Kia makes MPVs cool again with its debut electric van

I’ve driven Kia’s debut electric van and it’s one of the most convincing electric people-movers out there Features (Image credit: Kia) (Image credit: Kia) (Image credit: Kia) (Image credit: Kia) (Image credit: Kia) (Image credit: Kia) (Image credit: Kia) (Image credit: Kia) Leon Poultney published The PV5 is a real Buzz kill (er) For large families and lovers of an outdoor active lifestyle, very little comes close in terms of practicality and versatility than a van. Full disclosure: I run a diesel-powered Volkswagen Transporter (apologies, Earth) as a daily, purely because it’s the best thing to fit kids, mountain bikes , surfboards and the odd broken down motorcycle onboard. You can keep your SUVs, they just can't compete on roominess. Up until this point, the electric van market has been relatively slow to catch up with its passenger car counterpart, with the likes of Ford electrifying its popular Transit Custom and E-Tourneo, while Citroën also offers an ë-SpaceTourer in Europe. But these feel distinctly van-like. As if the company merely shoehorned some battery packs and an electric motor inside whatever commercial vehicle they happened to have lying around. Arguably, the VW ID Buzz , with its funky exterior looks and retro touches, was the first to truly appeal to the non-business buyer, but even that vehicle has its issues. The efficiency is poor, the asking price is astronomical and there isn’t actually that much room inside. Kia thinks it can capitalize on this, which is why it has invested eye-watering sums of money into its Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) EV skateboard chassis, which will eventually underpin a whole host of commercial and lifestyle vehicles. Small vans, large vans, vans with fridges and pizza ovens on the back, pick-up truck vans, vans that can transport people, and vans that are easily accessible for wheelchair users are all on the way very soon. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. But for now, Europe has the PV5 Passenger and PV5 Cargo to get to grips with. A working class hero Let’s kick this off with the pricing, which we know for certain will start at £32,995 in the UK for the PV5 Passenger in the most affordable ‘Essential’ trim. There’s no word on whether it will go on sale in the US any time soon, but that figure is around $44,000 roughly converted, or AU$67,000. This is almost half the price of its closest rival in the funky, retro-styled ID Buzz, yet it still offers 183-miles of range, only slightly down on the cheapest ID Buzz. Step up to the larger 71.2kWh battery, which still only costs £35,995 (around $48,000/AU$73,000), and you’ll get 256-miles on the combined cycle. That's less than so many rival electric SUVs that offer a fraction of the interior roominess and range. Power and performance is perfectly adequate for a massive family-mover like this, with the 160bhp developed by the single motor, which is good enough to accelerate from rest to 62mph in...

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