Kia EV5 review

Nice enough if you like a clean aesthetic. Which is a backhanded way of saying it’s a little bland. Base versions feel very dark inside – there’s pretty much no colour whatsoever – while upper spec versions get split colours on the steering wheel, seats and door cards, plus some ambient lighting. And a dark headliner which doesn’t help. 

It is, however, very spacious. It sits slightly bigger than the Sportage, with a 70mm longer wheelbase (plus a completely flat floor), which means there’s plenty of space for front and rear passengers alike. You can even adjust the seat backrests in the rear too. It’s very comfortable, just not overly characterful.

Talk me through that slab of screens.

Every EV5 gets Kia’s familiar three-screen dash layout, compromising dual 12.3in driver and infotainment screens split by a 5.3in climate control screen. But don’t panic, there are physical buttons to operate the climate on the centre console too.

The main instrument cluster in front of the driver shows your speed on the left, range on the right. It’s not the most simply laid out screen we’ve used in a long time, with the most crucial info front and centre.

The infotainment display sitting in the centre of the dashboard is pleasingly easy to operate – you simply swipe between different sections – though there are quite a few submenus to delve into. Easy enough once you’ve got the hang of it, though.

Which you’ll need to in order to set up the shortcut buttons on the steering wheel and underneath the screen itself. Primarily because it’s otherwise many taps to get to the ADAS settings, and you don’t want to be doing that every time you get in.

You haven’t mentioned the boot yet…

Ah yes: with all seats upright, boot space measures 566 litres, extending to 1,650 litres with the second row folded. The opening itself is handily wide, and it also gets a split-level floor for maximising storage or creating a flat loading lip – useful when loading/unloading shopping etc. And you can hide any Christmas presents beneath.

But wait, there’s more! The EV5 also has gets a 44 litre frunk. Not huge, but big enough to fit any charging cables. Or smelly boots. 

There’s no shortage of storage in the cabin either – Kia quotes 16.5 litres in the centre console alone. Don’t believe us? The upper tray, suitable for mobile phone and water bottle storage, offers 3.2 litres of storage space, the centre storage box 3.3 litres, the lower tray 5.8 litres and the sliding rear tray 4.2 litres. Go on, add it up.