£24k Kia EV2 Air Review : It’s Almost Perfect

The entry-level Kia EV2 Air could be one of the most significant small electric cars of 2026. With 275 miles of claimed range, a generous standard equipment list and a price of around £24,200 including the electric car grant, it delivers the sort of specification we have become accustomed to seeing on considerably more expensive EVs. More importantly, it manages to combine all of that with a practical, comfortable and surprisingly entertaining driving experience.

There is a very simple reason why the Kia EV2 Air has caught my attention. At a time when electric cars can still be frustratingly expensive, Kia has managed to produce a small electric SUV that looks as though it has been designed around what ordinary buyers actually need, rather than what makes an impressive headline on a specification sheet. This is the entry-level model, yet it gets the larger battery available in the EV2 range, giving it a claimed 275-mile range, while its 133bhp electric motor provides enough performance for everyday driving. Add in a remarkably comprehensive list of standard equipment and a price of just over £24,000 once the electric car grant is taken into account, and suddenly this isn't simply an affordable Kia; it becomes a very serious proposition for anyone considering their first electric car.

That positioning is particularly interesting because Kia has already established itself as one of the stronger mainstream manufacturers when it comes to electric vehicles. The company's larger EVs have demonstrated that it understands the technology, but the EV2 is arguably more important because it takes that expertise into a part of the market where affordability matters considerably more. For many people, a relatively small SUV like this is all the car they actually need. They don't require a huge battery, seven seats or sports-car acceleration; they need something that's easy to drive, easy to park, practical enough for everyday family life and capable of making longer journeys without constant charging stops. On paper, at least, the EV2 Air seems to understand that brief rather well.

A surprisingly practical little SUV

Despite its relatively compact dimensions, the EV2 Air offers a useful 375-litre boot, which should be sufficient for the weekly family shop or a modest weekend away. There is also some additional storage beneath the boot floor, providing a convenient place to keep charging cables and other equipment. There isn't a front boot, or 'frunk', on the Air, but that doesn't feel like a major omission given the amount of usable space elsewhere. Fold the rear seats down and total luggage capacity increases to around 1,300 litres, turning the EV2 into a surprisingly versatile little load carrier. It isn't going to trouble the class leaders for outright carrying capacity, but this is a B-segment SUV rather than a large family crossover, and within that context the practicality is perfectly respectable.

The rear accommodation is equally convincing. With the driver's seat positioned for someone around 5ft 9in, there is around three inches of knee room and four or five inches of headroom, so taller passengers shouldn't immediately feel cramped. There is also useful space underneath the front seats for rear passengers to position their feet, which allows more of the thigh to rest on the seat cushion and should make longer journeys more comfortable.

Three adults across the back would certainly be cosier than two, particularly because the central section intrudes somewhat into the rear passenger area, but it is not an entirely unrealistic proposition.

Kia has also sensibly mounted USB-C charging ports on the sides of the front seats rather than down beside the floor, where they are vulnerable to being kicked or damaged by passengers.

The front seats themselves are particularly good. They are comfortable, and the cloth upholstery used in this entry-level version feels both pleasant and well made. There is an argument that cloth is actually preferable to leather or leatherette in a car such as this, particularly during warmer weather, when getting into a car with a black synthetic interior can be an unpleasant experience. Overall material quality is good without pretending to be premium. There isn't a huge amount of soft-touch material, but the cabin doesn't feel cheap, either. In fact, one of the EV2 Air's biggest strengths is that it feels considerably more expensive than its price would suggest.

The entry-level model is arguably the sweet spot

The EV2 range is slightly unusual because the cheapest version isn't necessarily the one that leaves you feeling as though you've made too many compromises. The First Edition uses the smaller 42kWh battery and has a claimed range of 195 miles, while the Air gets the larger battery and a claimed 275-mile range. Above the Air sit the GT-Line at £28,995 and GT-Line S at £32,595, with the latter offering access to additional equipment such as a heat pump.

For me, however, the Air is the model that makes the most compelling argument. That's because Kia has resisted the temptation to make the entry-level car a bare-bones proposition. Standard equipment includes twin 12.3-inch displays, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, LED headlights and tail lights, rain-sensing wipers, front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera, over-the-air updates and Highway Driving Assist 2.0. These are features that would have seemed remarkably generous on an entry-level car not so long ago, and their presence here makes the EV2 Air feel like a much more sophisticated proposition than its price suggests.

The infotainment system is another highlight. Anyone familiar with recent Kia models will immediately feel at home, but that familiarity is actually a compliment because the system is intuitive and responsive rather than unnecessarily complicated. There is built-in navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with a range of connected entertainment and information services. Kia has also retained proper physical controls for functions that you really don't want buried inside a touchscreen. There is a conventional volume dial, shortcut buttons for functions such as maps and media, and physical controls for the climate system. A separate 5-inch display handles the air conditioning, meaning the controls remain available even when you're using another function on the main screen.

That attention to usability continues elsewhere in the cabin. There are three USB-C ports at the front, along with a 12-volt socket, and the steering wheel features conventional physical buttons and controls. The driver information display is clear and configurable, while the steering-wheel paddles allow you to adjust the regenerative braking. Kia's i-Pedal system provides three levels, allowing you to choose how aggressively the car slows when you lift off the accelerator.

It's more enjoyable to drive than you might expect

On the road, the EV2 Air isn't going to set any acceleration records. Its 133bhp motor takes just under ten seconds to propel the car from 0-62mph, and the initial response away from a standstill can feel slightly subdued compared with some of the more aggressively tuned electric cars. Once you're moving, though, there is plenty of power for normal driving, and the car certainly doesn't feel slow. If you're already travelling at 40mph and need to accelerate towards the national speed limit, the EV2 feels as though it has plenty in reserve.

The steering is light and easy, with a little play around the centre and a degree of vagueness compared with a more sporting car. Again, though, this feels appropriate to the EV2's intended role. Kia appears to have prioritised ease of use and manoeuvrability rather than outright driver involvement, and around town that makes perfect sense. The car is easy to place on the road, simple to park and generally feels effortless to drive. Yet there is enough character in the chassis and enough responsiveness from the electric drivetrain to make it enjoyable rather than merely functional.

The brakes are well judged, too. They have a progressive feel rather than the slightly grabby response that can afflict some electric cars, and once you select the stronger regenerative-braking settings the EV2 can be driven using one-pedal control. The cabin is also pleasantly quiet. There is some tyre noise, particularly on less forgiving surfaces, and you can hear the suspension working when the road becomes particularly rough, but overall the insulation from surrounding traffic is impressive for a car in this price bracket.

Range and charging

Kia quotes 275 miles of range for the EV2 Air, and the early indications suggest that figure may not be wildly optimistic. During the test drive, the car began with a 99 per cent charge and displayed 269 miles of predicted range. Given that the car had already been driven for several days on a launch event, potentially with less-than-gentle treatment from automotive journalists, that is an encouraging starting point. It would obviously take a much longer test to establish what the car can consistently achieve in different temperatures and at motorway speeds, but the initial impression is certainly positive.

Charging is less spectacular. The EV2 uses a 400-volt electrical architecture, with 11kW AC charging and up to 118kW DC charging. Neither figure is class-leading, particularly when compared with the much faster charging capabilities available on some of Kia's larger EVs, but it seems unfair to criticise the EV2 too heavily for this. An 800-volt system would undoubtedly be desirable, but it would also add cost and complexity to a car whose biggest selling point is affordability. For the likely buyer, 118kW DC charging should be perfectly adequate rather than exceptional.

More impressive is Kia's Plug & Charge capability. At compatible charging points, the car can communicate with the charger and handle payment automatically, meaning you don't need to fiddle around with an app, contactless payment card or RFID card before charging begins. It sounds like a relatively minor convenience until you've spent five minutes standing in the rain trying to make a charging app work. Anything that makes public charging less of a faff is welcome, and this is exactly the sort of technology that ought to become commonplace across the industry.

The clever stuff

Highway Driving Assist 2.0 is perhaps the feature that most clearly demonstrates just how much technology Kia has managed to squeeze into the EV2 Air. Combined with adaptive cruise control, it can regulate the car's speed according to traffic and provide steering assistance to help guide the vehicle through bends. It isn't autonomous driving and you remain responsible for controlling the car, but as an additional layer of assistance on a long journey, it works reasonably well in bursts.

The sheer number of driver-assistance and safety features available on the Air is remarkable when you consider its price.

There are a few omissions, of course, with this being the entry point for the EV2. A head-up display isn't available on this version, and wireless phone charging isn't standard. More significantly, the heat pump is only available on the GT-Line S and remains a £700 option. Given the potential efficiency benefits of a heat pump in colder conditions, I'd much rather see Kia offer it as standard, or at least make it available across the range, even as a cost option.

Verdict

The Kia EV2 Air is not perfect, but it doesn't need to be (and it’s not far off!). Its appeal comes from the fact that it gets the fundamentals so right while avoiding the feeling that you've bought the cheap version simply because you couldn't afford anything else.

For around £24,200 including the electric car grant, you're getting a small SUV with a claimed 275-mile range, a comfortable and well-designed interior, useful practicality, a generous equipment list and an infotainment system that is both modern and refreshingly straightforward to use. Add in heated seats, a heated steering wheel, sophisticated driver assistance, wireless smartphone connectivity, Plug & Charge and a surprisingly pleasant driving experience, and the overall package becomes difficult to ignore.

The Renault 4 is an obvious rival, while the Renault 5 and even the Hyundai Inster provide alternatives for buyers looking for something smaller or particularly characterful. But the EV2 occupies a compelling middle ground. It has enough personality to make you smile, enough practicality to work as a small family car and enough range to avoid feeling like a second-rate alternative to anything.

It's also worth stressing that this isn't a full long-term test. A couple of hours behind the wheel isn't enough to assess everything from motorway efficiency to winter range, charging performance over a complete journey and long-term comfort. But my first impressions are very strong.

Indeed, the most telling compliment I can give the EV2 Air is that after driving a car costing around £160,000 to the Kia event, I found myself genuinely reluctant to hand the EV2 back. That's quite an achievement for an entry-level electric SUV.

The EV2 Air may not be the quickest, most luxurious or fastest-charging EV on the market. What it might be, however, is something arguably more important:a small electric car that gives ordinary buyers an awful lot of car for their money.

And at a time when value for money matters more than ever, that could make the Kia EV2 Air one of the most important new EVs of 2026.

This little car gets a HUGE thumbs up from me.