If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Words I’m sure Kia were thinking when they designed the EV3 the brands latest electric offering. With the larger EV6 & EV9 proving popular, it was only a matter of time for the Korean brand to launch a smaller electric car & the EV3 is it.
Model choice
Three versions. Entry level Air which features 17″ alloys, a 12.3″ driver display, 12.3″ touchscreen with SatNav, 5.3″ climate controls, heated front seats & steering wheel & a rear parking camera. Next up is GT-Line which adds 19″ alloys, GT Line styling, artificial leather seats, privacy glass, driver lumbar support, a wireless phone charger, LED headlights & a digital key. Range topping GT-Line S comes with heated front & rear seats, front relaxation seats, a 360 degree view monitor, a smart power tailgate, blind spot view monitor, a tilt & slide sunroof, a head-up display, memory seats, an 8-speaker Harman Kardon audio system & the option of a heat pump.
Battery choice & range
Two are being offered. Standard Range comes with a 58.3kWh battery & a 270 mile range. Or the Long Range which is fitted with an 81.4kWh battery & is good for 367 miles. Add the £900 heat pump to your GT-Line S & range is 361 miles. Or opt for the Long Range Air & it’s 375 miles.
Charging
The Kia EV3 Long Range uses a CCS connector & is capable of charging at a rate of up to 135kW, which can deliver a 10-80% charge in 31 minutes. The Standard Range with 120kW charging speeds will do the same in 29 minutes. Plug-in at home on a 7.4kWh charger & Long Range takes 11 hours & Standard Range 8.5 hours to charge from 0-100%.
Prices
Air Standard Range £32,995
Air Long Range £35,995
GT-Line Long Range £39,495
GT-Line S Long Range £42,995
Outside
Literally a mini-EV9. But much smaller, chunkier, with vertical triangle corner LED headlights, a narrow front bonnet line, rear roof spoiler & high corner tail lights that extend horizontally across the top of the boot lid.
Inside
We drove the Air & GT-line S models which differ in the main with the quality of the dashboard & seat finishes. Air is more basic with cloth seats & plain grey plastic finishes, whilst GT-Line S gets two-tone seat & armrest finishes, artificial leather seats & a fabric printed dashboard.
All versions are fitted with the excellent twin 12.3″ displays & 5.3″ climate display, that’s partially obscured by the steering wheel. These are cleverly mixed with some physical controls allowing the driver to access climate for example, without using the touchscreen.
The styling & layout is first class. It feels like an evolution of the inside of an EV6 but more modern & less cluttered. The quality & finish differs across each spec. For example whilst Air looks the part, both the plastic used & the seat fabrics feel basic, whereas GT-Line & GT-Line S feel more upmarket. For sustainability, all cabin’s are leather free, with each EV3 using 28.5kg of recycled plastics. Our only grumble is that the seat backs are covered in hard plastic & when a tall passenger sits in the back their knees rub on this.
Infotainment
The set-up & screen icons will be familiar to existing Kia customers & are very logical. As with most new cars, you have to access the screen to turn off lane departure & speed limit warning for example, every time you re-start the car, which is frustrating. Otherwise, the system is easy to work & to use. Wireless Apple CarPlay & a wireless charging pad make connecting your iPhone a doddle on the GT-Line S too. There’s a touch-sensitive panel beneath the screen, with options including Home, Set Up, Media, Search & Map, but it requires a proper hard prod to register your input choice, which isn’t as easy as it could be.
Cabin practicality
Clever Kia have made the EV3 interior very practical indeed. For a start it’s the same size in there as a Sportage & with no transmission tunnel, more foot space as well. Up-front there’s a floating centre binnacle with a lift up armrest & storage underneath. This slides out to create a resting shelf. Both the glove box & door pockets are a useful size, with twin front & rear USB’s on the seat sides offered as well.
Rear passengers also have a fold-down armrest with twin cup holders & rear front back seat pockets too. A word about the soft headrests which were a stand out.
Boot space
The EV3’s boot offers 460 litres, with a height adjustable boot floor as standard beneath which you can store your charging cable. Fold down the rear sears & this increases to 1,251 litres. There’s also a small storage area under the bonnet.
EV3 weight
Long Range weighs in at 2,355 kg, Normal Range at 2,270kg.
Visibility & getting comfortable
The EV3 comes as standard with a reversing camera & blind spot monitoring, which is good because visibility out of the narrow rear window isn’t brilliant. GT-Line S models also featuring a 360-degree camera.
It’s better news from the front with the large glass area making it easy to see out. You sit quite high in the front seats especially on the Air passenger side which can’t be adjusted. In GT-Line & GT-Line S you can pump the passenger seat down a little, which we preferred. The drivers seat though comes with plenty of adjustment.
Driving
The starter button is hidden away on the bottom of the steering wheel mounted gear stalk. Simply press this with your foot on the brake & the motor starts & away you go. You can choose from four driving modes. Eco, Normal & Sport, plus a Snow option. Each does what it says on the packet, although Sport isn’t really sporty, rather altering the feel of the steering & accelerator pedal.
Which brings us to the i-Pedal. Alongside the driving modes, the EV3 has several levels of regeneration; Zero,1, 2, 3 & then the i-Pedal. This allows you to add some regenerative braking to the drive via the steering wheel paddles. Again it’s a familiar set-up found on other electric Kia’s, Hyundai’s & Genesis models & is easy to understand & also to use. The EV3’s version is the newest on offer & should offer one-pedal driving if selected each time you get into the car.
Ride
It’s good across all versions but softer in the Air Standard Range fitted with the smaller battery & 17″alloys. Here an almost cushioned ride & excellent damping manage to completely hide the battery bumps associated with an EV even when you go over a pot-hole. The Larger wheels aren’t quite as nice to ride on, but none the less, a far more comfortable ride is offered than the one you get in a Renault Megane E-Tech for example.
On the flip side don’t expect excitement. Even though the EV3 is good fun to drive, handles corners admirably with good body control, comes with excellent brakes & in Sport mode is quick-ish, this is an EV built for comfort not speed, so if you want performance, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
Pros
Looks great both inside & out. Rides better than the competition. Very well equipped. Offers plenty of cabin space. Competitively priced. Easy to use the infotainment system & controls. Low BIK.
Cons
Air spec is a bit cheap & cheerful. Plastic backed front seats aren’t for us. The climate screen is a little pointless. Isn’t as exciting to drive as some competitors.
Verdict
Kia’s EV6 is one of the best electric cars out there, so it’s no surprise that the EV3 follows suit. It drives & handles exceptionally well & manages to dampen down the poor ride quality found in many similar sized EV’s. The infotainment system with separate short-cut buttons is another plus that the EV3 get’s right, when so many others fail.
As for negatives, the Air model finishes aren’t as good as we’d hoped & don’t expect driving thrills. This is a car built for comfort & practicality & is almost the perfect mid-sized EV in that respect. If you’re seriously looking at a family-friendly EV then this could be it.
A Busan 4.25/5
