2026 Kia PV5 Passenger First Drive: Is This the Real Successor to the VW Microbus?

Meet the spiritual successor to the Volkswagen Type 2 Microbus, the van that launched a thousand flower-power road trips in the ’60s. Kia’s electric-powered PV5 Passenger exudes a similar kounter kulture koolness to that of the original Microbus. It’s funkily utilitarian, offering a blank canvas for a myriad of lifestyles. Ahhh … but what about the VW ID Buzz, you ask? Volkswagen’s digital-age homage to the Type 2 is a touch too contrived, a touch too knowing, a touch too grown up. And a touch too expensive: A fully loaded Kia PV5 Passenger would likely retail here for about $40,000, roughly two-thirds the price of VW’s entry-level Buzz.

The PV5 is the first product from Hyundai Motor Group to be built on its new E-GMPS electric vehicle architecture. E-GMPS is a variant of the E-GMP architecture used for the company’s most popular EVs, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV9, and Genesis GV60. Engineered to underpin commercial vehicles, the front-drive E-GMPS architecture positions the driver further forward and has an ultra-short dash-to-axle with a compact e-motor and power electronics array behind the front firewall. Its battery pack is located lower in the structure than in the E-GMP architecture, with cells packed directly into the battery pack rather than in modules.

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The result is a platform that provides a lower, completely flat floor that runs from a point below the driver’s knees all the way to the rear of the vehicle and can be topped with passenger van, cargo van, and cab-chassis body modules to create vehicles companies can use to move people or goods for money.

That may not sound glamorous, but Hyundai Motor Group points to research from Mordor Intelligence, a global market research firm, that claims the global market for multi-passenger ride-hailing services is expected to reach to $294.1 billion by 2029, while Fortune Business Insights research estimates the global short-haul delivery market will grow to $134.9 billion by 2032. Cars like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N are hugely quick and fun. But vans like the Kia PV5 are where the real money will potentially be made. Kia expects to be selling 150,000 PV5s a year by 2030.

At 184.4 inches from bumper to bumper and with a wheelbase of 117.9 inches, the PV5 Passenger is about 10 inches shorter in both dimensions than the long-wheelbase, three-row ID Buzz sold in America. But it’s virtually identical in size to the arguably more desirable short-wheelbase ID Buzz we drove back in 2022 and is similarly configured as a two-row, five-passenger people mover.

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Putting the Fun Back in Functional

It’s difficult to make a box on wheels look interesting, but the team working under the direction of Kia global design boss Karim Habib has given the PV5’s exterior a ton of quirky visual character. Up front are daytime running lights that cascade with a wriggle down from the base of the A-pillars above a stubby snout with peek-a-boo headlights and a faux grille defined by industrial-strength silver moldings. Black cladding adds character to the wheel openings and muscle to the lower body. At the rear, the sheetmetal of the huge tailgate kinks subtly inward above the low rear bumper.

A black finish that aligns with the upper and lower extremities of the windows in the front doors encircles the vehicle, helping reduce the visual mass of the bodysides and kicking upward where the front doors and the rear sliding doors meet to provide visual interest. Our tester didn’t have it, but with tint on the windows aft of the B-pillar to disguise the fact the actual openings behind them are smaller (to maintain body strength and stiffness), it looks like the PV5’s roof is floating above a wall of glass. The effect is stunning.

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Plenty of Range, Not Much Rush

Kia offers the PV5, which has a 400-volt electrical architecture (an 800-volt version is coming), with two battery and powertrain configurations. The base model gets a 51.5-kWh battery and a 120-hp e-motor driving the front wheels. Our top-spec tester has the 71.2-kWh battery pack that boosts the WLTP-rated range from 183 miles to 256 miles (EPA ratings would be roughly 20 percent or so lower). The e-motor at the front axle is the same as in the base van and produces the same 185 lb-ft of torque, but its power output has been boosted to 161 hp, which cuts the claimed 0 to 60 mph acceleration time from about 12 seconds to less than 10 seconds. Top speed is limited to 84 mph.

So no, the PV5 won’t get your pulse racing when you mash the accelerator, though the rate of acceleration of the 161-hp version is slightly better than that of the original short-wheelbase ID Buzz, which was powered by a single 201-hp, 229-lb-ft e-motor before VW boosted its outputs to 282 hp and 413 lb-ft with the changeover to the upgraded APP550 unit that made its debut in the ID7 in 2023. But that doesn’t mean the Kia is dull to drive. In fact, it feels more alert on real-world roads than the raw performance numbers suggest, both away from the lights and through the corners. That’s because at 4,600 pounds, the PV5 weighs some 850 pounds less than the short-wheelbase ID Buzz and a staggering 1,400 pounds less than the long-wheelbase, three-row Buzz sold in the U.S.

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Built to Work, Ready to Play

You can tell that, unlike the ID Buzz, the PV5 Passenger was primarily designed as a commercial vehicle, as there’s more noise back through the suspension on rough roads than in the Volkswagen. And as it’s front-drive (the single motor ID Buzz is rear-drive), you get some kickback through the steering if you punch the accelerator on the apex of a bumpy corner. Furthermore, the body control isn’t quite as concise as that of the Volkswagen through the twisties and over humps and heaves. But the steering is light and accurate, the brake pedal feel is reassuringly consistent, and the ride surprisingly compliant, with the generous sidewalls of the 215/65 tires fitted to the 16-inch alloy wheels helping soak up imperfections in the road surface. The PV5 might be a box on wheels, but it doesn’t feel like a penalty box to drive.

As in the E-GMP-based Hyundais and Kias, the PV5 has five regen levels—from near one-pedal levels of lift-off retardation to full coasting—actuated by paddles behind the steering wheel that let you adjust its response to road environments and traffic conditions. Three drive modes, Eco, Normal, and Snow, are selected via a button at the base of the steering-wheel boss.

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Big Room, Solid Tech Inside

With lots of dark plastic everywhere, the PV5 Passenger’s interior isn’t anywhere near as glamorous as that of the ID Buzz, but thanks to the E-GMPS platform’s front-drive, low-battery layout, it’s astoundingly roomy. (The rear floor of the rear drive ID Buzz is almost 8 inches higher because of the e-motor underneath.) Kia claims the PV5 Passenger will swallow 47 cubic feet of luggage with the fixed, 60/40 split second row upright, and an impressive 128 cubes with the seats folded. Second-row passengers are provided with footrests and USB ports located on the sides of the driver’s seat-back cushion. The outer seats are heated on the top-spec model.

The view from behind the wheel is familiar if you’ve spent any time in a Kia EV. The 7.0-inch instrument cluster is complemented by a 12.9-inch central touchscreen that handles all the usual infotainment chores, including a navigation system that runs Android Automotive OS, the first time Kia has used this software in a vehicle. And although it has screens and menus, the PV5 also has buttons for the functions you need to access quickly and intuitively, such as adjusting the exterior rearview mirrors, as well as other, more specialised functions such as switching on and off the power sliding doors. There’s even a button to switch off the lane keep assist. Thank you, Kia.

The PV5 Passenger also bows what Kia calls "pet mode.” Activated from the central infotainment screen, pet mode locks the vehicle and key buttons such as the electronic parking brake, can use the climate control to maintain the cabin at a predetermined temperature, and displays a message on the infotainment screen to let passersby know Fido or Puss are happy and comfortable inside.

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More PVs on the Way

The Kia PV5 Passenger isn’t your average minivan. It looks anything but average, for a start. And while its commercial vehicle roots show through at times—the slight suspension noise on rough roads and the somber, industrial-strength plastics in the interior, for example—it’s decent to drive, well equipped, and can carry a ton of stuff. And it’s a great value for money.

A three-row, seven-seat version of the PV5 Passenger will arrive later this year, and Kia will also offer a version with a factory-built wheelchair-accessible side entrance. These PV5 variants will be followed in 2027 by the larger PV7, the people-mover version of which should rival the long-wheelbase ID Buzz for interior room, with an even bigger van, the PV9, expected in 2029. And to underscore the flexibility of the new E-GMPS architecture, Kia also plans to offer a production version of the pocket-sized PV1 inner-city van concept it showed alongside the PV5 and PV7 concepts at CES in 2024.

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