Kia has revealed how a rugged version of the Kia EV5 medium SUV could look, and points to a possible future range of more capable off-road-oriented Kia products.
The Kia EV5 has been treated to an off-road makeover, with the brand revealing the EV5 Weekender concept at the Guangzhou motor show in China.
Designed by Kia’s Chinese design team, the EV5 Weekender shows the form a more adventure-capable version of Kia’s electric medium SUV could take.
The concept is fitted with lifted suspension, wider wheel arch flares, and aggressive mud-terrain tyres on wide 20-inch wheels.
New bumpers and side sills, chunky roof racks, and attachments for a mounting system over the rearmost side glass and at the trailing edge of the bonnet have also been fitted.
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The interior has also received a significant makeover, with a redesigned dash, doors, and centre console, bright yellow highlights, elements made from bioplastics, and a cargo bay loaded with mounting points for a range of clip-in accessories.
A massive dash display switches out the trio of screens in a regular EV5 for a single super-wide screen.
Instead of starting ahead of the driver, the main display now skews towards the front seat passenger, with a minimalist instrument display for the driver.
The Kia EV5 Weekender is the fourth in a series of concepts issued by the brand, joining the previous Tasman Weekender ute, EV9 Weekender large electric SUV and PV5 Weekender electric van.
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Kia’s Weekender series (styled as WKNDR) of concepts sit a step above the production X-Pro tier of Kia products, including the Tasman and overseas models like the Sportage and new generation Telluride, which offer slightly more rugged styling cues without mechanical updates or additional off-road hardware.
The move to more capable mainstream models follows the likes of Subaru’s uprated Wilderness range of models, not yet sold in Australia, and Nissan’s locally reworked Warrior range.
While Kia did not reveal mechanical upgrades to the EV5 Weekender, apart from the obvious suspension lift and tyre package, the model is believed to use a version of the dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain already offered in the EV5 GT-Line, which produces a combined 230kW and 480Nm.
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Kia has not yet confirmed a production future for the EV5 Weekender concept, however, as the fourth model in the Weekender series, the EV5 stands a strong possibility of reaching production.
If that happens, expect a slightly toned-down final treatment, and the potential for the EV5 Weekender to slot in where an X-Line or X-Pro model might otherwise be positioned, with neither currently offered on the EV5 in Australia or overseas.
In Australia, the Chinese-built EV5 is offered with short and long-range batteries with 400 to 555km of range and pricing that starts at $56,770 for the EV5 Air Standard Range 2WD, ranging to $71,770 for the EV5 GT-Line AWD.
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