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The Drive
23-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
Kia's Electric Vans With Swappable Bodies Are Finally Real
The latest car news, reviews, and features. As much as it pains me to say it, I've had my fill of concept cars. These days, I want to see vehicles that could actually exist and improve people's lives, be it through driving enjoyment, genius practicality, or refreshing design. Back in January of last year, Kia shared a vision of a line of modular utility vehicles built on an electric skateboard platform. It's the sort of thing so many companies have promised, but few have delivered. Credit to Kia though—this wasn't just a pie-in-the-sky dream, because the PV5, and all 16 of its possible body style configurations, have officially entered production. The most obvious application for the PV5—the first of Kia's 'Platform Beyond Vehicle' line—is cargo and fleet operations. There are three cargo body styles available at launch: a standard-length one, a longer body, and a high-roof variant. Every PV5 has the same front cabin and first-row structure; it's everything behind them that changes. The passenger version is built on the long-body base, and offers multiple seating options. Buyers can configure their PV5 with or without third-row seating, and swap out the second-row bench for captain's chairs if they like. The automaker is taking full advantage of the potential for drag-and-drop customization with more body styles due in the coming months, including a chassis cab, as well as accessories focused on camping. Kia says the PV5's structure comes together like puzzle pieces you can mix and match, which explains the visual aid here. Kia Kia is even planning to offer factory conversions, 'built to the same durability and safety standards' as its core lineup, per the company's press release. It also worked with mobility-impaired consultants to design a wheelchair-accessible version of the PV5, which it showed off during its PV5 Tech Day in Korea this week. The van offers a choice of three battery packs, ranging from 43 to 71 kWh, all coupled with the same electric motor that produces 160 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. In the U.K., the passenger version will start at the equivalent of $44,000. Not exactly a bargain, but much better than the $60K Volkswagen Unsurprisingly, Kia has no plans to bring its PBV range stateside. Why would it, what with all the chaos surrounding tariffs and the imminent death of EV tax credits? We see a lot of vehicles here at The Drive that we're personally sad to miss out on in North America, but every so often, there's one that really stings because it represents more than a niche enthusiast car. GM had a good idea with its BrightDrop electric cargo vans, but compared to what Kia's doing here, that initiative was just scratching the surface by only courting the commercial market. Got a tip? Send us a note: tips@
Scotsman
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Scotsman
Kia EV3 review: stylish and spacious family EV that makes for a great family car
The EV3 is the smallest car in Kia's tech-filled line-up, but it's not actually all that small | Kia This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. Kia's EV3 is a practical, comfortable and cleverly priced electric car with room to rival bigger SUVs—plus a range range and great tech as standard. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Take a look through Kia's electric-car range (skip past the Niro) and you're arguably eyeing up one of the greatest automotive line-ups on sale in the UK. The EV9 is a marvel, the EV6 continues to be brilliant, the new EV4 and EV5 are proving justifiably popular, and so this EV3, the smallest of the EV-something range, had a lot to live up to. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Don't read into the "smallest" thing too much though, the EV3 is a largeish car, probably a crossover, not quite an SUV, tricky to pigeonhole, but do we even care any more? With a starting price of around £33,000 it's keenly priced, spec is as generous as you'd expect from a Kia, and it even looks pretty sharp - if you don't mind a futuristic, anti-mainstream sort of style. The interior is another big highlight, as it has been across the current EV range, with creative packaging leading to a spacious, bright, and airy cabin for all occupants, especially the driver and passenger. Kia's clever interiors are always impressively spacious - if a little quirky | Kia Kia knows its new cars need to be good because they're not only competing with more conventional offerings from the likes of the Volkswagen Audi Group, but they're now fighting off increasing pressure from the Chinese. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The irony of the Korean brands that once waded in and shook up the industry now becoming lawful prey, but the way Kia and Hyundai are being kept on their toes is what's producing some of the best cars on the road right now. It's the boxy styling that gives the EV3 the capacious interior, and Kia has certainly put that space to good use, with a floating centre console, a sensibly laid out dash, some welcome physical buttons, and acres of storage space. Their are some hard plastics, if you're boring enough to find that irritating, and you'll be reminded of so many different things with an array of different bongs that if something genuinely important happens, you'll probably overlook it. The styling is distinctive, and it certainly grows on you | Kia The twin 12.3-inch displays are nicely laid out, and function well, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android auto is a standard thing, which it jolly well should be these days. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There's a decent boot at the rear, a small frunk at the front, and nice little storage cubbies everywhere. It's a great family workhorse. The one thing we all like to talk about with EVs is range, and there are two battery options, with the standard range likely to find 230 miles easy enough, and a longer range battery which should kiss 300 miles on a long day. During a week of varied trips, I found that 3.5mi/kWh wasn't difficult to achieve and, perhaps more importantly than the range, the ability to fast charge at up to 128kW, which is handy on a long run. Handily, there's a "Max" and "Min" indicator on the central screen, which lets you know how much range you can expect if you're being frivolous, and how much you should have left if you're being careful. It's a handy indicator that more cars should have, as it'll probably make us all a bit more frugal. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Interior space is impressive, thanks to the boxy body | Kia Don't expect any thrills and spills and you won't be disappointed with the EV3. It's designed for comfort, and it delivers that very well. But it's neither fast nor thrilling. Not that buyers will really be bothered. Top spec models with the larger 84kWh batteries will cost around £44,000 as a base mark, and there's some tempting finance deals to look through. Kia's current popularity, and the seven-year warranty, will help residuals, so the EV3 could make sound financial sense. Overall though, it's just a lovely car to take on your journeys in. Kia's current run of form continues to impress, and the EV3 makes for a fine entry level option.
