A Kia EV5 parked in a South Korean garage without any camouflage has given the first clear look at a refreshed version of the Sportage-sized electric SUV. Electrek’s Peter Johnson reported on Nov. 5 that the car carries a distinct new style up front and an overhauled interior with a huge widescreen infotainment screen. The footage came from the channel ShortsCar.
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Electrek is careful about what is confirmed. Kia has not said whether the update will reach Europe, Korea or other markets, and the screen has no published dimensions. The sighting does fit a timeline that other outlets have been building since February, and it adds a Philippines sticker that points to at least one launch market.
New bumper, black accent light and rugged styling cues
According to Electrek’s Nov. 5 report, the hood and headlights look roughly unchanged, with a black accent light the main new element up front. The bumper is new and resembles the rugged EV5 WKNDR concept that Kia showed at the Guangzhou Motor Show in 2025, a model with rugged bumpers, wheel-arch cladding, a roof rack and 20-inch all-terrain tires. Inside, physical buttons on the center console give way to a cover for a cleaner look.
The EV5 launched in China in 2023, the global version followed in 2024, and it now sells in Europe, Canada, the United Kingdom and other markets. Electrek calls it a major part of Kia’s comeback in China and expects a facelift around 2027, since the car debuted in 2023. A sticker on the back of the prototype points to a launch in the Philippines. Kia has said the EV5 will be sold only in Canada among North American countries, so an American version of either the facelift or the WKNDR is unlikely.
Passenger-side screen and the Pleos infotainment system
The display is the centerpiece of the sighting. The current screen runs from the driver’s side to the center of the dash, and the new one reportedly extends from the center across to the passenger side. Electrek says a slim display may also sit in front of the steering wheel, a layout it links to Hyundai’s recent addition of a slim display to cars running its Pleos system, and it flags that as speculation.
The idea has been circulating for months. Electrek’s Feb. 20 story described a HealerTV video of the facelift interior built around Pleos, with a display that now stretches all the way to the passenger seat, and noted that the car was first seen on a car carrier in Korea with three-prong headlights, a wider front bumper, a redesigned rear bumper and new wheels.
TheKoreanCarBlog’s Feb. 16 post imagined a single seamless panel combining driver cluster, central infotainment and passenger screen, and said it was unknown whether the passenger screen would reach Western markets or stay in China. That post cited no named leak and leaned on hedged language like expected, rumored and likely. It also noted that the current EV5 charges at up to 140 kW and needs about 38 minutes to go from 10% to 80%, and it expects a significant charging upgrade without offering figures.
Australian certification documents, power gains and the mid-2027 date
The firmest numbers come from paperwork. CarExpert’s William Stopford wrote on Nov. 3 that Australian Design Rule certification documents list carryover 64.2 kWh and 88.1 kWh lithium iron phosphate batteries, with single-motor front-drive output rising 15 kW to 175 kW and dual-motor all-wheel-drive output rising 19 kW to 249 kW. Tare weight climbs by 21 to 52 kg, and braked towing for the base Standard Range rises from 300 kg to 750 kg. Kia Australia has confirmed the facelifted EV5 arrives locally in mid-2027. For context, the current Australian car makes 310 Nm from its front motor, 480 Nm in all-wheel-drive form, and claims 400 km in Standard Range trim and 470 to 555 km in Long Range trim.
The same report says the exterior changes are mild, with revised bumper treatments on the Air and Earth variants and new inserts on the GT-Line, whose bumper draws on the WKNDR concept. Headlights and taillights do not appear to change.
CarExpert expects the cabin to follow the WKNDR concept, with a 27-inch screen combining the infotainment and passenger displays plus a slim 10-inch instrument cluster, against the current car’s 12.3-inch cluster, 12.3-inch touchscreen and 5.0-inch climate display. The certification papers do not show the cabin, so that screen is expected rather than confirmed, and it is unclear whether the Korean-built EV5 sold in Korea and Europe gets the update at all.
Three outlets, three timelines, and none of them from Kia itself: TheKoreanCarBlog expects early 2027, Electrek expects a facelift around 2027, and the only date backed by the automaker is the mid-2027 arrival Kia Australia confirmed. The Korean garage car is the first example photographed without camouflage, so the next test is whether Kia shows the production interior and puts a screen size on it.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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