As sharp as spacious
Poor Volkswagen. The ID.Buzz is cheaper than ever after a recent price reduction, but the equally electric Kia PV5 passenger bus turns out to be even more affordable.
You can now drive a Volkswagen ID.Buzz for €49,995, and although that is still a lot of money, you really get an enormous amount of space and practical convenience for it. Such an entry-level Buzz is a five-seater with 170 hp and a range of 330 kilometers. Modest, but in that area Volkswagen still takes the win. The basic version of the PV5 Passenger, as Kia calls the passenger car version of the new PV5, only has 121 hp and a 51.5 kWh battery. With that, this PV5 sprints from 0 to 100 in 12.8 seconds and the range remains stuck at an extremely modest 288 kilometers, after which you can charge your PV5 with a reasonably fast 150 kW. The most modest Kia PV5 is called Essential and fortunately also has a relatively modest price: it is already at your door for €39,995. Yes: €10,000 less than the entry-level Buzz!
Fortunately, there are more options for the Kia PV5 Passenger, which in terms of size is very close to the ‘short’ version of the ID.Buzz. For example, the Kia is also available with a 71.2 kWh battery, giving it a range of 400 kilometers. This variant is also a lot faster with 163 hp and an acceleration of 0 to 100 in 10.7 seconds and costs €42,895 as a ‘bare’ Essential. A comparable Volkswagen would be the ID.Buzz Pro, although that car has a range of 461 kilometers and is considerably more expensive at €53,990.
The Kia PV5 Passenger already has automatic climate control, a reversing camera, adaptive cruise control, two manually operated sliding doors, a 12.9-inch infotainment screen with navigation and battery heating as Essential. Anyone who wants more luxury will successively end up with the Plus, the Elite and the Elite Executive. Seat heating is standard from the Plus, electrically adjustable seats from the Elite and the Executive has electrically operated sliding doors. As is good Kia practice, there are almost no separate options available, but that also means that you cannot ‘loosely’ dress up a cheaper version with one or more accessories from a more luxurious version.
You can find the full price list below. There is currently one caveat to this, because the Kia PV5 Passenger is currently always a five-seater. It also resembles the Buzz in that respect, which also had to do without a third row of seats in its first years. Kia will correct this ‘mistake’ by mid-2026 and the seven-seater with three rows of seats will become available.
Prices Kia PV5 Passenger
Prices Kia PV5 Passenger
Such a five-seater PV5 is ridiculously spacious: you can already store 1,320 liters behind the rear seat, and with the seat folded down that even becomes 2,300 liters.
The Kia PV5 is currently always a five-seater.
The PV5 is the first of a new series of electric vans from Kia, with which it is taking on the European commercial vehicle market. Prices for the van version were announced earlier and Kia is also positioning the newcomer sharply in that part of the market. The PV5 is based on an electric skateboard platform called E-GMP.S. Unlike many other electric Kias, it has front-wheel drive.