Over the past few months, we’ve seen many auto manufacturers introduce their EV cars, and Kia has also hammered on hot irons. Recently, we got Deepal, GUGO, and Honri Ve, and now Kia has just launched its new mid-size all-electric SUV. It is a redesigned version of Sorento with an electric powertrain and in pure Cyberpunk styles, looking like a car used in sci-fi 2050 movies.
For now, Kia has introduced two variants of this EV: AIR, a lower trim, and EARTH, an upper trim. Let’s compare these two trims and see what the actual difference between these two baddies is.
KIA EV5 Overview
An all-new pure electric EV in the market, design and style-wise, it’s really a show-stopper. The sharp curves and tube-light-like headlights would definitely make people turn their heads to this car. It’s bigger than the Sportage but smaller than the Sorento, so we call it a mid-size SUV that is ideal for a mid-size family.
The overall built quality of the interior and exterior is up to the mark. The outside looks exactly how you define an EV car. It incorporates all the best things from all the other EVs out there in the global market, and the result is seriously impressive.
However, things are not as they look from the outside. For a car that looks like this EV from the outside, you would expect that iconic Tesla interior design that uses minimal clickable buttons and in which everything is controlled by one screen that also serves as infotainment, but, in EV5, it’s not like that. Most of the controls are clickable with a mechanical switch or capacitive touch buttons. The feel of the interior is posh and lavish, everything is soft-to-touch, with leather in major of the interior parts.
Below is the 1-1 comparison:
Performance and Power
Here’s the performance and power of this car:
| Category | AIR (Short Range) | EARTH (Long Range) |
| Engine | Single front motor (160 kW) | Dual motor (front 160 kW + rear 70 kW) |
| Power | 214 HP, 310 Nm torque | 308 HP, 480 Nm torque |
| 0-100 km/h | 8.5 seconds | 6.1 seconds |
| Drive | 2WD | AWD |
| Range (All Electric) | 490 km | 620 km |
| Battery Capacity | 64.2 kWh | 88.1 kWh |
| AC Charging | 9h 43m /(7kW) | 8h 10m (11kW) |
| DC Fast Charging (50kW/350kW) | 57 mins / 36 mins | 72 mins / 38 mins |
Interior
Here’s the interior comparison of both variants:
| Category | AIR (Short Range) | EARTH (Long Range) |
| Seats | Cloth and artificial leather | Premium artificial leather |
| Front Seats | Heated, ventilated, 8-way power driver seat with massage | Heated, ventilated, 8-way power driver seat with massage |
| Sunroof | None | Panoramic power sunroof |
| Infotainment | 12.3” digital cluster + 5” climate monitor + 12.3” touchscreen | 12.3” digital cluster + 5” climate monitor + 12.3” touchscreen |
| USB Ports | Yes, front and rear | Yes, front and rear |
| Ambient Lighting | No | 64-color ambient lighting |
| Speakers | 6 | 6 |
| Massage Seats | No | Yes |
| Cruise Control | Yes | Yes |
| Heads up Display | No | Yes |
Exterior
Here’s the exterior information of both variants:
| Category | AIR (Short Range) | EARTH (Long Range) |
| Wheels | 18” Alloy | 19” Alloy |
| LED Headlights | Yes | Yes |
| Door Handles | Manual flush | Automatic flush |
| Roof Racks | Standard black | Glossy black |
| Tailgate | Manual | Power opening (height adjustable) |
Safety Specs
Here’s the safety specs of both variants:
| Category | AIR (Short Range) | EARTH (Long Range) |
| Airbags | 6 Airbags (Front, Side, and Curtain) | 6 Airbags (Front, Side, and Curtain) |
| ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) | Yes | Yes |
| EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) | Yes | Yes |
| Traction Control | Yes | Yes |
| Stability Control | Yes | Yes |
| Blind Spot Monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Lane Keep Assist | Yes | Yes |
| Lane Following Assist | No | Yes |
| Adaptive Cruise Control | No | Yes (with stop-and-go functionality) |
| Collision Warning | Yes (Forward Collision Warning) | Yes (Forward Collision Warning) |
| Automatic Emergency Braking | Yes | Yes |
| Rear Cross-Traffic Alert | Yes | Yes |
| Hill Start Assist | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Collision Braking | No | Yes (prevents additional collisions in a crash) |
| Driver Attention Monitoring | No | Yes (alerts if the driver becomes inattentive) |
| 360° Camera | No | Yes (360° surround view with parking assist) |
| Rearview Camera | Yes (standard rear camera) | Yes (with dynamic parking guidelines) |
| Child Safety Locks | Manual | Automatic |
| Tire Pressure Monitoring System | Yes | Yes |
| Traffic Sign Recognition | No | Yes (detects and displays traffic signs in the dashboard) |
Price
The base variant (AIR) is launched for Rs. 18,500,000, compared to a price tag of Rs. 23,500,000 for the top variant (EARTH).
Let us know what you think about this Kia EV5 and the differences between the two variants.
