shows it means business.

Where to next?

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**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Kia PV5 Cargo Van

**Correct as of 14/10/2025. Based on 12 months initial payment, 5,000 miles annually, over a 24 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 12 monthly payments, or £1843.20 (Plus admin fee) Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.