2025 Kia EV3 review | CarExpert

Say hey to Kia’s least expensive EV but.

The 2025 Kia EV3 is because of arrive in Australia round March-April in 2025. Whereas we don’t know closing pricing and specs simply but, the Korean model will little doubt be gunning for the Chinese language.

Related in dimension to the combustion-powered Seltos and electrified Niro crossovers, the EV3 ushers in Kia’s newest company design which is much less curvy and European, as an alternative extra digital and robotic.

With sturdy LED lighting signatures and boxy proportions, you possibly can be forgiven for pondering it’s simply an EV9 that shrunk within the wash. Count on it to land in Australia from across the $50,000 mark – possibly we’ll be pleasantly stunned.

It might be small, however there are some large numbers right here. Regardless of being an analogous dimension to the Volvo EX30 and BYD Atto 3, the EV3 provides segment-busting cargo capability (460 litres) and an enormous WLTP driving vary of as much as 605 kilometres.

There’s additionally options and tech filtered down from a lot bigger, dearer Hyundai and Kia fashions, which ought to assist give this compact EV a leg up on the competitors.

Is it any good? We joined the worldwide media drive in Seoul, South Korea, to get a primary style.

How does the Kia EV3 examine?

View an in depth breakdown of the Kia EV3 towards equally sized automobiles.

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EV3

How a lot does the Kia EV3 value?

Pricing and specs for the Australian market are nonetheless to be confirmed.

Within the UK, there are three distinct trim ranges with two battery choices, with pricing ranging from £32,995 (AUD $64,815), and topping out at £42,835 (AUD $84,145) for the top-spec GT-Line S with Warmth Pump.

Whereas direct conversions could make that sound ridiculously costly, its positioning provides a extra correct indication of how the EV3 may be priced when it reaches Australia.

The bottom EV3 begins for much less cash than probably the most inexpensive auto-equipped Sportage within the UK, which is a mid-spec mannequin that comes as customary with a 48V mild-hybrid system.

In Australia, the Sportage SX+ begins from $42,050 plus on-road prices with a 2.0-litre petrol engine and front-wheel drive, climbing to $47,450 with the two.0-litre turbo-diesel with all-wheel drive.

If the EV3 is positioned equally within the Australian market, we might see base pricing dip below $50,000 – and even approaching the mid-$40,000 mark which might be very aggressive.

The up to date BYD Atto 3 begins from $44,499 plus on-road prices for the Commonplace Vary, and $47,499 for the Prolonged Vary. The EV3 can be sourced from South Korea whereas the BYD is made in China.

To see how the Kia EV3 strains up towards the competitors, try our comparison tool.

What’s the Kia EV3 like on the within?

The mini-EV9 theme continues into the cabin.

Kia’s inside design philosophy for its new EV fashions is concentrated on simplicity and house effectivity, along with sustainable supplies and distinctive colors and textures.

Regardless of measuring simply 4300mm lengthy, the EV3 feels spacious inside, with an ethereal entrance cabin that’s amplified by the upright dashboard and door trims, and open centre console.

Materials high quality can be good contemplating its entry stage positioning, with a pleasant mixture of soft-touch and textured surfaces, lots of that are recycled and eco-friendly.

There’s a QR code on the passenger’s aspect of the sprint that may take you thru the sustainable supplies – which embrace recycled PET, fishing nets, and bio PU and paints.

The EV3 scores comfy entrance seats which are electrically adjustable in greater grades like those we examined in Korea. It’s unclear whether or not we’ll get the entire out there inside finishes, however CarExpert understands there may be a number of inside decisions relying on variant.

Whereas the GT-Line depicted above has a “demure and conscious” gray end contrasted with a darkish console and seat accent, the automotive I drove had a lightweight gray inside with shiny orange accents for the console, which I didn’t thoughts.

The open inside idea means the configurable base console has adjustable cupholders and an open cubby to carry baggage or different massive gadgets, and there’s a sliding armrest desk that may be a platform to stow issues or act as a desk whereas the automotive is stationary.

Excessive-spec fashions additionally supply the Premium Rest Seat that electrically slides and reclines like a lounge or armchair when you anticipate the EV3 to cost or just need to take a break. It’s has been supplied throughout Hyundai and Kia’s vary of E-GMP merchandise, and we think about this can be reserved for greater grades solely – nevertheless it’s a reasonably useful function to have.

The shrunken massive automotive theme continues with infotainment, because the EV3 lifts the dual-screen array with central contact panel from the bigger EV9.

A 12.3-inch digital driver’s show and 12.3-inch central touchscreen function, sandwiching a 5.3-inch contact panel for the local weather controls. It’s the most recent related automotive navigation cockpit (ccNC) that we’ve seen rolling out throughout the most recent Hyundai and Kia fashions – and as you’d anticipate, it’s excellent.

With related providers and navigation, then Korean-spec vehicles did all of the drive route planning. Korean market vehicles even have embedded fee features for issues like toll cubicles and carparks. The latter doesn’t have the infrastructure assist in Australia, however we think about it might develop into a future factor.

Wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will function on Australian fashions, as will a Kia Join subscription with app-based distant providers and performance. As we’ve stated in different vehicles operating this method, it’s a benchmark amongst rivals and dearer vehicles.

We didn’t spend loads of time within the again seat, however the boxy proportions and lengthy wheelbase for the category imply you possibly can comfortably match a 6’0 grownup behind a 6’0 grownup.

The flat bench and flooring imply occasional center seat use ought to be extra manageable than in most automobiles this dimension, and also you get cool facilities like an out there vehicle-to-load (V2L) outlet below the rear seat to cost a laptop computer or one other equipment.

Different options embrace rear air vents, a folding centre armrest with cupholders, in addition to heated outer rear seats on greater fashions to enrich the out there heated and ventilated entrance seats.

There are the requisite ISOFIX and prime tether factors for youngster seats on the rear.

Baggage capability is a giant speaking level right here, with 460 litres of claimed quantity out there with the rear seats in place and 1250 litres with them folded.

That’s nearly 30 litres greater than most Seltos fashions; 20 litres greater than a BYD Atto 3 which is bigger in most dimensions and technically a dimension class up; and over 140 litres greater than the Volvo EX30.

The rear seats fold 60:40 and lay nearly flat, whereas the adjustable rear load flooring contains an underfloor compartment that can be utilized to cover cables away or different gadgets you need out of sight.

All advised, the EV3 is shaping to be a really sensible little factor.

To see how the Kia EV3 strains up towards the competitors, try our comparison tool.

What’s below the bonnet?

At launch, the Kia EV3 is obtainable with one single-motor electrical drivetrain with the choice of two battery sizes. There’s additionally a 25-litre frunk below the bonnet which is surrounded by plastic trim to cover the drivetrain gear.

Kia formally quote a charging time of ~31 minutes utilizing a 350kW quick charger for the Lengthy Vary battery. The 400V structure means it should max out at 128kW, in contrast to the EV9 which might hit 270kW on a DC quick charger.

Our cost figures are primarily based on numbers shared with British media earlier this 12 months; different figures supplied by Kia international on the launch drive have been imprecise or didn’t add up primarily based on the car’s battery dimension.

To see how the Kia EV3 strains up towards the competitors, try our comparison tool.

How does the Kia EV3 drive?

Our drive loop lined almost 200 kilometres across the South Korean capital of Seoul, together with freeway and metropolis driving and ranging visitors situations.

We drove each a ‘customary’ or ‘base’ automotive – successfully the Air or Earth styling packages – in addition to a GT-Line, each carrying bigger 19-inch alloy wheels. All fashions have been front-drive and Lengthy Vary.

Left-hand drive Korean examples we drove aren’t essentially indicative of Australian specification and tune, given Kia Australia plans to provide the brand new EV a neighborhood chassis tune.

However regardless, this drive gave us a good suggestion of what to anticipate when the EV3 lands within the early phases of subsequent 12 months. Lengthy story quick? It’s promising.

The 150kW/283Nm entrance electrical motor has loads of grunt for a car of this dimension, and Kia’s 0-100km/h declare of seven.7 seconds for the heavier Lengthy Vary appears proper by the seat of the pants.

Kia has dialled in a little bit of doughiness to the preliminary throttle response to make acceleration smoother and fewer jumpy, given the immediacy of torque from electrical motors. In regular driving, that is effective.

It effortlessly accelerates to metropolis speeds and has loads in reserve for those who give it a boot-full when merging onto the freeway. We had loads of alternatives to check this, and straight-line efficiency will solely get higher with the dual-motor AWD and GT AWD variations that can launch down the monitor.

The EV3 will very fortunately cruise alongside, with respectable however not fairly wonderful insulation from highway and wind noise on the 19-inch wheel and tyre bundle of the automobiles we drove. Tyre noise specifically picked up on rougher sections of freeway at velocity.

Our Korean automobiles have been tuned on the softer aspect, as tends to be typical for the area. We anticipate European and Australian-spec fashions can have tighter physique management and a barely firmer journey and steering tune for higher dealing with and engagement.

Talking of the steering and dealing with, the Korean-spec EV3 supplied correct controls and not using a complete lot of suggestions. The low centre of gravity courtesy of the floor-mounted battery pack stored it hunkered down in corners, nevertheless it didn’t actually really feel set as much as correctly deal with the twisties – not that we drove on these sorts of roads, anyway.

The sunshine steering and compact dimensions make this a enjoyable and zippy city runabout, as I discovered driving by means of some tighter Korean metropolis roads and alleyways. The squared-off design and massive home windows additionally make it very easy to position, given the corners of the EV3 are all in simple view.

Even higher, there’s an out there encompass digital camera system which in typical Kia trend provides a superb high-definition view of the car’s environment, making parking this field on wheels even simpler once more. The out there kerb view operate of the aspect mirrors means there’s no excuse for scraped wheels.

On the subject of cameras, the EV3 can be out there with Hyundai and Kia’s useful Blind Spot View Monitor cameras which show a dwell aspect digital camera feed into the instrument cluster while you point out left or proper. Do you completely want it? In all probability not, nevertheless it does make life that little bit simpler and helps to make the EV3 really feel extra upmarket.

There’s a set of accessible driver assists available too, most of which can seemingly be customary primarily based on Kia’s present product portfolio.

Adaptive cruise management and Lane Following Help type the premise of Freeway Driving Help 2.0, a semi-autonomous assistant that can mechanically activate on designated highways utilizing navigation knowledge. You may as well independently management the aforementioned features by way of the steering-mounted controls.

Like different Kias with comparable methods, each labored effectively for probably the most half. The adaptive cruise operate precisely and easily maintained the set velocity and managed gaps with out randomly slamming on the brakes or yo-yo-ing the velocity.

There was the odd event the place the lane centring operate picked up the unsuitable marking or was maybe a contact overzealous, and the motive force sentiment in direction of this may largely be down to non-public tastes. I didn’t thoughts it, however I do know loads of individuals would really feel a bit uneasy in regards to the automotive yanking the steering wheel.

Additional, the EV3 provides blind-spot and rear cross-traffic assists for added surety when navigating gaps in visitors or reversing out of blind parking areas, and we didn’t discover these to be too troublesome to deal with.

The annoying velocity restrict help seems to have been dialled down within the EV3, as I don’t recollect it incessantly beeping and bonging at me throughout our drive. You’ll be able to rapidly flip off the audible warnings by holding the mute button on the steering wheel.

It’s additionally fairly darn environment friendly. Typically manufacturers will quote WLTP driving ranges that are very arduous to attain in real-world driving, however the EV3 gave us confidence that the model’s lofty vary claims will truly be achievable.

Retaining in thoughts we have been driving in 30-plus-degree climate and excessive humidity in Seoul, the journey pc was studying 6.7kWh/km throughout blended driving situations – that equates to 14.9kWh/100km which might see at the least 550km of vary on a full cost.

What do you get?

Ultimate pricing and specs for Australia can be communicated nearer to the EV3’s native launch within the new 12 months, however we will look to our mates within the UK for a information.

UK-market customary gear contains:

• 17-inch alloy wheels
• LED headlights
• Three-screen dashboard format
  • 12.3-inch driver show
  • 5.3-inch local weather management touchscreen
  • 12.3-inch touchscreen navigation system
• Wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Kia Join with 7-year subscription
• Over-the-air updates
• Heated entrance seats, steering wheel
• Entrance, rear parking sensors
• Reversing digital camera
• Computerized air-con
• Computerized headlight management
• LED daytime operating lights, excessive mounted brake lights, back lights and rear fog lights
• eCall system
• Electrically adjustable, folding, and heated door mirrors with LED indicators
• Digital parking brake with auto maintain
• 25-litre under-bonnet storage
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Sensible key with movement sensor
• Keyless entry, begin

EV3 GT-Line provides:

• 19-inch alloy wheels
• GT-Line exterior styling
• Gloss black door mirrors
• Two-tone ‘GT-Line’ upholstery
• LED headlights with ‘small dice’ design
• Computerized flush door handles
• Gloss black aspect sills, wheel arches, and window surrounds
• Alloy pedals
• Rear privateness glass
• Electrical driver’s seat lumbar assist
• Sliding console
• Customisable ambient lighting
• Wi-fi cell phone charger
• Digital key

Is the Kia EV3 protected?

The Kia EV3 is but to be examined by ANCAP or Euro NCAP.

Whereas Australian specs are nonetheless to be detailed, the EV3 comes decked out with the model’s newest security methods in abroad markets just like the UK.

UK-market customary security gear contains:

• Freeway Driving Help 2.0
  • Adaptive cruise management
  • Lane centring help
• Autonomous emergency braking
  • Pedestrian detection
  • Bicycle owner detection
  • Junction turning help
  • Junction crossing help
• Blind-spot help
• Rear cross-traffic help
• Protected Exit Warning

How a lot does the Kia EV3 value to run?

The brand new EV3 can be lined by Kia Australia’s seven-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee. Additionally anticipate seven-year cowl (or 150,000km) for the high-voltage battery and electrical motor.

Additional particulars of the aftersales program are nonetheless to be finalised, however like different fashions within the vary we will anticipate 12-month or 15,000km service intervals (whichever comes first) and 7 years of capped-price servicing.

Like most rivals, Kia doesn’t supply a public charger subscription with its electrical fashions, although model representatives have advised media the corporate is engaged on a “potential provider” for public and residential charging options – the previous seemingly for sellers – with bulletins to be made subsequent 12 months.

CarExpert’s Tackle the Kia EV3

It’s arduous to say whether or not the EV3 can be a standout success in Australia as we don’t have a lot native element round pricing and specification as but – however the early indicators are promising primarily based on this international drive.

The automotive we drove in South Korea was a powerful little bit of equipment, with good efficiency, effectivity, and vary for an entry-level electrical car.

It’s additionally a straightforward automotive to drive on the town and on the freeway, and provides a gamut of tech options to maintain you comfy in addition to on the straight and slender.

It’s a city-friendly dimension whereas additionally boasting an impressively sensible cabin, with extra cargo and rear seat house than quite a few automobiles with bigger exterior dimensions in the identical dimension class or the section above.

The softer tune and on-road behaviour of the Korean-spec mannequin will show an fascinating reference level as soon as Kia Australia will get its arms soiled with a neighborhood journey and dealing with tune, however given earlier type we anticipate enchancment on what’s already a reasonably stable bundle.

Complaints? Street noise may very well be higher, and we didn’t actually get a gauge of what base fashions with smaller wheels and fewer equipment can be like. That may all want to attend till the native launch in March or April 2025.

Some can also discover the virtually robotic design cues a polarising, and there’s a restricted variety of colors to go together with the shades of gray and beige out there.

Right here’s hoping the Frost Blue, Aventurine Inexperienced and Terracotta Purple all make it to Australia – identical goes for the totally different inside choices.

All advised although, that is one thing to sit up for. Deliver on 2025.

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