Electroverse EV Charging

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My PV5 Passenger Plus is my first EV, and I'm very impressed with almost all aspects (see my other blog posts). One area that Kia haven't done well is their Kia Charge network. It's expensive and patchy. Where I live, charging points on all charging networks are bit hit and miss, so any charging subscription will force me to drive out of my way if I leave the range of my home charger (and buying a EV only really makes financial sense if you can have a home charger). The Solution So, what to do if you don't want a subscription and don't fancy the poor Kia network offering? The answer was pretty easy, Octopus Electroverse. It ticks all the boxes for me. Fantastic network coverage. No subscription or upfront costs. Exceptionally good app. Competitive pricing. Addional discount for Octopus Energy customers. Easy to get charging receipts. Easy setup. The Plunge pricing is worth mentioning. When the UK grid predicts there will be excess capacity, the Electroverse app will...
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Review - PV5 Passenger Plus 2000 Miles In

I have had my UK-spec Kia PV5 Passenger Plus (Long Range with Heat Pump, in Steel Grey) since April and have already put 2,000 miles on the clock. I've even taken it away a couple of times for overnight camping trips(more in a separate post).

Impressions? I love it. It is one hell of a vehicle for £36k inc. VAT for my fully loaded model. At 6ft 8in (2.07m), basically every EV I tested failed comprehensively by offering insufficient headroom—even giants like the Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9. I tried everything Skoda, Hyundai, Peugeot, Ford, BYD, Vauxhall and VW had to offer, but none were suitable. They all package their batteries in the floor at the expense of interior headroom, losing about five crucial inches of headroom space.

Ultimately, the only two EVs on the UK market in 2026 that actually fit the bill were the VW ID.Buzz and the Kia PV5. I test-drove them both for a few hours within days of each other, on the exact same roads and in the same conditions. It was immediately clear that the PV5 was the superior vehicle and that was before I fully digested the fact that the ID.Buzz was twice the price. 🤯

Choosing the PV5 was a no-brainer. Kia has clearly taken the opposite design approach to VW, leaning into a futuristic aesthetic rather than a retro one. But aside from the looks, they have challenged VW head-on with similar size, range, and basic specs. The comparison was clear, the PV5 drives better, is easier to manoeuvre, and is noticeably quieter to drive. The build quality is right on par, and Kia's infotainment system is substantially better.

I placed my order at the start of March, and six weeks later, I was the proud owner of a brand new PV5 Passenger Plus, supplied by Kia Speedwell of Exeter. Two thousand miles in, I am still incredibly pleased with my decision. It drives beautifully and delivers excellent efficiency for a vehicle of its size—I easily average 3.7 miles/kWh, on a 72khw battery is enough for over 200 miles between charges. Charging on the go, it can get get back to 80% in less than 30 mins, enough time for a coffee and the loo.

However, having actually lived with the vehicle, I've noticed a few things about the early media coverage. A lot of YouTube reviewers who only get a vehicle for a single day (or less!) and resort to lazy, sloppy reporting. I've read and watched some totally inaccurate and unfounded claims about the PV5—and it’s time to set the record straight and mention some of the review whines which i think are unfounded, and some things i think should have been mentioned, but never are. 

The Unfounded / Incorrect - Review Myths Debunked

  •  "There are no coffee cup holders in the rear". That's what the AddGear is for. You even get supplied 2 cup holders to put wherever you wish, far better than being forced to have them where someone thinks you want them. 
  • "It's disappointing there are no physical controls to set heating and you are forced to use the touchscreen". Voice commands do this very well indeed. push the steering wheel button and ask it to set the required temperature. 
  • "It's annoying the radio isn't remembered between drives", This is good, Just because I was listening radio on my last drive, it's a bit of an assumption I want to listen this drive. Again, the voice control can absolutely control the radio. It's a single steering wheel button push and "Listen To Planet Rock" (for example) to listen to a DAB Radio station. When it's so easy to put the radio back on, I'm glad it doesn't remember. 
  • "There is no wireless CarPlay". This is just totally untrue, PV5 supports both wired and wireless Android Auto and CarPlay just fine.
  • "Headlights are poor".  I really don't understand this, and I can't fathom how a reviewer came to this conclusion (other than just making it up to fill up the video), the headlights aren't just adequate, they are very good, lighting up country lanes all the way out the verges, and into the distance, on full beam it's very bright, and the auto-dip functionality works really well, meaning you can just leave it on full beam and let the care take care of dipping and restoring when other cars are around (both in front and coming towards you)
  • "No light in the boot".  Sure, A dumb cost saving, but an overblown issue IMHO.
  • "Arm Rest moves when seat reclines", no problems here, but then I'm tall.  It adjusts however I have the seat set, and it always seems the appropriate angle.  I'm sure there is science to back up Kia's decision, however it's been changed for 2027 onwards. If you are testing a 2026 model, make sure if works for you also.
  • "Noisy inside, buffeting".  I have only driven the Passenger, not the Cargo, so can't speak for that variant, but after 2000 miles in various conditions in the Passenger, I have not experienced any issues at all.  On my test drives, the PV5 was much quieter than the Buzz, from both a road noise and a wind noise perspective.
The Things That Did Warrant A Mention But Didn't Get One.
  • A lot of users have experienced issues with the battery conditioning coming on when it wasn't wanted.  This isn't something I have seen myself, I think it's a software bug, mine arrived with newer software than what many others had, so I think Kia knew about this, and some newer vehicles left the factory with software fixes that older ones missed.  If that's the case, Kia have done a pretty poor job of updating early adopters, and something they need to work much harder on.
  • Hyundai PLEOS.  This is basically a fork of Android Automotive (not to be confused with Android Auto) that lives under the Hyundai groups control, and not Google's.  This could have been fine, however it's far from fine.  The "store" is painful to use, often logging you out, and if you are a good boy and use a secure long password, it's extremely painful logging back in again using the in-car system.  This absolutely needs a QR Code sign in from your phone like Netflix and the like has.  Once you are in there, it's the same sad 2 apps that have been in there since launch, coming up for a year ago; Radioline and some ambient music app.  That's it, nothing else, it's a barren wasteland.  They have gone their own way and it feels abandoned already.
  • General complexity of operation.  You shouldn't need a degree in technology to drive a vehicle, or understand why something works the way it works.  The adaptive cruise control isn't that easy to use, with far too many options and weird icons displayed.  It's as if the get around a problem the answer was to add even more options or modes of operation, rather than simplifying.   I still don't know what some of the things mean in cruise control mode, and the online manual isn't that helpful either.
  • Notification overload.  I get that the EU should have a lot of the criticism directed there, but not all  This vehicle is far to distracting, all the time, and I can see how this can distract you from driving safely.  That's not good.  I'm sure on paper all these things sounded great, but add them all up, and you are being constantly bombarded with notification sounds, Bing, you are wearing sunglasses, I can't see your eyes, bong, there is school nearby, bing, roundabout ahead, bong, speed camera area, bong, you are 1mph over the speed limit, bong, I still can't see your eyes through your sunglasses...   ARRGGGGHHHH.

Final Thoughts

That's about it for now.  In summary;
  • Value for money, out of this world  A+
  • Hardware build B+
  • Looks A+ or D (Marmite, love it or hate it)
  • Safety systems, mixed bag C
  • Software and software management D - Must Try Harder. 
Kia clearly have a winner on their hands.  The UK 2026 stock for the year was all sold by April, I was lucky to get one in March.  For 2027 Kia UK have more than doubled their order, so expect to see many more on the road, the 2027 changes aren't that significant, nothing really needed fixing (aside from the software niggles).

I'm going to carry on posting my thoughts discoveries and adventures in our PV5.  I bought outright (rather than lease), as this is my vehicle for the long term.



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