Showdown: 2025 Tesla Model Y vs Kia EV5

In 2019, the Tesla Model Y set the benchmark against which every other mid-sized EV would be measured, and manufacturers spent the next five or six years attempting to match or exceed it. Few have tried harder than Kia, which in recent times has unleashed a volley of EVs, including its new mid-sized SUV, the EV5. It’s a striking vehicle, especially in AWD Earth guise, but can it turn a Tesla fan’s head? We drove the Kia EV5 and Tesla Model Y RWD back-to-back for a week to find out. 

Price & equipment 

The EV5 starts at $56,770 for the entry-level Air, while our mid-spec Earth press vehicle retails for $64,770. This substantial jump brings AWD (an electric motor on each axle), wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, dual-zone climate control, 19-inch alloy wheels, artificial leather upholstery, active cruise control, a six-speaker sound system, electric adjustment and massage function on the driver’s seat, and a powered tailgate.  

The base model Telsa Model Y RWD starts at $55,900 and our test vehicle came with optional Quicksilver paint for $2600. The Model Y might look spartan, but secreted within its minimalist appearance are 19-inch alloy wheels, “vegan friendly” artificial leather upholstery, powered front seats, twin wireless phone chargers, climate control, a 13-speaker sound system, and satellite navigation. Access to Tesla’s fancier digital features, such as satellite-view maps, requires a premium connectivity subscription costing $10 a month. Stepping up to Long Range AWD also pushes up the price to $69,900.  

Winner: Kia EV5 

Cabin space & comfort 

The Kia EV5’s rectangular silhouette delivers acres of leg, foot and head room front and rear. Seat size and padding are also generous and one doesn’t so much sit in the front as lounge. The second row can fit three abreast or two passengers can opt for a fold-down armrest with two cup holders.  A USB-C charging port is found, unusually, in the back of each front seat. The air conditioning vents are in the B-pillars at midsection height, which makes more sense than blowing on the passengers’ heads or shins. Where vents and device connections would traditionally be is a large pull-out storage bin.  

Touch-sensitive cabin lights are a premium accoutrement. While the pastel-brown ‘nougat’ colour scheme in our press vehicle won’t be to everyone’s taste, the upholstery is pleasant to touch and the rear seats, while lacking some shape and bolstering, are comfortable enough.  They can be flattened with a single tug on a lever, although returning the larger section of the split-fold to an upright position requires considerable muscle.

Cargo space with rear seats up is on par with most mid-sized SUVs (900mm deep and 1000mm between the wheel arches); drop them and it’s properly enormous – 1800mm between the forward arm rest and the load lip, and a good 1300mm between the rear doors. This buxom waistline can make it hard to judge where the wheels are while parking, though.  

The Model Y, with its smaller steering wheel set lower on the dashboard and panoramic windscreen, instantly feels sportier than the EV5. Bolstered seats are more figure-hugging, too, although for comfort over highway miles the EV5 has the edge. While the Model Y’s décor won’t be to everyone’s taste, the materials used, refinement, and minimalism make it feel a touch more premium than the EV5.

The giant touchscreen, which houses every instrument save for the indicators, window washers and volume controls, will continue to be a love or hate affair (especially the speedo in the corner of the screen), although automated functions and voice commands render analogue instruments largely redundant. Passenger space is ample in both first and second rows and, while the Model Y’s cargo space with seats up is 200mm longer than the EV5’s, the sloping roof means it can’t match it for overall volume. 

Flush door handles are the ultimate form over function gimmick, and Kia has produced the most inconvenient interpretation yet in the EV5. You push in one end of the handle to unlock it, then push the other end to expose the handle, then pull on the handle to open the door.

While the Model Y’s doors are not as finicky as the EV5’s – they only require two motions instead of three because the doors unlock automatically – you still have to wonder if flush door handles are worth the hassle. The same goes for Tesla’s ‘credit card’ key. While the rest of the automotive world has a key fob you can leave in your pocket or bag, Tesla requires you to put its card on the centre console every time you want to start the car.  

Winner: Kia EV5 

Performance & economy 

Tipping the scales at 2198kg, the EV5 is a proper heavyweight but 230kW/480Nm from twin electric motors makes everything effortless, whether it’s a zippy take-off from the lights, overtaking on a motorway or climbing a steep hill. Over a 200km trip on an extremely hot day where the air conditioning was running constantly, the EV5’s energy meter showed 20.1kWh used, extrapolating to a real-world range of about 440km from the 88kWh battery pack.  

While it doesn’t have as much grunt at its disposal (220kW/330Nm), the single-motor Model Y RWD is 300kg lighter and that’s certainly noticeable when the hammer is down. Curiously, however, our test vehicle indicated 25kWh used over the same route in the same conditions. Tesla claims a theoretical range of 455km from a 60kWh battery, but our testing would indicate a real-world figure closer to 300km.  

Winner: Kia EV5 

Safety 

The EV5 sports every safety acronym imaginable, reflected in a strong five-star ANCAP rating. While Kia has turned down its speed alert bonging to a more tolerable volume, the active lane keeping assistance fills the annoyance breach. It’s fine on a motorway, but get it onto a multi-lane suburban street or a country road and it’s forever vibrating or tugging at the steering wheel, including – on one memorable occasion – when there were no road markings at all. Other brands can manage five stars without irritation, so why can’t Kia?  

The Tesla also has a five-star ANCAP safety rating and does it without relentless bings and bongs and wheel-tugging electro-nannies. In fact, the only time it beeped during our road test was when it thought we hadn’t seen a green light. In fairness, ANCAP has mandated more automated tech since it crash-tested the Model Y in 2022, but back then the Tesla’s safety scores were even better than the EV5’s.  

Winner: Tesla Model Y 

Ride & handling 

The EV5’s suspension is biased heavily towards comfort and in its natural environment on suburban streets AWD grip ensures it handles competently while speed humps and potholes almost cease to exist under its cushioned ride. Get too adventurous on country corners and the EV5 leans, lurches, and struggles to contain its weight, but if that’s a major problem you might be shopping in the wrong segment. 

While the Model Y’s steering can become light and uncommunicative in fast corners, with a lower centre of gravity and 300kg less to lug around it is the sportier drive, no two ways about it. And while the ride isn’t as pillowy as the EV5’s, updates to damper settings mean it’s a big improvement over the harsh-riding Model Ys of yesteryear.  

Winner: Tesla Model Y 

The verdict  

These are EVs at polar ends of the mid-sized SUV spectrum. If performance and handling are your key criteria, the Model Y wins hands down, and recent price reductions make the base model RWD compelling value indeed (although that can’t be said for higher model grades). The EV5 is no tortoise in a straight line, and evaluated on more traditional mid-sized SUV concerns – space, comfort and practicality – it edges ahead. A photo finish, then, but comparing like for like, the Kia EV5 wins by a nose.  

[H2] Winner: Kia EV5