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Updated: May 10, 2026
Kia’s newest electric vehicle is now landing in Canada. The 2027 EV5 is a compact crossover that lines up against the Toyota RAV4 and Kia’s own Sportage, but with no gas engine under the hood. It brings up to 457 km (284 miles) of range, a standard NACS connector and a cabin that feels more expensive than its $43,495 Canadian base price suggests.
The catch for U.S. shoppers: Kia has decided not to sell the EV5 in the United States for now. Tariffs are the reason. After a full week in a GT-Line AWD, here’s our complete first-drive report.
Kia has been quietly assembling one of the more complete EV lineups in the industry: EV4, EV6, EV9, Niro EV and the PV5 commercial vehicle, with the EV3 and EV5 joining the lineup now.
Tesla still leads Canadian EV sales, but its cushion is shrinking. According to tracker thinkev.ca, if current sales trends hold, Hyundai and Kia combined will match Tesla’s Canadian EV market share by mid-2027. That matters because the EV5 lands in Canada’s highest-volume segment: compact crossovers, where affordable, well-equipped EVs have been harder to find.
The EV5 is a five-door, five-seat electric SUV roughly the size of a Sportage. Six trims are available: Light FWD, Wind, Land, GT-Line, GT-Line Limited and GT AWD. Four of them can be ordered with either front- or all-wheel drive.
The entry Light uses a 60.3 kWh standard-range battery, good for 335 km (208 miles) of range. Every other trim gets Kia’s 81.4 kWh long-range battery, rated at 457 km (284 miles). Long-range models also come with a heat pump as standard, which is a useful upgrade for cold-weather driving.
Power output is 214 hp in front-drive form and 261 hp with all-wheel drive. The EV5 rides on Kia’s 400-volt EGM-P platform, the same architecture family used across the brand’s newest dedicated EVs. A NACS charge port means access to Tesla Superchargers is built into the ownership experience.
The EV5 follows the design language of the larger EV9. There’s the tiger-face front grille treatment, the three-dimensional star-map lighting signature, chunky bumpers and a wide skid plate that give it a ready-for-anything stance. Body-colored lower trim keeps it from looking too rugged or too plasticky.
In profile, the EV5 is a conventional three-box crossover, not a swoopy coupe. That’s a good thing for practicality. The raked D-pillar adds a little visual motion while also improving rear-seat passenger visibility.
Wheel sizes run from 18 to 20 inches, and there are eight exterior colors, including two new choices: Magma Red and Frost Blue.
Kia has been producing some of the best cabin layouts in the business, and the EV5 continues that run. The upright SUV shape makes the interior feel surprisingly large and airy. Storage is generous, including a sliding center tray that can be reached by both front and rear passengers.
The rear seats fold completely flat, opening up a long, useful cargo area. That alone puts the EV5 ahead of many EV crossovers that compromise space for style.
Technology is spread across three screens: a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen and a 5.3-inch display dedicated to climate controls. It looks crowded in photos, but in person the layout is clean and easy to scan.
Canadian pricing starts at $43,495 for the Light FWD, in Canadian dollars. Our GT-Line AWD tester starts at $57,995. The price gap between front- and all-wheel drive on the same trim is a consistent $2,500.
Kia Canada says every EV5 qualifies for the federal $5,000 rebate because the base model comes in under the $50,000 threshold. Canadian-market EV5s are built at Kia’s Autoland Gwangju plant in South Korea.
The EV5 is not coming to U.S. dealerships, at least for the time being. The main reason is tariffs.
EV5 production is based in South Korea, and the current tariff environment makes importing it into the United States too costly. Kia has chosen to launch it in Canada only, which says a lot about how much the tariff math has changed the typical North American launch sequence.
For U.S. buyers, that means the compact electric SUV slot in Kia’s U.S. lineup stays open. The EV6 and EV9 are still sold in the U.S., but neither one matches the EV5’s size and price positioning. If tariffs ease or production shifts, the EV5 would likely be a strong candidate for a U.S. launch. Until then, it remains a Canada-only story.
The EV5’s low center of gravity gives it composed, stable handling. It doesn’t feel like a tall SUV when you push it through a corner. Acceleration is quick but not jarring; highway merging is easy, and power delivery is smooth and linear.
Steering is medium-weight. We would prefer a little more stiffness, but the feel fits the EV5’s role as a family-friendly crossover. Kia has tuned the front MacPherson-strut suspension for the extra weight of the battery pack, and the result is a ride that stays flat under braking and acceleration.
There are five drive modes: normal, eco, sport, snow and a customizable MyDrive mode. We sampled all except snow. Sport adds genuine urgency, but eco remains the best everyday setting because it balances performance with efficiency without making the car feel sleepy.
The real highlight is Kia’s new i-pedal 3.0 system. It enables smooth one-pedal driving in city traffic, reducing the need to constantly switch between brake and accelerator. It’s intuitive, easy to get used to and makes stop-and-go commutes far less tedious.
One design flaw stands out: the bulky mirror mount at the base of the A-pillar creates a noticeable blind spot, particularly on left-hand turns. It doesn’t ruin the driving experience, but it’s the kind of detail you notice after a few days behind the wheel.
If you’re shopping in Canada, skip the Light FWD. Its 335 km range is workable for urban driving, but the roughly $4,000 savings over a long-range model isn’t worth the range anxiety on highway trips.
Step up to a long-range trim, and if you can afford the $2,500 jump to all-wheel drive, take it. The extra traction is worth having in wet or snowy conditions, and it improves the car’s overall capability.
Kia’s EV lineup now has a clear identity. The even-numbered models, like the EV4 and EV6, are more daring with their styling. The odd-numbered models, including the EV9 and EV5, stick with more traditional SUV proportions. The EV5 benefits from that decision.
Earlier this year, the 2026 Toyota C-HR became an early vehicle-of-the-year contender for us. After a week with the 2027 Kia EV5, Kia now has a strong challenger at the top of that list. It’s a well-priced, well-equipped compact EV that would appeal to U.S. buyers just as easily as Canadians.
The only frustrating part is that you have to be in Canada to buy one.
