Kia PV5 Passenger

[TheCaptainsLog]

We're going to have to replace one of our cars in the next year or so and someone mentioned the Kia PV5 Passenger as something that might work for us.

Does anyone have any experience with one? We'd be looking at the 7 seater, which Kia are taking orders for, but deliveries don't seem to have started so no-one knows what the 7 seaters are actually like in terms of folding seats up and down, etc. Nevertheless, any thoughts on the vehicle itself would be appreciated.

We're a family of four (DC are 6 and 9) and it would be a second vehicle for us. We've never had an EV but would be able to charge at home and it would mainly be used for ferrying kids in a carpool to activities, hence wanting 7 seats.

TIA

The PV seems to be more a van than a car

what about the ev9 that is a 7 seater ?

No one has got the 7 seated yet from what I can see. However the What Car review of the 5 seater is the best place to look. They give it 5 stars. You might need to delve more deeply to find out how the 7 seats work. We have 7 in a Discovery and they are electric. You push the button and off they go. With an ev, I’d want this but how often are you using them? We had manual 6 and 7 seats in our older discos and they took no time to assemble. They just pull up from the floor - back and then the seat. It’s easy.

What car see this Kia as seriously undercutting the VW buzz. For me - it’s a van with seats. In fact you can buy it as a van. It’s just so ugly. But I like a proper off road car and I’ve never wanted a People carrier. If you do, this seems good value for money.

We're replacing a 20+ year old Nissan Elgrand which is now costing us a fortune in petrol and want a similar vehicle, which is a tall ask as MPVs seem to have virtually disappeared from the UK market.

The EV9 might work for some people but it's more than 5m long, weighs 2.5 tonnes, has a smaller cabin than the PV5 despite occupying a much larger footprint, and has more blind spots than Andrea Bocelli. And it's almost twice the price of the PV5. It's just too big for what we need, and we don't think it makes sense to spend an extra £30k (plus the luxury road tax) for a less suitable car.

Thanks. We thought about a VW Sharan a couple of years ago, only to find it is out of production and replaced by the Multivan or the ID Buzz. The ID Buzz would work for us too but as you allude to, it's the thick end of £30k more. We just cannot see where that goes and we don't really want to support a new car market where £60k doesn't quite stretch to an entry-level minivan.

I'd love to delve more deeply about how the 7 seaters work, but there is absolutely nothing out there. Even the dealer doesn't know, and on the Kia website the link to download the brochure is broken. I contacted them and they said "Yeah, we know. Keep checking." Way to sell a car!

I guess we'll wait for 7 seaters to start arriving in showrooms to have a poke about, but if anyone has experience of living with the 5 seater PV5 on a daily basis I'd be grateful for your thoughts.

The review I suggested gives info on most aspects of living with the 5 seater car. Other reviews might add more info. The big issue you might find, is that these are not common cars. The Buzz is yummy mummy eco territory. The Kia, so far, isn’t. I’ve never seen one.

The market has shrunk because (sorry) these cars look like vans. The big suv is a more attractive car. We are on our third Discovery. They cost more of course but we want 4x4 and are in the country.

Regarding the seats, if they stow in the huge boot, they will either lift out manually from the floor or will come up electrically. Either way, you of course lose some of the boot and I cannot imagine Kia won’t get a decent lifting mechanism for the seats. How often will you need to use them? Can you leave them up?

We have an EV5. It’s fantastic- really spacious and comfy. There are only 4 of us though

Thanks again @MeetMeOnTheCorner

I've read pretty much every written review I can find, as well as watch the video ones. In the five seater the rear bench backrest only folds down manually onto the base and it otherwise remains fixed; it doesn't fold flat into the floor or tumble forward, which isn't the best arrangement. I could live with that if the third row on the seven seater can tumble forward or be removed completely, but cannot find any information about it, only that the third row will have three seats and the middle one two.

We'd normally have all seats up and in use - we ferry a fairly large group of kids to activities every week - but the worst case is that this van-based MPV can't occasionally be used as an actual van, which is the attraction! Even our 2005 Elgrand can have the rear seats out if someone farts around with a spanner.

We live in the suburbs of Manchester and value practicality over style; there are a few of them around here. Sliding doors are a non-negotiable (narrow parking spaces) as is low access height (younger kids) and small wheels with high-profile tyres (potholes.) We don't need or want a bloated SUV with huge blind spots, and don't find them attractive. The ID Buzz might be considered more trendy, but 'yummy mummy' is really the last form of words anyone would use to describe me!

Thanks @bigbites

How do you find the low window sill in the front row? My big worry is that I'd feel very exposed up there.

And how is the tech? Are the controls buried in the screen easy to use - eg can you change the aircon settings easily on the move? What about the driving aids - are they intrusive and badly calibrated or do they actually work?

I've not had an opportunity to play with one yet, but I'm in the PV5/PV7 UK Facebook group as I am a camper van nerd! The seven seater is going to be a 2-2-3 configuration. The back three split 60-40, but none of the seats come out. They don't fold into the floor either. The only video I can find at the moment (which you've maybe already seen) shows the seats in their various positions. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like an ideal arrangement... I've heard loads of good things about the van though!

@TheCaptainsLog I can see why my Discos were ace! 3rd rose Seats permanently under the floor. Very easy to flip into place and pretty robust seats. No taking anything heavy out and no topl-box needed ! My current one - they put themselves into place. Yes, a much more expensive car, but better engineered in my view. Plenty of used around though.

Do other parents own these cars? Why do you do all the ferrying about?

I have to say, fixed 3rd row, if it is, is useless as a load lugger. We use the boot! The whole back 2 rows fold flat and it’s a big space for “stuff”. It’s also 3 seats in row 2, so we seat 5 without any need for a rear 3rd row seat. If the split on the Kia is 60/40 in the 3rd row, is thst just the back rests? Where do the seats go? How do they fold away?

The 4x4 cars are higher but the design means there’s space under the floor. I can see ev is attractive (we have a bmw ev) but there seem to be design flaws/issues as a 7 seater with the Kia.

Thanks for putting that link up; it's not a video I've seen before and it doesn't come up in my search results! The only video I'd seen of the 7-seater was one from Australia and someone even pointed out in the comments on that one that it was the only footage of the 7-seater anywhere on the internet. And it didn't show the seats being folded!

I agree that the folding arrangements are sub-optimal. They were never going to fold into the floor because the floor of the cabin is essentially the bottom of the vehicle, but I had hoped that they'd be removable like on the Stellantis vans (which we've ruled out because they're shit). I wonder if it's because the top-spec version has ventilated seats and the ducting for that can't really be exposed, ditto the wiring for the heated seats.

It means that the only way of carrying something like a wardrobe would be to fold the seat backs down and then rest it on top of them. It seems like such a missed opportunity.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

I know only one parent with a PV5, and they use it because their son is disabled. They don't have the factory wheelchair accessible version, but the boot is so vast in the 5-seater they can get the chair in without any problems.

We do a lot of ferrying around because both our DCs have three activities a week and on our cul-de-sac there are three other children who each do at least two of the same. We do share the transport, but because I'm self-employed and very much part time we probably do more of it than the others.

Like I said in my OP, this would be a second car for us. The other one is a Skoda Superb estate so if we need to lug loads around or travel long distances as a family of four, we'd use that. It's just frustrating that Kia seem to have designed out the ability for a van-based people carrier to be used as an actual van!

@TheCaptainsLog Yes, but I suspect it’s because it’s not a suv. It’s actually a van with no under floor capacity.