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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Software Bugs :-(

 I've been pretty pleased with the PV5 in general, but one area that Kia are really dropping the ball is software.  There is lots going on in the PV5, and it's using their newest system PLEOS, which is their OS of choice for the foreseeable future.

It's however very new, and pretty buggy.  Since I have had the PV5 in April 2026, it's had a couple of big updates, but sadly, nothing noticeable  has really changed, and none of the issues have been addressed.  Some of the things I am seeing;

  • Settings getting reset or lost at random times.  This is not the EU safety systems you can't turn off permanently, but other settings that mysteriously reset themselves at random times. Some things I have had to switch back on:
    • I-Pedal Mode (it often reverts to regular drive more for no obvious reason)
    • Reversing camera grid lines
    • Steering Wheel haptic feedback
    • Volume reduction when reversing.
  • Exterior daytime running lights coming on at dusk in Utility mode when the switch is set to Off (Off should always mean Off
That's the bugs, there are some poorly thought out features that also need addressing:

  • Music only stops when you open the drivers door;  Great if you are exiting via the drivers door, but given you can walk between doors inside, often in a tight space you need to exit passenger side.  Why only when a door is opened anyway?  That's a bit random.  Really needs a setting to control when music is stopped, ranging from EV Off, to Driver Door, Any Door.
  • No long press actions on custom steering wheel, come on really??
  • PLEOS app store is embarrassingly bad, just the same 2 sad apps, often getting logged out, and painful keyboard entry of email and password to get back in.  It's an absolute horror show.
I would speak to my "Local" Kia PBV dealer about these, but they are; poorly trained/incompetent/don't care once they sold it (pick any or all), they aren't worth wasting breath on.

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