- 1 day ago
Can a small city EV successfully serve as the only car in a household? This is the all-new KIA EV2 – a model that tries to look like a small off-roader from a distance, but its true home is the city. In this episode, I thoroughly test the version with the base battery to see if this newcomer can challenge rivals like the Citroen eC3 or the BYD Dolphin Surf.
The KIA EV2 surprises with a highly mature cockpit, a completely flat rear floor, and a clever 15-litre "frunk" under the bonnet for charging cables. However, alongside clear advantages and very nimble road manners, the engineers in Korea made a few design missteps – from oddly designed exterior door handles to overly intrusive driver assistance systems. Do the manufacturer's catalog promises hold up in reality? Let's find out!
In this video:
Frunk & Dimensions: Why designing an EV from scratch should always result in a front boot, and how the EV2 handles tight parking spaces.
Space & Practicality: An analysis of the boot capacity (ranging from 321 to 403 litres) and how much legroom and headroom the rear bench actually offers.
An EV9-style Cockpit: Three displays on the dashboard, physical buttons for the climate control,
The KIA EV2 surprises with a highly mature cockpit, a completely flat rear floor, and a clever 15-litre "frunk" under the bonnet for charging cables. However, alongside clear advantages and very nimble road manners, the engineers in Korea made a few design missteps – from oddly designed exterior door handles to overly intrusive driver assistance systems. Do the manufacturer's catalog promises hold up in reality? Let's find out!
In this video:
Frunk & Dimensions: Why designing an EV from scratch should always result in a front boot, and how the EV2 handles tight parking spaces.
Space & Practicality: An analysis of the boot capacity (ranging from 321 to 403 litres) and how much legroom and headroom the rear bench actually offers.
An EV9-style Cockpit: Three displays on the dashboard, physical buttons for the climate control,
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MotorTranscript
00:00this is the kia ev2 and it might be the best electric car on the market today and not just
00:06because it has a frunk big enough for a charging cable although this charging cable will be
00:15important in a moment what's it all about let's find out i didn't expect kia will be able to fit
00:26a frunk under the bonnet of such a small car but here it is in all its 15 liter glory
00:31and this is
00:32all i need i'm surprised that many brands still resist the idea of a frunk while at the same time
00:38boasting about bespoke ev platforms if you're designing an electric car from scratch think
00:43about the user be like kia the ev2 is a small electric car a competitor to the citroen ec3
00:52and the byd dolphin surf among others also the upcoming vw id2 and the mediocre mini aceman
01:00have similar dimensions everything is a crossover or an suv these days and from a distance the ev2 also
01:07looks like a small off-roader even though high curbs are all it can tackle and that's on a good
01:13day
01:14because those plastic battery covers look like damage waiting to happen depending on the trim level the
01:20car can be fitted with 16 18 or even 19 inch rims for comfort and price are the focus on
01:28versions
01:28with 16 inch rims they also fit this fake off-road look the ev2 is 406 centimeters long 180 centimeters
01:38wide almost 158 centimeters tall and has a wheelbase of almost 257 centimeters its dimensions are textbook super
01:47for many nowadays although a decade or two ago it would have been a compact car especially with a boot
01:53capacity of 321 liters or more this is a five seater with a 362 liter boot you can also choose
02:05a four
02:06seater with a sliding rear seat which then gives you between 321 and 403 liters of boot space depending on
02:12how much leg room you need in the second row with the second row backrest dropped you get over 1200
02:19liters i like the adjustable anchor points shopping bag hooks but i'm not a fan of the double floor which
02:26you cannot drop or stow vertically behind the rear backrests in order to take advantage of the entire
02:32boot space you'll have to leave it behind somewhere along with the partial shelf higher spec models get
02:38harman kardon audio with a subwoofer which takes up some space at the very bottom of the boot however
02:44there's still space to fit some smaller items around it like a repair kit i like the easy to grab
02:51handle
02:51to close the tailgate kia insists on flush door handles which aren't particularly comfortable even when
02:59they pop out automatically but here they don't pop out automatic door handles are a part of an optional
03:05equipment package this means you have to press the handle preferably with one finger and then grab
03:12the protruding part with another finger and i suspect people with smaller hands might have trouble doing
03:19this single-handedly not to mention people with impaired dexterity this is simply bad design do
03:26something about this kia please the rear seats offer plenty of leg room behind the driver's seat which is
03:33set to my driving position i'm 175 centimeters tall and i also have plenty of headroom the floor is flat
03:41there are air vents and ice fix anchor points on the side seats usbc ports are in the front seat
03:48backrests
03:48my water bottle fits in the door pockets unfortunately there is no armrest with cup holders
03:54i like how kia evolves its interior features for a few years now some models had seats with humps
04:00behind the front seat headrests these double ass coat hangers however here kia made holes in them
04:07which gives the rear passengers something to grab hold of when they're getting in or out
04:13for a small car the ev2's cockpit is very mature it's similar to those in the ev3 ev5 and ev9
04:21there's a
04:22panel stretching three quarters width of the dashboard with three displays one in front of the driver then
04:28there's the central infotainment display and between them is a small display with additional
04:34climate control settings basic temperature and fan speed are controlled here with physical buttons
04:41under the central display while seat heaters and steering wheel heaters are on the doors physical
04:49buttons you can also have them turn on automatically depending on the weather conditions the steering wheel
04:55features buttons for the cruise control and for the multimedia behind the steering wheel is a drive
05:02selector joystick which also includes a start button running through the middle of the cockpit is a console
05:11with a wireless charger the highlight for me is that for the first time the wireless charger in a kia
05:17actually works next there's a huge cup holder and a shelf with a movable divider so you can create
05:23another holder also for larger drinks rather than smaller ones there's a tiny storage compartment under
05:29the armrest the glove box is on the large side though the door pockets are spacious unfortunately
05:36there is no isofix mount on the front passenger seat competitors like the reno 5 or the byd dolphin surf
05:41have it depending on the trim and options you can also get ambient lighting but that may be part of
05:48an equipment package which includes some safety features which i'd rather avoid
05:57so
06:13ev2 comes with two battery options the basic model has a 42.2 kilowatt hour lfp battery and the long
06:19range model
06:20has a 61 kilowatt hour nmc battery
06:26declared range is over 300 and over 400 kilometers in the combined cycle respectively
06:33in urban driving kia promises over 400 and over 600 kilometers respectively i'd say all these figures
06:40are somewhat optimistic even when the weather is perfect and neither heating nor ac have a lot of work
06:46however there's something that can make the kia ev2 your only car even if you don't have a house with
06:52your own charging spot
06:56as standard the ev2 gets an 11 kilowatt onboard charger however for 990 euro you can get a 22 kilowatt
07:03onboard charger this cuts charging time down from four hours to two and a half for the standard battery model
07:09and from five and a half to three hours for the long range model
07:17okay but how does this help if you don't have a place to charge overnight
07:21well ac charging up to 22 kilowatts is cheaper than dc or fast charging so you're out shopping or going
07:27to
07:28the cinema and you don't have to pay for fast charging and you're not blocking a dc charging spot
07:34instead you plug in for an hour or two to an ac socket and bobs your uncle your car is
07:39charged
07:43this makes sense when you don't have a permanent cheap or free charging spot but you have to rely
07:49on public infrastructure
07:56as far as dc charging is concerned you're looking at half an hour to charge from 10 to 80 percent
08:01regardless of the battery capacity while charging i saw about 90 something kilowatts for a few seconds but
08:07that's all the standard battery model is lighter and quicker from zero to 100 kilometers per hour
08:13than the long range model i checked and instead of the claimed 8.7 seconds i got 8.2 seconds
08:19in sport mode
08:19and 8.4 seconds in normal mode
08:28so it's small but nippy the ev2 has no problem merging quickly and moving traffic
08:34only the driver may have a problem with constant warnings unfortunately kia likes to warn the driver
08:41against just about anything this is why i'd be careful before selecting some of the
08:47optional equipment packs as they may include more annoying beepers
08:58while it's easy to turn off isa the warning chime when you exceed the speed limit kia doesn't let you
09:04turn off the warning that a speed limit has changed unless you turn off traffic sign recognition
09:08altogether which i don't want to do because that takes too many clicks and i would like to know
09:13what the speed limit is i don't know about other countries but in poland we have too many road signs
09:18and i know places where the speed limit can change three times within several dozen meters
09:29on the plus side you can stick a piece of tape and block the driver attention monitor camera also
09:39wearing sunglasses helps now kia still has some work to do on its adas implementation other than that
09:47the ev2 is a very pleasant agile and maneuverable car it's also quite comfortable on 16 inch rims i
09:54suspect with larger rims and with a bigger battery the ride may be harsher but this spec is terrific
10:01visibility is okay the steering is precise this really could be my only car although probably i'd
10:07consider the long range model to stretch stops on road trips from 200 to maybe 300 kilometers between
10:14charges perhaps adjustable recuperation will help extend the travel distance using paddles on the
10:20steering wheel you can select one of the three recuperation modes or turn it off completely you
10:24can also turn on automatic recuperation which will slow the car down based on the traffic head or you
10:31can turn on i pedal which is what kia calls one pedal driving most of the time you won't touch
10:39the brake as
10:40soon as you start reducing accelerator input the car starts braking and it will come to a complete stop
10:47another range extending option is a heat pump which costs 990 euro alone or 1390 euro as part of a
10:57winter package depending on the trim level
11:12kia ev2 prices start at 26 600 euro for the light trim with the standard battery next is the air
11:20trim for
11:2028 900 euro or 33 490 if you select the long range battery this is a standard range earth trim
11:28the only
11:28extra on it is the paint and the total price is 32 000 and 80 euro if this were to
11:35be my only car i'd add
11:37a heat pump and the 22 kilowatt onboard charger which would cost me 2380 euro extra
11:45kia ev2 is a well packaged small car for many families this really could be their only vehicle
11:52i'd love to see faster dc charging but other than that the ev2 can have everything that you get on
11:58larger cars perhaps it's time to consider switching from a large suv to something more manageable and
12:04affordable what do you think are you ready to downsize could this be your only car let me know in
12:10the
12:10comment section below if you like my sarcastic down-to-earth and possibly mildly amusing car
12:18reviews join me every friday 3 pm central european time and don't forget to subscribe and like this
12:25video as it helps me with the youtube algorithm thanks for watching and i will see you in the next
12:31one
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