Here’s Why Kia Needs To Build This Crazy Adventure Camper Van

As some of you likely know, the camper variant of the Volkswagen ID.Buzz has been indefinitely delayed, and that phrase usually means that for the short term, it’s not happening. Not from the factory, anyway. It’s disheartening, and it means van enthusiasts will have to hope for someone else to fulfill their factory-spec electric campervan dreams. Perhaps it could be Kia.

Yes, for the 2024 SEMA show in Las Vegas, Kia has worked over one of its PV5 electric van concepts to create the PV5 WKNDR concept van, and it rips. Sure, the name might be disemvoweled, but rest assured, this thing isn’t short on interesting ideas to make life off the grid a little more comfortable.

For starters, the interior is modular. Think IKEA hacking, and you’re on the right track. Basically, the plan is for everything to clip into the rails that run along the van’s interior walls, creating a certain configurability and modularity. Some people might want to camp lighter than others, some heavier, some with bunk beds, who knows? Either way, having the framework to DIY without having to do a full-on vanlife build should appeal to an audience looking to do a bit more than press a button and go.

Kia’s already shown off a whole raft of accessories from traction boards for getting unstuck from deep terrain to a canteen to little organizers for trinkets and treasures. Also, can we take a second to appreciate the Dutch doors on the back of the PV5 WKNDR, like you’d get on a Chevrolet Astro or a Ford Excursion? I know Jason made fun of these doors in the past, but for a bit of extra shelter when tailgating or camping, they’re brilliant.

Here’s another neat touch: the left sliding door doesn’t slide backward, it slides out like the wall in a big RV, taking a floor and a false ceiling with it. Not only should this move cargo to the side out of the way when the van is parked, it should also give it some shelter from the elements, which could theoretically then be wrapped up with a tarpaulin or something similar material for increased protection. Considering how space really is at a premium when someone packs their life into your vehicle, an arrangement like this would give people some additional living space.

Roof-mounted solar panels are becoming fairly standard in the vanlife world, so a nice array on top of a pop-up camper roof is on deck here. What’s less standard is what Kia calls “hydro turbine wheels,” which seem to work like the turbines in a hydroelectric dam to recharge the van’s batteries. Obviously, this feature seems less viable for production than solar panels, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t cool.

With the void left by Volkswagen not building a proper pop-top camper version of the ID.Buzz, now’s a prime opportunity for another automaker to sweep in and capture a huge slice of that battery-powered van life pie. Given that the commercial variant of the PV5 is set to enter production next year, the thought of putting something like this into production could be a lifestyle move that may pay off for Kia, building on the desirability of products like the Telluride and EV9 crossovers.

(Photo credits: Kia)

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