Kia’s Super Cool Electric Van! PV5 Has So Much Storage & Useful Features

[Biker16]

 

[tbone]

I’m not sure that “super cool” and “van” go together in the same sentence🤣

[Rick73]

Looks good for a van. 👍

 

Makes sense Kia would develop PV5 for Europe first since mid-size vans are so popular there, but for North America it would seem larger PV7 may have greater success.  Not that any electric van with limited range will be very successful in NA.

 

IMO it is smart to develop a high-roof variant of PV5, and hope Ford is paying attention when designing the Maverick-based forthcoming van. 
 

 

[Biker16]

8 hours ago, tbone said:

I’m not sure that “super cool” and “van” go together in the same sentence🤣

[twintornados]

20 hours ago, tbone said:

I’m not sure that “super cool” and “van” go together in the same sentence🤣

 

I agree....unless you are talking about the Ford Supervan 4.2....

 

https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2025/ford-transit-supervan-4-2-breaks-nurburgring-record

[rmc523]

18 hours ago, Rick73 said:

Looks good for a van. 👍

 

Makes sense Kia would develop PV5 for Europe first since mid-size vans are so popular there, but for North America it would seem larger PV7 may have greater success.  Not that any electric van with limited range will be very successful in NA.

 

IMO it is smart to develop a high-roof variant of PV5, and hope Ford is paying attention when designing the Maverick-based forthcoming van. 
 

 

 

If there's one segment Ford knows what customers want (aside from trucks), it's vans.

[Rick73]

3 hours ago, rmc523 said:

 

If there's one segment Ford knows what customers want (aside from trucks), it's vans.

Not sure everyone agrees. 😀

 

Transit is a best seller, so Ford deserves credit for that, but failed to meet the needs of many customers in US; so much so that they had to extend E-Series Cutaway production beyond its original scheduled discontinuation after 2014 model year.  I will admit not liking Transit very much for multiple reasons so my opinion is definitely biased, but I’m not the only one that thinks Ford could have done better.  I think Transit sells well because GM Express/Savana are dinosaurs, Sprinter are expensive and with fewer dealers, and ProMaster is FWD which limits some buyers.  Not saying Transit is bad, just that it could have been much better.

[Sherminator98]

53 minutes ago, Rick73 said:

Transit is a best seller, so Ford deserves credit for that, but failed to meet the needs of many customers in US; so much so that they had to extend E-Series Cutaway production beyond its original scheduled discontinuation after 2014 model year.  I will admit not liking Transit very much for multiple reasons so my opinion is definitely biased, but I’m not the only one that thinks Ford could have done better. 

 

That is a pretty rich take

 

From Wikipedia:

 

Quote

Because of its popularity with upfitters who convert the chassis into recreational vehicles, buses, or other specialized vehicles, Ford announced it would continue to offer the E-Series as a cutaway chassis (open cab, to be fitted with second-party rear body), a chassis cab (enclosed cab, to be fitted with second-party rear body), and a stripped chassis (no cab, to be fitted with a complete second-party body).^[27]

Ford said it made the change, because while the E-Series had remained the best-selling vehicle in the full-size van segment since 1980,^[28][29] the model line had seen little change since 1992 on a chassis introduced for the 1975 model year. At the time of its 2008 update, 95% of sales were to commercial or fleet users, with nearly half of production represented by cargo vans.^[30] Sold outside of North America since 1965, the Transit was introduced to the United States and Canada, offering increased fuel economy and additional body configurations over the E-Series.^[26]

 

If the market is being satisfied by product that doesn't need any real updates done to it, why are you going to change it? I'm pretty sure it is very profitable for Ford and they don't have much competition. 

 

As for the Transit being a failure, its not going by sales numbers:

 

Calendar year	U.S. sales
2014	20,448[68]
2015	117,577[69]
2016	143,244[69]
2017	127,360[70]
2018	137,794[71]
2019	153,868[71]
2020	131,557[72]
2021	99,745
2022	99,382 (inc. 6,500 E-Transit)[73]
2023	129,009 (inc. 7,672 E-Transit)[74]
2024	152,738 (inc. 12,610 E-Transit)[75]

 

E-Series:

 

2005	179,543
2006	180,457
2007	168,722
2008	124,596
2009	85,735
2010	108,258
2011	116,874
2012	122,423
2013	125,356[38]
2014	103,263[39]
2015	50,788[40]
2016	54,245[40]
2017	53,304[41]
2018	47,936[42]
2019	45,063[43]
2020	37,001
2021	37,122
2022	32,150[44]
2023	42,957

 

 

If anything the Transit is doing far better job and the E-series cutaway and bare chassis is just adding to it. 

Edited September 15 by Sherminator98

[Biker16]

I like how practical the interior is. 

 

 

[Rick73]

19 minutes ago, Sherminator98 said:

That is a pretty rich take

Facts are facts.  If Ford were such experts on vans as claimed, they would have not planned and announced eliminating E-Series because they were replacing it with Transit, and then having to take it back when told by many customers that they got it wrong.  Make whatever you want of it, but a manufacturer that know what van customers want would have not made such a miscalculation.

[Rick73]

37 minutes ago, Biker16 said:

I like how practical the interior is. 

 

 

Like that they made the floor very low, much like my Honda Odyssey and other minivans.  Step-in appears considerably lower than even FWD ProMaster.  Not sure how rear-door to floor transition is handled on cargo version.

[rmc523]

3 hours ago, Rick73 said:

Not sure everyone agrees. 😀

 

Transit is a best seller, so Ford deserves credit for that, but failed to meet the needs of many customers in US; so much so that they had to extend E-Series Cutaway production beyond its original scheduled discontinuation after 2014 model year.  I will admit not liking Transit very much for multiple reasons so my opinion is definitely biased, but I’m not the only one that thinks Ford could have done better.  I think Transit sells well because GM Express/Savana are dinosaurs, Sprinter are expensive and with fewer dealers, and ProMaster is FWD which limits some buyers.  Not saying Transit is bad, just that it could have been much better.

 

ok...

[bzcat]

On 9/15/2025 at 11:16 AM, Rick73 said:

Facts are facts.  If Ford were such experts on vans as claimed, they would have not planned and announced eliminating E-Series because they were replacing it with Transit, and then having to take it back when told by many customers that they got it wrong.  Make whatever you want of it, but a manufacturer that know what van customers want would have not made such a miscalculation.

 

What are you rumbling on about? 

 

Transit completely replaced E-Series van. Ford is not selling any E-Series vans and haven't done so in 10 years. 

[Rick73]

20 hours ago, bzcat said:

 

What are you rumbling on about? 

 

Transit completely replaced E-Series van. Ford is not selling any E-Series vans and haven't done so in 10 years. 

Apparently you didn’t read previous comments.  Or you have selective memory. 😀  Ford was to eliminate all E-Series and replace them with Transit, including Cutaways.  Ten years later that hasn’t happened yet because customers made it clear to Ford that Transit Cutaway could not replace all E-Series Cutaway applications.  You can interpret any way you want, but I stand my by take that Ford isn’t infallible when it comes to knowing what customers want, or need.

 

And for the record, just in case, I’m not going to play semantics bullshit games with anyone differentiating between a cargo, passenger and cutaway van when the meaning was made perfectly clear so there would be no confusion.

[bzcat]

I'm not the one with selective memory. You are the one that likes to tell fairytales. 

 

Ford never considered replacing the E-series medium duty cutaway and chassis with Transit which was always contemplated as a Class 1 to 3 replacement and a solution to the light duty E-series CAFE problem. Ford was trying to consolidate and replace E-450 cab chassis with F-series cab chassis but the upfitters didn't like it because it means they would have to invest in new products. That's why Ford had to come out and say it will continue to offer E-series cab and chassis.

 

 

 

 

[Rick73]

19 hours ago, bzcat said:

I'm not the one with selective memory. You are the one that likes to tell fairytales. 

 

Ford never considered replacing the E-series medium duty cutaway and chassis with Transit which was always contemplated as a Class 1 to 3 replacement and a solution to the light duty E-series CAFE problem. Ford was trying to consolidate and replace E-450 cab chassis with F-series cab chassis but the upfitters didn't like it because it means they would have to invest in new products. That's why Ford had to come out and say it will continue to offer E-series cab and chassis.

 

 

 

 

What are you saying, that I was right about Ford getting it wrong but for a different reason?  Give me a break.  I have no reason whatsoever to make up anything.

 

I recall clearly many reports of the time similar to the following but with more details because I was shopping for a new compact motorhome similar to my first based on E-350, and the Transit Cutaway was not very popular initially, hence why I remember.  Very few RV manufacturers built Class Cs on Transit Cutaways for multiple reasons at first.  Relatively speaking still don’t.

 

IIRC Ford initially reported through various credible sources that E-Series Cutaway would be discontinued after 2016 or 2017, but has been extended multiple times.  Below from over 10 years ago.

 

https://www.autoblog.com/news/ford-e-series-chassis-cabs-continued-production

[Sherminator98]

On 9/27/2025 at 9:29 AM, Rick73 said:

IIRC Ford initially reported through various credible sources that E-Series Cutaway would be discontinued after 2016 or 2017, but has been extended multiple times.  Below from over 10 years ago.

 

https://www.autoblog.com/news/ford-e-series-chassis-cabs-continued-production

 

The problem is the press often misconstrues what is actually said to them. Back in the day the local newspaper used to say the local Ford plant was closing-when all it was doing was just shutting down for retooling or whatever else. 

[Rick73]

Back on topic, Parker’s has good review of Kia PV5, including some critical specs copy below.  Initially it will be available only in L2H1 size with L1H1 and L2H2 to follow in late 2026, or in about a year.  Driving range is good for a box on wheels, at least for larger battery.

 

As noticed on video, the step-in height is unusually low for a van at only 16-1/2 inches, which is considerably lower than FWD ProMaster’s 21 inches on side door, and even higher at rear.  IMO that’s excellent given battery is below floor, though relative to cars and SUVs it isn’t that strange.  Ground clearance should be fine for a FWD vehicle mostly limited to paved roads.

 

Quote

Buyers can choose between two powertrains for the Cargo model. The entry point is the ‘standard range’ battery, which offers 51.5kWh of charge capacity and comes with a 121bhp (89kW) electric motor that drives the front wheels. This combination claims a WLTP driving range of 184 miles per charge; the PV5 Crew Van is based on this, and has a 174-mile driving range.

 

The PV5 ‘long range’ has a 71.2kWh battery pack and comes with a 163hp (120kW) electric motor, again driving the front wheels. This version promises up to 258 miles of driving per charge and a 690kg maximum payload.

 

Both variants have 250Nm of torque (pulling power), but the 51.5kW model is significantly slower, taking 16.3 seconds to go 0-62mph with a full payload, versus 12.5 seconds for the 71.2kWh alternative. Top speed is 84mph across the board. A 10.8m turning circle will make it highly manoeuvrable around town.

PV5 is smaller than Ford Transit Custom, splitting difference between Ford vans, except for height at just under 2 meters which is about the same as Custom.

https://www.parkers.co.uk/vans-pickups/news/2024/kia-pv5-production-model/