Kia EV5 reveal details muscular, boxy design and pragmatic interior for the everyman's electric SUV

Leaks of the Kia EV5 have been making appearances online for a number of weeks, at this point, giving us a good idea of what to expect, but Kia has now officially unveiled the interior and exterior of its upcoming compact SUV in a video posted to the Kia Worldwide YouTube channel.

While the video doesn't tell us much, if anything, about the underlying tech in the Kia EV5, it does give us a fairly comprehensive look at the vehicle's exterior and interior design language, which echoes that found in the more expensive EV6 and EV9.

Despite what the naming may suggest, the EV5 appears to somewhere between the EV6 and EV6 in terms of styling, although it's much closer to the EV6 in size. It features the same boxy design as the EV9 in a smaller, five-seater footprint, and with some of the muscular looks of the EV6 electric performance EV.

The interior of the Kia EV5, on the other hand, looks quite practical, if somewhat uninspired. As in many other Kia EVs, the driver is served information and controls via a large digital instrument cluster and an infotainment screen off to its side. While touch-centric interfaces have become standard fare for modern EVs, the EV5 seems to complement the tablets glued to its dash with a healthy helping of buttons scattered across the dash, steering wheel, and even the door armrest. 

Perhaps the most interesting tidbit gleaned from the interior layout is the inclusion of a "Terrain Mode" button, hinting that Kia may release an AWD version alongside the rumoured single-motor variant. The buttons on the steering wheel all appear to be tactile rather than capacitive — a welcome inclusion for those that value practicality.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the buttons on the dash, directly under the infotainment unit, although Kia does win back some points for what appear to be tactile climate controls. There are also two USB Type-C ports in the front of the centre console, accompanied by a wireless phone charger just ahead of the centre arm rest.

The rear passenger seats appear to be spacious, with a 60-40 split, and previous reports indicate that they fold flat to increase the already-sizeable capacity of the boot.

While the Kia EV5 has been confirmed for Asian and European markets, the marque has yet to confirm or deny US availability. Kia did, however, hint at an October US announcement in a reply to a comment on an Instagram post when asked about a US launch. 

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