BMW iX1 vs Kia EV5

The Kia EV5 costs £2,280 more than the BMW iX1. On the headline specs that premium buys little measurable advantage - the two are closely matched on range, charging and space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the BMW iX1 comes out ahead overall.

The BMW iX1 is £2,280 cheaper to buy. The BMW iX1 is cheaper to charge, roughly £136 a year versus £184 for the Kia EV5, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the BMW iX1 comes out roughly £2,520 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 267 miles for the BMW iX1 and 235 miles for the Kia EV5 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The BMW iX1 goes roughly 31 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 29-31 minutes.

The BMW iX1 is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 30 mm narrower than the Kia EV5. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 555 mm of total clearance for the BMW iX1 and about 525 mm of total clearance for the Kia EV5. The Kia EV5 also turns in a 1.1 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the BMW iX1 and 89% for the Kia EV5. That gives the Kia EV5 a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation.