Kia PV5 Cargo L2 Electric 89KW Essential Standard Range 52KWH H1 Van Auto

Ten Second Review

Kia gate-crashes the lower mid-sized EV van market with this avant-garde PV5 Cargo. The looks are trendy and the technology competitive but what's perhaps most impressive here is the value proposition.

Background

As a car maker, Kia has been one of the UK market's success stories. In just three decades, the company have progressed from market newcomers to our nation's fourth most popular brand. So far in Britain, all of this has been achieved purely by selling cars, but in other parts of the world, Kia is well known as a commercial vehicle maker too. In fact, the marque's heritage in LCVs is much longer than it is in cars; Kia's first commercial vehicle - the three-wheel pick-up K-360 of 1962 - appeared 14 years before its first car (and even that car was a passenger-carrying version of a pick-up model, the Brisa). For the last half-century though, Kia has left LCV market to others in the UK - until now. The EV revolution is opening up big opportunities in the van segment which the Korean maker hopes to exploit with a new line of models it calls PBVs (which stands for 'Platform Beyond Vehicles'). The first of these is the lower mid-sized PV5 Cargo model we look at here, also offered as a passenger-carrying MPV (which we'll review separately). It will be followed by larger PV7 and PV9 models and aims to really shake up the EV van market with futuristic styling and aggressive pricing. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experience

Unlike some EVs, you've to press a power button to start, at which point drive comes from a single front-mounted electric motor with 161bhp. There's a choice of two battery packs and most sales will be generated by the standard range 51.5kWh version, which has a range of up to 184 miles. At the top of the line-up, there's a larger 71.2kWh pack capable of taking the PV5 up to 258 miles. To give you some class perspective, that latter figure is better than a Ford E-Transit Custom (204 miles); but is some way behind an (admittedly far-pricier) Volkswagen ID.Buzz Cargo (276 miles). This Kia's quoted mileage figures will be hard to replicate in colder winter months unless you get this plusher 'Plus' variant and pay more for the optional heat pump. Once you locate the drive mode button (it's at the base of the curiously-shaped two-spoke wheel), you can activate three different drive mode settings (Eco, Normal and Snow); and there are four brake regen options activated by steering wheel paddles. Performance is adequate, the standard range 51.5kWh version making 62mph in 16.2s, a figure the long range 71.2kWh model improves to 12.4s. In both variants there's 250Nm of torque but maximum speed is limited to just 84mph. But braked towing capacity is limited to just 750kg. Around town, the front wheel drive powertrain format gives great manoeuvrability in confined spaces and enables a tight 5.5m turning circle. In urban driving you'll feel pot holes and speed humps, but not as much as in most rival vans of this size. Beyond the city limits, you won't appreciate the light steering quite as much but refinement's excellent.

Design and Build

Get a PV5 Cargo and your deliveries will certainly stand out a bit more. Flush-fitting glass, aero-style wheels and high vertical tail light strips suggest a van derived from an MPV. In this segment, it's usually the other way round. Beneath the boxy panelwork it's a stretched LCV-orientated version of the 400V E-GMP platform used in Kia's EV3 family hatchback, re-worked to offer a flat rear load bay and improved payload capacity. The L2/H1 body shape most customers will choose is 4.7-metres long - similar to a Volkswagen ID.Buzz Cargo or the lengthiest versions of more compact EV vans like Citroen's e-Berlingo. But at 1.92-metres tall, the PV5 looks larger than both such rivals. A digital key makes it easier for multiple drivers to share the van. And there's vehicle-to-load capability that allows external appliances to be powered by the vans drive battery. Inside, there are just two seats in the cab and, as expected, two screens - for an Android Automotive operating system never previously used in a Kia. This uses a 7.5-inch instrument display and a 12.9-inch central touchscreen. The central monitor comes with an app store, from which business-orientated applications can be installed.

Market and Model

Here, we're looking at the PV5 Cargo van, offered with standard range or long range batteries and either base 'Essential' or plusher 'Plus' trim levels. The PV5 Cargo is additionally available in Crew and Chassis cab forms. There's also a PV5 Passenger MPV version, offered with five or seven seats. Plus a dedicated WAV (Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle) variant offering step-free access via a side door. All of these variants come primarily in L2/H1 long wheelbase/standard roof form, but with this PV5 Cargo, you can also consider a smaller L1/H1 version or a larger high-roof L2/H2 variant. Pricing is undercut by this model's closest rival, the Farizon V7E (which can take heavier loads). But remains very affordable by segment standards, with the L1/H1 PV5 Cargo van with the standard range battery and base 'Essential' trim starting from £29,016 (ex-VAT) at launch after government PiVG deduction. It's £3,000 more if you want the long range battery. You'll need £1,000 more for the lengthier L2/H1 body shape. And, with either body style, £1,200 more for better-specced 'Plus' trim. Via an 'AddGear' feature, optional cabinets and seats can be clipped into the novel rail system on the cargo area floor and Kia offers software solutions for fleet management. Kia is establishing a network of commercial vehicle dealers to sell this PV5; there are currently around 50, with 60% of these being new stand-alone outlets. Initial sales projections see sales of PV5 at around 3,000-4000 units a year but Kia expects to increase its commercial vehicle sales to around 17,000 a year by 2030.

Practicalities and Costs

Kia is primarily basing UK PV5 Cargo sales around an L2/H1 body shape with a cargo volume of 4.4m3 (4,420-litres). In terms of cargo area size, that's mid-way between an extended version of a compact van (say a Citroen e-Berlingo XL) and a conventional mid-sized model (say a Ford E-Transit Custom). Let's get to the practicality stats of the mainstream L2/H1 body shape. Those twin rear doors (which need quite a slam to properly shut) open out to either 95 or 180-degrees. To reveal a cargo area height of 1,520mm; there's 2,255mm of cargo area length and 1,565mm of cargo area width, narrowing to 1,330mm between the wheelarches. Two euro pallets will easily fit. Only a single sliding side door is provided (and the side opening's a bit narrow) but there's another side door available on the other side if you're prepared to pay extra for it. Across the line-up, payload is 790kg with the 51.5kWh standard range battery or 690kg with the 71.2kWh long range battery. Fast charging tech means the battery can be charged from 10-80% in under 30 minutes. AC charging of the standard range 51.5kWh battery from 10-80% via a single-phase 7.4kW wallbox takes up to 7 hours, a time you can improve to 4 hours 45 minutes, if you've an 11kW three-phase AC supply. AC charging of the long range 71.2kWh battery from 10-80% via a single-phase 7.4kW wallbox takes up to 10 hours, a time you can improve to 6 hours 30 minutes, if you've an 11kW three-phase AC supply. Across the line-up, a heat pump is optional. And the PV5 Cargo comes with a standard seven year/100,000 mile warranty, matching Kia's passenger car line-up. In addition, a separate eight year warranty covers the high voltage batteries. There's also connectivity with the Geotab fleet management platform.

Summary

The EV van market needed a shake-up. This Kia PV5 Cargo model provides just that. Competitors will be dismayed by its value proposition - and the load stats look competitive too, with the exception of payload, which won't suit those needing to transport heavier loads. But if that's not an issue for you, then what you're essentially getting here is a near-mid-sized van for the price of an extended compact one. Plus Kia throws in futuristic looks to give your deliveries a trendier vibe. Looking at what the brand has brought us here, it's difficult to understand why the Korean maker didn't get serious about the European LCV sector much earlier. Now that it has, competitors are going to need to up their game. And British van fleet managers still wedded to diesel power might just start taking the EV revolution a bit more seriously.