Kia's New EV5 Feels Dangerously Cooler Than EV6. Will that Be Enough to Beat the Model Y?

As far as the latter is concerned, things couldn't look any better unless it, too, morphed into a three-door slammed widebody Hot Hatch – but that's obviously only possible across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators. Over here in the real world, the Tesla Model Y still struggles with quality issues – an Austin, Texas-produced unit recently surfaced with a cracked front casting, for example.

On the other hand, the Model 3 and Y examples produced in China are said to exhibit stellar quality. And with the production capacity at optimum yield, there's no denying the crown will remain on its 'head' for a long time coming – or at least until someone finds a solution to its 'magical' powers of persuasion that it's the best possible EV option currently on the market.

Volvo will try to shake up that belief with the upcoming EX30, but the battery-powered CUV that's unbelievably cheap is also much smaller – a subcompact representative. As such, it seems that Kia is confident it will find the perfect recipe to dethrone the Tesla Model Y – either with the EV6 (a NACTOY winner for 2023) or the upcoming EV5. But how come it offers two propositions in the same segment?

Well, the South Korean automaker seems to believe in the 'the more, the merrier' tag. As such, the Tesla Model Y, which is offered for $36,640 in America, might face some stiff competition. It's well prepared, though, given the lower tag and the availability of the Model Y Long Range from $39,390 or Model Y Performance from $43,390. In turn, the Kia EV6 is comparable in terms of dimensions – 187 inches (4,750 mm) for Model Y and almost 185 inches for EV6 (up to 4,695 mm).

But the pricing format is not throwing any curved balls in its favor – the EV6 Light RWD trim kicks off at $42,600 as opposed to Model Y's dual-motor AWD setup with 279-mile (449 km) EPA range and five seconds to 60 mph (96 kph). Instead, the matching EV6 Wind e-AWD starts from $52,600 with 320 hp and an EPA-estimated range of 282 miles (454 km). That's quite the difference – even when compared to the sub-$40k Model Y Long Range packing 330 miles (532 km) of range!

As such, it is no wonder that Kia is thinking about covering all the bases and bringing yet another E-GMP contender onto the market. Sure, first in China, where the production version EV5 was launched at the Chengdu Motor Show, and then also in North America and Europe, where even more battles are waiting to be fought with the Tesla Model Y. Regarding dimensions, the first-ever EV5 slots immediately below the EV6 at almost 182 inches in length (4,615 mm – 181.7 inches) and features a lovely, rugged yet modern design modeled after the larger EV9.

However, it's not going to be hard to set the two apart because the EV counterpart of the Kia Sorento – they're similarly sized – features the same styling cues as the Concept EV5 and looks as futuristic as possible while also posing as a traditional boxy crossover SUV. Kia kept technical specifications under wraps, and we don't need the leak from China because those powertrains are specific to the local market. Instead, we can simply look at the EV6 for reference and imagine that Kia will share most performance characteristics with the ritzier sibling during the EV Day set for October, which is when we are going to receive more information about the global variants of the EV5.

As such, the base should come with the 167-hp version followed by 225 and 320-horsepower versions plus 258 or 446 lb-ft ratings for maximum torque. The batteries are probably no surprise, either, with 58 kWh and 77.4 kWh versions for the short- or long-range variants. Maybe Kia will lower the price point by also refraining from offering AWD, but that would severely impair its ability to fight the Tesla Model Y. Hopefully, though, with a third E-GMP model in production for Kia and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 6 (maybe even the Ioniq 7), the South Korean automaker will be capable of offering MSRPs comparable with Tesla's.

However, what is not that hard to imagine is the EV5 cannibalizing potential EV6 sales even before taking on the big bad Tesla Model Y wolf. That, frankly, would be a disaster for the ambitious South Korean automaker as the company would get itself between the devil and the deep sea – on one side, the new and rugged yet futuristic EV5, and at the top end, the seven-seat EV9! Well, it remains to be seen what happens next – and much of the success of the EV5 most likely relies on the powertrain options corroborated with the pricing strategy – especially in the United States.