Kia EV5 Earth Review: A Bit More For A Lot More

What we like:

Nifty features if you opt for the Earth variant

Soothing, calming drive

Punchier than its stats would suggest

Spacious

What we dislike:

Asking a premium in a crowded market

When the EV5 was unveiled at the Singapore Motor Show as the next car to be built at Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre Singapore (HMGICS), I confess I was a little jaded. Not another SUV, not another EV. There are just simply too many of them in the market.

But seeing the car at its launch several months later, I was a lot more excited. For one, despite its impressive size, its sub-$200k pricing compares favourably to the smaller Hyundai IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 - both also locally-assembled cars from HMGICS. This alone would ensure the Kia gets more interest. The EV5’s SUV form factor, like it or not, is also more marketable.

But that’s not all. The car is genuinely interesting with a few nifty features. Take its bench-like seating for the front row. Granted, it won’t allow you to sit three abreast, but it actually makes the interior feel a lot cosier.

For second-row passengers, there is a fridge that can keep things warm or chilled (Earth variant only). This is now a pretty common feature among Chinese rivals, but not for Kia. You can’t set specific temperatures in the EV5, but that’s OK. There’s very generous legroom here too.

In the boot, you don’t just get a flat folding second row and adjustable hooks, but also a luggage shelf that pops upward to become a multi-purpose table (Earth variant only). Apparently, this feature was inspired by Tiger Mums of Korea wanting their children to study on the go. I can only imagine this would be quite a nice feature for a picnic.

All these thoughtful features add up to make the EV5 a rather appealing car. But there’s more when you get behind the wheel to actually drive it. It’s marvellous.

Although sitting in Cat A COE with a modest 134 bhp and 310 Nm, the EV5 feels very adequately powered for all manner of driving situations within our shores. It doesn’t feel like it wants for more shove, which is quite a surprise.

The ride comfort and refinement are sublime. Despite riding on 19-inch rims (the Air variant rides on 18s), the EV5 could be best described as gliding across the road. It’s really a joy to drive daily, making even mundane trips quite relaxing.

With a 88.1 kWh battery (Air: 64.2 kWh), the EV5 is expected to have a useful range of around 540 km. With an electric consumption of around 25.9 kWh/100km during the test, real world range clocks in at around 350 km but bear in mind that our drive involved a lot of idling for photo and video shoots.

The Air has slower charging speeds of 6.6 kW (AC) and 102 kW (DC), but if you opt for the Earth variant here you get 11 kW (AC) and 141 kW (DC). A full charge on AC at home would roughly take just under 7 hours for the Air, and around 5.5 hours for the Earth.

Let’s be real here, the EV5 is up against stiff competition especially from its Chinese rivals that offer similar space for around $10-20k less. The gap is even more if you opt for the Earth variant here, which is the one we’d recommend. Most calculator-punching Singaporeans would not appreciate the premium the EV5 is asking for. But in my opinion, it is money well-spent for a very complete car in the EV5.

Photos by James Wong

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