• Kia unwrapped its all-electric PV7 passenger and cargo vans at the IAA Transportation show in Germany
• It’s the second entry in the automaker’s electric commercial van line-up, following the smaller PV5
• While the PV5 cargo van is available in Canada, markets for the PV7 beyond Europe and Korea have yet to be announced

Kia has unveiled its all-electric PV7 passenger and cargo vans, the second entries in its electric van lineup following the PV5. While that smaller PV5 is now available in Canada, the PV7 will debut in Korea and Europe in 2027, with other markets to follow. These haven’t been named yet, so we’re not sure if Canada will be included, but we’re thinking it’s a definite possibility.

The automaker calls the van lineup “PBV,” for Platform Beyond Vehicle, indicating its dedicated electric platform, which can be scaled across a variety of sizes. The new van was unveiled at the IAA Transportation show in Germany in mid-September.

The smaller PV5 is available as a cargo or passenger van in global markets, but in Canada, at least for now, it comes only in the cargo variety, and starting at $46,995. If the PV7 comes to our shores, the passenger version looks like it could work well as a minivan. It’s 340 mm (13.3 inches) longer than the current Kia EV9 three-row electric SUV; and 195 mm (7.6 inches) longer than the Carnival minivan, which comes in gasoline or hybrid versions. In global markets, the PV5 and PV7 will also offer mobility conversions and chassis-cab options.

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· Professional writer for more than 35 years, appearing in some of the top publications in Canada and the U.S.

· Specialties include new-vehicle reviews, old cars and automotive history, automotive news, and “How It Works” columns that explain vehicle features and technology

· Member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) since 2003; voting member for AJAC Canadian Car of the Year Awards; juror on the Women’s World Car of the Year Awards

Jil McIntosh graduated from East York Collegiate in Toronto, and then continued her education at the School of Hard Knocks. Her early jobs including driving a taxi in Toronto; and warranty administration in a new-vehicle dealership, where she also held information classes for customers, explaining the inner mechanical workings of vehicles and their features.

Jil McIntosh is a freelance writer who has been writing for Driving.ca since 2016, but she’s been a professional writer starting when most cars still had carburetors. At the age of eleven, she had a story published in the defunct Toronto Telegram newspaper, for which she was paid $25; given the short length of the story and the dollar’s buying power at the time, that might have been the relatively best-paid piece she’s ever written.

An old-car enthusiast who owns a 1947 Cadillac and 1949 Studebaker truck, she began her writing career crafting stories for antique-car and hot-rod car club magazines. When the Ontario-based newspaper Old Autos started up in 1987, dedicated to the antique-car hobby, she became a columnist starting with its second issue; the newspaper is still around and she still writes for it. Not long after the Toronto Star launched its Wheels section in 1986 – the first Canadian newspaper to include an auto section – she became one of its regular writers. She started out writing feature stories, and then added “new-vehicle reviewer” to her resume in 1999. She stayed with Wheels, in print and later digital as well, until the publication made a cost-cutting decision to shed its freelance writers. She joined Driving.ca the very next day.

In addition to Driving.ca, she writes for industry-focused publications, including Automotive News Canada and Autosphere. Over the years, her automotive work also appeared in such publications as Cars & Parts, Street Rodder, Canadian Hot Rods, AutoTrader, Sharp, Taxi News, Maclean’s, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes Wheels, Canadian Driver, Sympatico Autos, and Reader’s Digest. Her non-automotive work, covering such topics as travel, food and drink, rural living, fountain pen collecting, and celebrity interviews, has appeared in publications including Harrowsmith, Where New Orleans, Pen World, The Book for Men, Rural Delivery, and Gambit.

2016 AJAC Journalist of the Year; Car Care Canada / CAA Safety Journalism award winner in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013, runner-up in 2021; Pirelli Photography Award 2015; Environmental Journalism Award 2019; Technical Writing Award 2020; Vehicle Testing Review award 2020, runner-up in 2022; Feature Story award winner 2020; inducted into the Street Rodding Hall of Fame in 1994.

Email: jil@ca.inter.net

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jilmcintosh/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JilMcIntosh