Kia’s EV surge seems to be unstoppable. While many celebrated the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Kia EV6 took the honours with a sportier design and breath-taking acceleration. The huge Kia EV9 has left people wondering whether they still want a Range Rover and now Kia is making its mass-market move with the Kia EV3.
Designed to make electric cars more accessible, there’s no reason to settle for boring design, when you can have what looks like the frunkiest car on the road. And no, I’m not going to apologise for that portmanteau, because not only do you get those funky looks, but you get a 25-litre frunk too.
IMAGE CREDIT: KIA
From the exterior, the Kia EV3 looks like a mini EV9, which was always going to be a winning design. Kia says that this is an example of its “opposites united” design philosophy, but as far as I can see, Kia has decided to make cars that look like they’ve driven out of a sci-fi movie. I’m all for it, but this was to be expected, because it basically looks identical to the concept car Kia has been showing off for the past year.
The streamlined Tiger Nose screams Kia, while the angles of every panel are a far cry from the soft curves you might find elsewhere. The rear of the car looks like it was inspired by something from Star Wars, but there are interesting details everywhere you look.
The Kia EV3 interior includes a table
If you’ve been following the story of Hyundai Motor Group’s E-GMP platform (that’s what the EV3 is built on, along with other Kia, Hyundai and Genesis electric models), you’ll know that it allows for interior space to be optimised. Although the Kia EV3 is compact, there’s a spacious interior, again benefitting from modern design.
Four essential Kia EV3 facts and figures
150
kW
There’s a 150kW motor driving the front wheels. That’s aboout 204hp, generating 238Nm torque.
7.5
Seconds
The 0-62mph time of 7.5 seconds isn’t hugely fast for an EV, but it’s still going to keep you in the rat race.
81.4
kWh
There’s a huge 81.4kWh battery on the top model, with a 58.3kWh battery joining it too.
370
Miles
The cited range is 600km, about 370 miles. That’s competitive for a car of this type.
What surprised me the most was the 460-litre boot, in addition to that 25-litre frunk. That’s surprisingly big, meaning that this is going to be a practical car too.
Much of the interior will be familiar – the 30-inch display is split into two 12.3-inch sections as a central and a driver display, adjoined by a panel just for the climate control. The use of reclaimed materials is designed to keep in the impact on the planet down, while touch controls and physical buttons are retained for core functions. There will also be a heads-up display to put details right into your eyeline.
But as per other models built on this platform, there’s open space around the front foot wells. Rather than boxing you in, Kia opens up this area, which is where one of the interesting and unique features fits in. There’s a sliding table that comes out of the centre console, under the armrest.
IMAGE CREDIT: KIA
I’m going to call it the McDonald’s tray, because we all know that when you’re fast charging on the motorway, you need somewhere to arrange your Big Mac Meal and this is going to be so much better than your lap.
As an additional nod to those sitting in the car while charging, Kia is also introducing a Premium Streaming Service. This is going to be powered by LG’s Automotive Content Platform using webOS, and will bring apps and games to the car, boosted by Harmon Kardon audio. The Kia EV3 will be a veritable cinema on the move.
There’s also going to be Kia Assistant, a personal AI bot that will answer your questions, find local restaurants, set the temperature and so on. Of course, with all these voice assistants, you never know how useful it’s going to be until you’ve tried it under duress.
There’s also an impressively large battery
Moving onto the core facts and figures for the Kia EV3 and there will be two battery options – 58.3kWh and a whopping 81.4kWh. The latter will deliver 370 miles of range, with a 150kW motor (204hp) driving the front wheels. Although it hasn’t been announced, I’d fully expect a Kia EV3 GT to follow offering all-wheel drive.
The EV3 isn’t hugely fast though: a 0-62mph time of 7.5 seconds is rather modest for an EV, suggesting that the focus here is on economy rather than performance. The car will support charging speeds of 128kW (on the larger battery model), or 102kW on the smaller.
The Kia EV3 will launch in Korea in July 2024, expected to be rolling out in Europe from Q4 2024. Prices are still to be confirmed, but I’m expecting to come in just under £30,000 for the entry-level model.
