Published October 31st, 2026
Words and pictures by Jay Kana

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Kia is charging up its roster with electric vehicles, now with five different models.
In addition to the EV3, EV4, EV9 and Niro, the EV5 is their compact crossover offering, the hottest segment in Canada.
Available in seven different trims with either front-wheel or all-wheel drive, Kia’s hoping there’s an EV5 for most buyers.
Competition here incudes the Chevrolet Equinox, IONIQ 5, Ford Mustang Mach-e, Nissan Ariya, Toyota bZ and Subaru Uncharted.

Key Info

Body type: compact crossover
Battery: 60.4 kWh, 214 horsepower, 218 lb-ft. of torque, front-wheel drive
81.4 kWh, 261 horsepower, 284 lb-ft. torque, all-wheel drive
Range: 439 km all-wheel drive, 457 front-wheel drive, 402 km GT
Cargo space: 965 litres cargo, 44.4 litres front trunk
Towing capacity: 1,653 pounds when properly equipped

Rear seat space is generous here, making it a pleasant place for the two outside passengers. Because there’s no drive shaft, the floor is flat, making it a bit more comfortable for the middle passenger. There’s a long storage bin for hiding some goodies as well. Additionally, a famous Kia design quirk is putting the USB-C ports for the rear passengers on the seat back of the driver and front passenger.
Cargo space is abundant, with space aplenty for four carry-on bags, plus under floor storage for extra bits. If you need more space, fold the rear seats down for up to 2,080 litres of cargo space, more than double the regular amount.

On the road, the EV5 brings an impressive drive feel. Yes, there’s plenty of quick acceleration as it’s an electric vehicle but more importantly, it’s smooth and has pleasant road manners. It’d be great across a variety of Canadian road trips.
For a non-luxury car, it’s surprisingly quiet at higher speeds and takes corners nicely, staying relatively flat without that tippy feeling.
Perhaps most importantly, it’s a very, very comfortable drive both in the city and highways/backroads. The multiple levels of regenerative braking, a staple for Kia vehicles, makes it easy to adapt to different driving scenarios. Simply put, it’s one of the best driving EVs under $50,000 CAD.

On the charging side, the EV5 charges at up to 350 kW, which is really fast for a DC level 3 charge and it uses a NACS charging port, so you have access to the Super Charger network without an adapter.
There’s also up to 1,900 watts of AC power via their Vehicle-to-Load technology.

Inside, Kia has gone with easy to use high tech screens; the instrument cluster and infotainment both measuring 12.3-inches. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay come standard, as to a plethora of active safety systems and the open-concept design is a welcome change in modern vehicles.
The smartest design piece here is one that all automakers should adopt; it’s the climate controls.
There are four physical controls for the essential climate functions; air speed, direction and temperature for the driver and passenger. To get an expanded menu, you can either use the five-inch touchscreen between the instrument cluster and infotainment, OR expand that screen to a full-screen and use it that way.
If there was an award for the best climate control system, Kia would win first, second and third place.

There are retractable cupholders, making for additional storage space, storage between the front seats beneath the dashboard and deep door pockets. This really is one of the better designed modern machines.
The steering wheel is part square, part circle, which is a touch awkward to make turns with but you’ll get used to it.