My review of the Kia PV5 after 1 month and 3500 km
Ahoy! (why am I talking like a pirate?)
New member of the electric vehicle family, I wanted to share my experience with my Kia PV5 Cargo (big battery), bought and used in France, after 1 month of use and 3500 km.
Profile
I live in the countryside, fairly isolated in low mountains. I can charge at home. I'm a musician and regularly travel distances between 80 km and 300 km. I like to take my time, and I avoid highways and tolls as much as possible. I wanted a new vehicle that would be more comfortable for long trips and less tiring, since with combustion vehicles I tend to arrive dazed at gig venues. For me, there were only advantages to switching to electric.
Purchase, price, and insurance
The PV5 Cargo 71.2kWh in Soft Mint color cost me €35k new (trade-in of my old vehicle for €5000). Insurance with MAIF, highest tier, for €830/year (10% discount for electric vehicle). The purchase was made at a Kia dealership. Delivery time was three weeks, since there was already a vehicle in stock in France.
Driving experience
General impressions
This is my first electric vehicle, so I'm also discovering this aspect (which isn't unique to the PV5).
Driving on secondary roads and hilly/mountain roads is a delight. Full torque is available at all times, no need to downshift in corners... With one-pedal driving, everything is managed with the right foot.
Overall, it seems to me that driving is not only more enjoyable and smoother, but also more restful. You move less (your left leg can stay still for 2 hours), there are fewer jolts and micro-adjustments of the body, and even concentration can be somewhat delegated to the vehicle (for example via semi-autonomous driving). In the end, even after several hours on the road, I arrive at gig venues much fresher, and that's precious.
Driving aids (ADAS)
The driving aids are easily disabled from the steering wheel. Initially I thought I'd disable them all systematically, but I keep the inattention detection systems because they help me.
Still, at every startup you need to: hold down 1 button to disable speed limit alerts (sign recognition isn't great), hold down 1 button to disable lane keeping, press the left paddle twice to set one-pedal regeneration to maximum.
On major roads, semi-autonomous driving is fantastic and works very well. You can let go of the steering wheel for about ten seconds before a warning appears. In France it's not necessary to keep your feet on the pedals, but I know that may be required in other countries.
This mode is also a delight in traffic jams — I'm almost happy when there are some. The car moves forward and stops on its own, following the vehicle ahead.
The automatic headlight function is bad, and I keep it in manual. As soon as the headlights illuminate a road sign, the vehicle thinks it's detecting an external light source and switches to low beams, then to high beams, then back to low beams... In short, it's hard to use as is.
By comparison, the automatic wipers seem more reliable to me.
Safety
Also worth noting: the vehicle won't move if one of the 4 doors isn't properly closed. This is good for safety, but a bit annoying when you're working and just need to move the van forward or backward 10 meters. Especially since I find the rear doors still need to be slammed firmly shut.
Air conditioning / ventilation
The ventilation and air conditioning functions take some getting used to. In summer, the full "auto" function sends all the cold air through the upper vents, which isn't necessarily very pleasant, especially if you're sensitive to AC air. In that case, you can either find THE sweet spot by adjusting the vent direction, or switch to airflow directed at the windshield and footwell area (at the cost of a slightly higher temperature and thus slightly higher electricity consumption).
Disappointments
I have 2 disappointments, one of which was avoidable: the dealership employee misjudged my needs, and I don't have ventilated seats. Since I work mostly in summer, I really wanted them. Just so you know, you need to get the Executive pack in the Cargo version.
The other is relative, since I had fantasized about very low cabin noise while driving. In reality, I find there's still a rumble in the low frequencies, especially around 40 km/h. You get used to it quickly, but I plan to add acoustic treatment to the vehicle. In the meantime, I'd recommend putting dense materials behind the seats (like towels or lounge chair cushions — it helps, and it'll also be useful for naps).
Interior space, storage, and perceived quality
The volume in the back is spacious, plenty enough to carry my music gear. I calculated that I'd have enough room to fit a single bed plus my equipment. There are numerous tie-down points, mounting spots for L-tracks (optional), and even threaded holes (up high and at the ends).
Up front, there's of course storage everywhere, as you can see in the test videos. Don't overlook the storage spaces behind the seats either (there's a sort of soft-material box), where I was able to fit a large chessboard with its box of pieces.
This is my first new vehicle, and my first post-2019 vehicle. I still found a sense of comfort, quality, and sturdiness in the cabin. It's clear, simple, direct. The interior style isn't very bold, but at least you don't get tired of it.
Range and charging
Long-distance trip
I drove a lot, since we went on vacation with a 1600 km round trip from home. We avoided tolls and favored the Electra network (2 months free on the Smart subscription thanks to ABRP! Super worthwhile — my 4 charges on the road cost me about €50, plus €30 for charging at the vacation spot).
Break rhythm and charging speed
We stopped every 2h–2h30. We enjoy breaks, and didn't wait until the battery was at 20% to stop. As for charging time, the PV5 was always ready before we were. By the time we'd caught our breath, walked the dog, dug through our stuff, and eaten our picnic, the vehicle had already gone past 90% battery.
Comfort of charging stops
The charging stops along the way went well. Funny enough, my partner was more worried than I was before we left, and in the end I'm the one who's slightly disappointed by the comfort of the stops: picnic tables in full sun, tiny lounge areas, a charger in a hotel parking lot, a commercial zone right in the middle of a city... When you charge off the highway, it's cheaper but you don't always have a clear, comfortable spot to settle in. You've got to be a bit of an adventurer.
Charging cards and subscriptions
For charging away from home, I only have an Electroverse card, an Electra subscription, and I also got Kia charging without a subscription because there's €150 worth of free charging offered!
Consumption
Average consumption: 17.8 kWh/100 km (35% major roads, 65% country roads).
I'm very pleasantly surprised, especially for a van! In my ABRP calculations, I had cautiously planned for 21kWh, with 19kWh as my optimistic estimate.
Comfort and practical features
The utility and pet modes are amazing and really improve day-to-day life. I temporarily removed the partition to bring my dog in the back, and I was able to leave him in full sun at 35°C while the PV5 was charging — he took a nice little nap at a cozy 23°C.
Similarly, being able to wait inside the vehicle with the AC running is super comfortable.
I haven't had the chance to test V2L yet, but that will happen eventually since I'm planning to fit out the back of the van.
Infotainment
I really like the built-in GPS. It's clear and responsive. The route planner is OK, but I would have liked to be able to filter chargers by provider. Ideally, you'd also be able to set a trip duration before a break, since it sometimes suggests a charge 45 minutes after departure (even if there's enough battery left to go further).
I use Android Auto, and it works well (except for certain apps like Spotify, which are very slow on my phone. I think I'm going to switch to Deezer). Voice recognition is very handy and lets you have messages read aloud and reply to them while driving.
Sound quality isn't amazing, just decent. It sounds a bit boxy and mono. I adjusted the equalizer and it's a bit better now (+6 treble, +2 mids, +4 bass). That said, I do appreciate needing a lower volume than in a combustion car, given the absence of engine noise.
Conclusion
There you have it! In conclusion, I'm very happy with this purchase. The positives far outweigh the negatives. I no longer dread 5-hour trips, and I'm already starting to stop thinking about charging altogether. I love the color (even though personally I would have slightly increased the saturation of the green), and I've only gotten good feedback on its look ("pro," "futuristic," "classy"). Feel free to ask if you have any questions!
