Kia’s latest battery electric vehicle (BEV), the new EV5 brings to five the number of electric car options from the Korean brand and in my mind, this is the best one of all. Kia is a strong player in the Irish electric car market and over 28% of all Kia sales in 2025 were electric cars, up from 16.5% in 2024.

The arrival of a new model should not be that special except that Kia sees this new EV5 being bought by some existing Kia Sportage customers who want to move to electric power. That’s important because the Sportage is Kia’s best-selling car in Ireland, clocking up 3,463 sales in 2025, and it is still offered with a diesel engine option.

So, will this new EV5 compete with the Sportage? Let’s see that the differences are when some car companies are toning down their electric options and not entirely ruling out diesel engines in the short term, at least.

I’ve had the new Kia EV5 on the road in recent days and while I was impressed with the car when it was first launched here in December last, my affection for the car was well warranted. The EV5 features a strong, boxy look to it with new vertical type headlamps.

In Table 1, I have compared the new EV5 with the popular Sportage diesel, and you can see the results. Diesel still delivers the best range on a full 54-litre fuel tank, while the 530km range from the EV5, at a lower running cost with the use of a home charger, will start to make diesel look less attractive.

Besides, how many days do you drive more than 530km without stopping?

This new Kia EV5 has a bigger SUV feel than the popular Sportage, it is bigger in length by 70mm and bigger in boot space too.

The rear-seat travellers get more legroom too and that’s because the car is marginally wider.

The front seats include a massage function for the driver, four-way lumbar support, heating, and ventilation.

That extra space gives the EV5 a roomier feeling, complemented by the full length sunroof on the test car that I drove.

The EV5 has a much bigger boot capacity, along with some storage in the front.

But there is no spare wheel provided.

The bigger EV5 is also heavier than the Sportage by about 400kg due to the big under-floor battery, but that doesn’t cramp its acceleration pace. The EV5 is much faster, and that acceleration is impressively smooth.

I drove mostly in the eco mode and used the EV5’s i-Pedal 3.0 system for more effortless one-pedal driving without the need to use the brake pedal.

Kia includes the bi-directional charging system in the EV5 including vehicle-to-load (V2L) offering up to 3.6kW of power.

This allows the driver to use the car’s battery to power and charge external devices with an interior socket or an external adapter. EV5 is also equipped with hardware for vehicle-to-grid (V2G), ready for operation once infrastructure and regulations allow, in the event of power cuts.

This new car has Kia’s latest ccNC (connected car Navigation Cockpit) system that’s controlled by combining a 12.3-inch instrument cluster with a 12.3-inch infotainment screen, and a 5.3-inch climate control display.

So, there is a lot of information available while essentials like heating control are button adjusted rather than touch screen.

The Kia EV5 has achieved a 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating and has seven airbags, structural reinforcements, and the latest suite of Kia’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), including the latest version of Intelligent Speed Limit Assist (ISLA).

There is also a new Smart Cruise Control 2 (SCC2) system to stop the car if the driver is unresponsive.

In Ireland, the EV5 is available in three different trim levels: Earth 2, Earth 3 and GT-Line all with the same long range 81.4kW long range battery as standard. The price jump from the Sportage diesel to the entry model EV5 is still significant with entry prices starting at €47,625 or £39,345 Northern Ireland.

With the EV5, Kia’s offering in the mid-size electric SUV market is not that competitive, while the car is spacious, modern and youthful in appearance.

It does come with full battery range that’s achievable, while I found that the turning circle a little poorer than I had expected from this front-wheel-drive SUV.

Passat is back

Volkswagen in Ireland has announced that the popular Passat model will be re-introduced to the Irish market in 2026. The 2026 Passat will be available as a saloon and estate model with the option of a diesel engine or a plug-in hybrid drive and prices starting at less than €50,000, according to Alan Bateson, manager at Volkswagen Passenger Cars Ireland.

Owners of older Toyota Hilux 4x4 pick-ups can now fit a central locking tailgate lock to the tailgate with a kit provided by North South 4x4s (www.ns4x4.ie) based in Drumgoose, Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, A75 V002, tel: (042) 9743633.

The central locking tailgate lock kit for the Toyota Hilux, which costs €59.98 or €73.78 including VAT, is designed to secure your tailgate automatically through the Hilux existing central locking system.

The actuator mounts neatly inside the tailgate, staying completely hidden while providing reliable locking and unlocking every time the vehicle doors are operated.

Installing the central locking tailgate lock begins by removing the tailgate access panel to mount an actuator securely inside the tailgate.

Once the bracket and actuator are positioned, the linkage is connected to the tailgate latch so the lock can engage and release smoothly.

The wiring is then routed through the tailgate and the vehicle body to connect to the existing central locking system so the tailgate locks and unlocks automatically with the doors.