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Oct 27, 2023

Kia Shows Off Angular EV5 Compact Electric SUV

The 2024 Kia EV9 looks great. Its angular, ultra-modern design is eye-catching and should make it stand out in a parking lot full of look-alike SUVs. But it’s a big 3-row beast, and not everyone needs

The 2024 Kia EV9 looks great. Its angular, ultra-modern design is eye-catching and should make it stand out in a parking lot full of look-alike SUVs. But it’s a big 3-row beast, and not everyone needs that.

Why not sell a smaller, 2-row all-electric SUV with the same chic design ethos?

Meet the Kia EV5.

Officially, Kia hasn’t said this car will come to the U.S. yet. The company unveiled its compact electric SUV at the Chengdu Motor Show in China. But Americans buy so many compact SUVs that we’re confident Kia won’t miss the opportunity to sell it here.

Kia is keeping mechanical details close for now. But the modular nature of electric vehicles means large and small EVs are often built on the same platforms scaled up or down to meet the needs of different markets. So, it’s reasonable to assume this shares parts with the EV6 and EV9. We expect something like the EV6’s low-end 167 horsepower rear-wheel-drive model and a dual-motor version with a horsepower figure in the lower 200s. A high-performance GT model isn’t out of the question, either.

While Kia is keeping the mechanical bits private, it is showing off the exterior and interior.

For the body, designers have clearly drawn from the same well of inspiration they used for the 3-row EV9. The EV5 is all angles and lacks even a false grille. There’s a balance of glass and metal – the roof isn’t so low as to make it feel squat. But the look is faceted, with geometric wheels to match.

Kia’s new signature starmap lighting – inspired by constellations – serves to accent the linear design theme.

Inside, the curious feature is a front seat that flirts with calling itself a bench. It’s not one – that middle portion isn’t meant as a seating surface – but it looks the part with the upholstery carrying across the space that would have been a transmission tunnel in a conventionally powered car.

Kia says the interior is meant to be “closer in concept and execution to a home lounge than a traditional car cabin,” so the added upholstery seems to serve no function other than looking soft and comfy. Upholstery options include “two woven options and one artificial leather option for the base model.” But four interior colors and five “seat pattern options” suggest that higher trim levels will have more choices.

Two large wide screens housed together give the look of one wide curved display. There are just a few haptic controls beneath, so it appears that touchscreens handle most climate and entertainment functions. The screens sit atop a facet-cut dashboard, carrying the exterior design theme inside.

Mood lighting includes 64 possible colors and 10 themes “curated by Kia’s lighting experts.”

The EV5, assuming it is coming here, will enter a much more competitive space than the EV9. Kia launched the first 3-row electric SUV from a non-luxury manufacturer. But the EV5 would line up against models like the Volvo XC40 Recharge or the upcoming Chevy Equinox EV, depending on pricing. There, it will need its distinctive design theme to win over buyers with many options.

Kia says the car will launch in China “during the latter half of 2023,” but the company will “unveil further product details” in October. We expect to hear about a U.S. launch then.

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