Kia EV3 review: Compelling compact crossover

When I first drove the Kia EV9 in late 2023, I was blown away by the looks. Kia had promised that the concept car design was close to the production model and it wasn’t joking. The Kia EV9 looks like it landed from the future, a sci-fi sketching that makes a big car exciting. With this design language established, the Kia EV3 was always going to be an interesting car.

There are some fairly boring looking cars in the compact crossover segment. Kia hopefully won’t be too offended when I say that the Kia Niro is one such car. Park it next to the EV3 and its hard to believe that they’re from the same company. But those angles from the EV9 have made their way to the Kia EV3 resulting a compact electric car that again looks like it’s driven off the page of a sci-fi novel.

I can’t help but feel like this car is going to be a hit.

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The Disconnekt Downlow

The Kia EV3 takes the design language of the EV9 and brings it down to the smaller scale. The result is a futuristic-looking car that’s distinct, practical and well placed as a family favourite. There’s plenty of space in the comfortable interior, a respectable size boot and lots of creature comforts to boost the experience.

It’s not the fastest charging car that you can buy, but it offers great range for the price, while also being economical with its power. The result is that the Kia EV3 is a compelling compact crossover and sure to be a hit.

See the Kia EV3 from £32,995 on Kia.com

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Kia EV3 fun stuff: Design, interior and technology

The design of the Kia EV3 is unashamedly bold, with urban crossover lines and angles that come straight from the concept and into the real world. I don’t doubt that some will dislike the black glossy plastic of the wheel arches, but I’m quite taken by the toy-like characteristics.

The squared nose, where once we might have found a Tiger Grille, has Kia’s light lines for those signature daytime running lights, while the use of black sections around the body provides real contrast to the colours. If anything, the C-pillar (that’s the one at the back) might be a little wide, but from the interior, I found that the visibility was still good, so it doesn’t really matter.

Little details, like the rear door handles sitting in a black section framing the window, lead to cleaner body lines, for a result that’s futuristic. It’s great that there’s so much character to this model, that the bold movement that the EV9 started isn’t just the preserve of those with lots of money to spend on a car.

Slip into the interior and there’s plenty of space, with the rear seat giving plenty of knee space for passengers in the back. The middle seat would be a little cramped if you have a third person in there, but for a family of four, this is going to be a comfortable ride. Faux leather seats come in with the GT-Line trim, but even on the Air trim you’ll get great comfortable seats with heating. The model pictured here is actually the “Earth” trim, which isn’t coming to the UK, but sits between the Air and GT-Line models that will grace the UK’s shores. Most people go for the GT-Line – with great levels of specification on all models.

The technology loadout is familiar, with all trim levels getting the same run of screens that stretch across the dash. The centre of this expanse of screen houses a climate control panel, although it’s a little hidden behind the steering wheel so I found it a little fiddly to get to. Fear not though, it’s a just a temperature adjustment, there’s a big controller to knock the temperature up and down.

Kia hasn’t gone down the route of removing all the buttons – as you’ll find on the Volvo EX30 that sits as a natural rival to the EV3 – so there’s a good combination. A run of touch controls give direct access to features, as well as the touchscreen interface. As interfaces go, it’s easy enough to use, although many will simply choose to use Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, both wirelessly supported.

The Kia EV3 is loaded with tech to help you stay on the road and keep you safe, but it loves a notification too, constantly binging and bonging as you drive to alert you to something. Some of this is mandated by the EU, some can be turned off, but it’s also something you need to get used to.

There’s no shortage of power points to charge phones, while there’s a generous 460 litres of boot space, combined with a small 25 litre frunk under the bonnet. Exactly what you might store there I can’t quite figure out. There’s also plenty of interior storage, with door pockets that will accept water bottles and an extending section that comes out of the armrest like a table, adding to the living room aesthetic that Kia wanted to create.

Kia uses a mixture of plastics through the interior, but it avoids looking cheap, again a nod to clever design and something that Kia has been good at for a while. It’s an attractive interior, a nice comfortable place to be.

Kia EV3 essential: Range, performance and handling

The Kia EV3 will have two battery sizes, but only the Air gets the smaller battery – if you’re choosing from the higher trims, you’ll also be getting the larger battery. This is how the Kia EV3 models for the UK line-up – other regions might have slightly different options:

• EV3 Air standard – 58.3kWh, 150kW motor, 102kW charging, 270 miles
• EV3 Air long range – 81.4kWh, 150kW motor, 130kW charging, 375 miles
• EV3 GT-Line – 81.4kWh, 150kW motor, 130kW charging, 367 miles
• EV3 GT-Line S – 81.4kWh, 150kW motor, 130kW charging, 362 miles

The first thing to note is that all models have the same 150kW motor driving the front wheels. The second thing to take on board is that this is a 400V system, so it doesn’t offer the same fast charging that you’ll find on some other models, like the Kia EV6. That means you have 102kW on the smaller battery and 130kW on the larger battery and neither is hugely fast in the grand scheme of things.

That might not matter too much given that many fast chargers never seem to deliver the peak rates that they promise. More important, however, is that the Kia EV3 is efficient with its power. I found that averages ranged from 3.5 miles per kWh upwards, meaning that getting 300 miles or more from that big battery shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.

The EV3 is a simple car to drive, but Kia does present a lot of options for drivers, with a full run of driving modes accessed through the button on the steering wheel, as well as paddles to adjust the level of regeneration. There’s the potential for confusion, but for many, I suspect that leaving it in Normal mode and sticking to regen level 2 will suit them for most driving.

One interesting detail is that the lower trim levels gets the older style of steering wheel, while the higher level trims get the more modern steering wheel from the EV9. This feels better, but I actually prefer the placement of the driving mode button on the lower-spec steering wheel as seen here – it’s just easier to hit with a thumb when you want to use it.

I found the Kia EV3 to be great on the road. It’s an easy car to drive, with surprisingly good visibility. The cruise controls are simple to use, adapting to changing speeds and incorporating lane changing, making for a great experience on motorways. I found the EV3 to be smooth enough on broken surfaces and while I wouldn’t want to take it through twisty roads with quite the same vigour that I would the EV6, it’s comfortable and confident enough.

The Kia EV3 isn’t setup to be a fast car – with a 0-62mph time of 7.9 seconds, it’s not going to win any awards for speed. But that’s not what this car is designed to do. It’s designed to get you from A to B, with the kids in the back and enough stowage space for everything you need for a family weekend away.

That’s where the EV3’s strength really lies. It’s simple, easy, relaxing – and it looks good while it’s doing it.

Should I buy the Kia EV3?

The Kia EV3 makes a compelling case for itself, offering loads of practicality and affordability, in a competitive segment of the market. As a car that’s designed to be electric only, it’s thoroughly modern, from the design to the experience. Its closest rival is the Volvo EX30 – an award winning car in its own right – but with a distinctly different experience to Volvo’s offering.

Kia expects that most will take the GT-Line model, but if it was my money, I’d be looking at the Air long range first and foremost, which offers the best range for the price. The Kia EV3 isn’t just about price though: choose a higher trim and you’ll find included creature comforts that even some premium models don’t offer – and that might just be worth spending a little more for.

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