If you’ve been looking at brand new electric campervans, you’ve probably noticed they don’t come cheap. The Kia PV5 changes that. Enter the Kia PV5 Campervan from Sunbox Campers.
It’s a brand new, fully electric van — zero diesel, zero petrol, zero fossil fuels — that costs significantly less than a used ID Buzz. It’s wider inside, comes with a seven-year warranty, and has built-in technology that lets you power appliances directly from the drive battery.
We’re now converting the Kia PV5 at our Newhaven workshop, and here’s what we think you should know about it.
View full Kia PV5 campervan conversion details and pricing →
What Is the Kia PV5 and Why Is It Being Converted Into a Campervan?
The Kia PV5 is Kia’s first electric van — and it’s not a half-hearted effort. Rather than taking an existing diesel van and fitting batteries (which is what most manufacturers have done), Kia designed the PV5 from scratch as an electric vehicle on a dedicated platform called E-GMP.S.
That clean-sheet approach shows. The floor is remarkably low (the step-in height is just 419mm), the loadspace is tall and wide, and the driving experience is closer to an electric car than a traditional van. Reviewers have been effusive — Top Gear praised how refined it feels, Autocar called it a true original, and What Van? gave it a perfect 10/10 score.
The van comes in Cargo (panel van) and Passenger (MPV) versions. For campervan conversion, we use the Cargo — specifically the L2/H1 model with the larger 71.2kWh battery.
Kia PV5 vs VW ID Buzz: The Key Numbers for Campervan Conversion
Here’s where it gets interesting. Let’s put the Kia PV5 next to the ID Buzz
| Kia PV5 Cargo | VW ID Buzz Cargo | ||
| New base vehicle | ~£23,465* | ~£38,340 | |
| Real-world range | 150–200 miles | 180–230 miles | |
| Loadspace width | 1,565mm | 1,230mm | |
| Loadspace height | 1,520mm | 1,279mm | |
| V2L | Yes (3.68kW) | No | |
| Gas heating | No | No | |
| Pop-top roof | Not yet | Yes | |
| Battery warranty | 8 years | 8 years |
*After Plug-in Van Grant
The price difference is the headline, but it’s worth emphasising: that Kia PV5 price is for a brand new vehicle with a seven-year warranty. Our conversion price is the same as our ID Buzz E-Chamonix — £20,399 inc VAT. The saving comes entirely from the base vehicle costing less.
But the width is what really caught our attention. At 1,565mm across the loadspace, the PV5 is 335mm wider than the ID Buzz.
Why the Kia PV5 Is a Great Electric Campervan Base
More interior width than any electric campervan in its class
We keep coming back to this because it genuinely changes the conversion. The ID Buzz is a brilliant van, but at 1,230mm wide it’s compact inside.
The most affordable fully electric campervan base in the UK
The Kia PV5 is the most affordable electric campervan base we convert. A brand new PV5 Cargo with the 71.2kWh battery starts from around £23,465 + VAT after the Plug-in Van Grant. Our E-Chamonix conversion starts from £20,399 inc VAT. That’s a brand new, fully electric van — no diesel, no petrol, no gas bottle, zero fossil fuels.
We love the ID Buzz and we’ll keep converting them. But the reality is that a fully electric campervan has required a significant budget until now. The Kia PV5 changes that equation — a handcrafted, zero-emission campervan with a brand new base vehicle and the longest warranty in the business, at a price that brings more people into the electric campervan world. That’s genuinely exciting.
V2L: Power your camping appliances from the van’s battery
This is a feature worth understanding properly. V2L means the PV5’s main drive battery can power regular household appliances through a built-in plug socket — up to 3.68kW, which is roughly equivalent to a single campsite hook-up.
For campervan use, this is genuinely useful. You can run an induction hob, plug in a fan heater on a chilly evening, or charge devices — all powered by the van’s 71.2kWh battery. It’s like carrying a campsite hook-up with you wherever you go.
The trade-off is that anything powered through V2L drains the same battery you drive with. Run a 2kW heater for three hours and you’ve used about 6kWh — roughly 15-20 miles of range. For a weekend trip where you’re parked near a charger, that’s a perfectly reasonable trade. For extended off-grid touring where every mile matters, you’d want to be more careful.
We still fit a proper independent leisure battery system in our PV5 conversions for the everyday essentials — lights, USB, fridge, water pump. V2L then works alongside this as a useful extra for higher-draw items.
View full Kia PV5 campervan conversion details and pricing →
Seven-year warranty: the longest in the electric campervan market
Seven years from Kia on the vehicle, eight years on the battery. That’s the longest vehicle warranty of any electric van we convert, by a significant margin.
The driving experience
We were genuinely surprised by how good the PV5 is to drive. Similar to the buzz, the low battery placement keeps the centre of gravity down, so it corners with minimal body roll. It’s quiet, smooth, and refined.
Kia PV5 Campervan Limitations: What You Should Know Before Buying
We don’t do sales pitches at Sunbox Campers. Here’s what the Kia PV5 doesn’t do as well:
No fully off grid extended heating option (electric heating only)
Like the ID Buzz, the PV5 uses a skateboard platform with the battery pack spanning the underfloor area. This means there’s no safe space to route gas pipework or mount a drop-down heater. We can’t install gas heating — full stop.
The PV5 does have an advantage over the Buzz here: V2L means you can plug in an electric heater and run it from the drive battery. It’s not a replacement for a proper gas heater on a cold February night in the middle of nowhere, but it’s more than Buzz owners can do.
For year-round off-grid winter camping, the Fiat e-Scudo or a Ford Custom or Transporter PHEV with gas heating remains the better choice. We’ll always be straight about that.
Electric campervan range: 150–200 miles real-world
The PV5’s 71.2kWh battery delivers a WLTP range of 258 miles, but real-world touring range is more like 150–200 miles depending on speed, weather, and load. This is comparable to the e-Scudo and it is perfectly respectable. But the ID Buzz, with its larger 79kWh battery and more efficient 800V-class charging architecture, has better range, and delivers 180–230 miles in the real world.
No pop-top roof (yet)
The Kia PV5 is brand new to market. Nobody is making a pop-top roof for it yet. This means the PV5 is currently a 2-berth campervan only, and you don’t get standing room inside.
We expect aftermarket roof options to develop as the PV5 establishes itself — it’s clearly going to sell well, so the demand will be there. The H2 (high roof) variant of the PV5 Cargo is also expected later in 2026, which would offer more headroom without a pop-top.
But right now, if standing room or a roof bed are must-haves, the ID Buzz with Horizon pop-top or the e-Scudo are better options.
Unusual loadspace shape
The Kia PV5 has deeper wheel arch intrusions than you’ll find in a traditional van, and the floor has an unusual stepped profile. Kia designed this to achieve that impressively low step-in height, but it does create some quirks for conversion. Our furniture designs work around this so it is not a dealbreaker.
New to market
The Kia PV5 only arrived in the UK in late 2025. There’s no established used market yet, limited aftermarket support, and we’re still learning the platform’s quirks. We’ve been converting electric vans for years and we’re confident in our work, but we want to be transparent that this is a newer platform for us compared to the ID Buzz or e-Scudo. (Both of which we convert.)
Who Should Choose a Kia PV5 Electric Campervan?
The PV5 makes the most sense if you:
- Want an electric campervan but can’t justify ID Buzz pricing. The PV5 makes electric camping accessible at a lower price point without feeling like a compromise.
- Value interior space. That extra width is noticeable from the moment you step inside. If you’ve sat in an ID Buzz and thought “this is a bit tight,” the PV5 will feel significantly more spacious.
- Like the idea of V2L. Being able to run an induction hob or plug in a heater directly from the drive battery adds genuine flexibility to how you use the van.
- Want a long vehicle warranty. Seven years on the vehicle and eight on the battery is hard to argue with.
- Don’t need a pop-top roof right now. If a 2-berth fixed bed suits your situation — couples, solo travellers, or people who mainly use campsites — the PV5 does everything you need.
The Kia PV5 is probably not the right choice if you:
- Need gas heating for off-grid winter camping. Look at the Fiat e-Scudo.
- Need standing room or a roof bed. Look at the ID Buzz with Horizon pop-top, or the e-Scudo or Transit Custom PHEV.
- Want the VW heritage and styling. The ID Buzz is the ID Buzz. Nothing else looks or feels like it, and for some people that emotional connection is worth the premium.
- Need maximum range. The ID Buzz goes further on a charge.
Kia PV5 Campervan Conversion vs Vanlab Flat-Pack Kit: What’s the Difference?
You might have seen that Kia has partnered with a company called Vanlab to produce an official flat-pack camper kit for the PV5 Passenger. It’s a clever product — assemble-it-yourself furniture that creates a basic camping layout with a bed, table, and bench seating.
It’s a very different proposition to what we do. The Vanlab kit is a removable, lightweight system designed for occasional camping. Our conversions are permanent, fully insulated, handcrafted campervans with proper electrical systems, plumbing, cooking facilities, and the finish quality you’d expect from bespoke furniture.
Think of the Vanlab kit as camping gear that goes in a van. Think of our conversions as turning a van into a home.
Sunbox Kia PV5 Campervan Conversions: What’s Included in ours
We’re converting the PV5 Cargo (L2/H1, 71.2kWh) using our proven E-Chamonix design, adapted for the PV5’s wider loadspace.
Every conversion includes hand-built wooden furniture, Thermafleece natural insulation, a full kitchen with induction hob and fridge, a proper leisure battery system, and all the personalisation choices — flooring, upholstery, wood finish, curtains — that make it yours. The E-Chamonix starts from £20,399 inc VAT — the same conversion price as our ID Buzz E-Chamonix.
View full Kia PV5 campervan conversion details and pricing →
The Bottom Line
The Kia PV5 campervan doesn’t replace the ID Buzz or the e-Scudo in our range — it sits alongside them as a genuinely compelling alternative with its own distinct strengths.
If you’d told us two years ago that a Korean newcomer would arrive with more loadspace width than the ID Buzz, built-in V2L power, a seven-year warranty, and a price that makes fully electric campervan ownership genuinely accessible — we’d have been sceptical. But that’s exactly what’s happened, and the van world’s unanimous award wins suggest we’re not the only ones impressed.
A brand new, fully electric campervan — no diesel, no petrol, no gas, zero fossil fuels — with a seven-year warranty and more interior space than the ID Buzz. That’s something worth being excited about.
Ready to Talk About a Kia PV5 Campervan?
Get in touch to discuss your requirements, budget, and how you plan to use the van. We’re happy to talk through whether the PV5, the ID Buzz, or the e-Scudo is the right choice for your situation — honestly and without a hard sell.