Kia EV3 – world class

THE cars keep getting increasingly more desirable and the accolades keep on rolling in.

That’s certainly the case with Kia whose latest addition to the range, the all-electric EV3, has just been voted World Car of the Year 2025.

Launched earlier this year as replacement for the outgoing Soul EV, the EV3 is the smallest electric SUV in the Korean company’s model line-up.

Smart, spacious, easy and comfy to drive and with sufficient range to keep anxiety at bay, it’s easy to understand why Kia scooped top prize for a second consecutive year – following big brother the EV9.

The model is part of Kia’s plan to have ne less than 11 electric vehicles on the market by next year, expanding to 15 by 2027 and with its European line-up fully electric by 2035.

With a raft of electric rivals, many of which are from Chinese brands like BYD, Omoda, Jaecoo and XPeng as well as from the established European marques, stacking up in opposition, Kia won’t have things all their own way.

But judging by the week we spent with the EV3 it’s going to take some beating, especially when you factor value for money into the equation.

The range comes in three trim levels of Air, GT-Line and GT-Line S and with a choice of two battery packs – 58.3kWh standard range or 81.4kWh long range.

Prices are from £32,995 for the smaller battery single motor variant which gives owners a WLTP range of up to 270 miles (362 on the ‘city’ cycle), or £43,895 for a flagship model with the bigger pack and its 375-mile range (472 city), which is just about the best around for this category of car.

All are front-wheel drive, though an AWD model is due later in the year, and both battery packs develop the same power output of 201bhp, though there’s a slight discrepancy in acceleration – 0-62 in 7.7 as opposed to 7.5 seconds.

As for charging, 400V fast charge tech enables the EV3 to go from 10 to 80 per cent in 29 minutes for the 58.3kWh battery and 31 minutes for the larger one featured on our tested GT-Line S model.

Out on the road the Kia is really smooth and well balanced to drive, and using the Eco setting of the five drive modes ensures maximum efficiency.

While visibility up front is very clear, it’s not so good in rear, though the large wing mirrors are a help.

Otherwise there’s plenty of feedback from the chunky flat-bottomed steering wheel and the ride quality is also comfortable, including in the back where a flat floor ensures three adults can travel without getting too intimate.

Overall space in what’s a quite boxy looking yet nonetheless attractive car is extremely good – tons of room up front, space for legs all round and fantastic headroom too.

Depending on seating layout the boot volume ranges from 460 to 1,250 litres with the rear seats folded down and there’s also a ‘frunk’ with an extra 25 litres of stowage under the bonnet.

Tech sees an uncluttered dashboard featuring a 12.3-inch touch navigation screen plus a similar size driver display screen sandwiching a 5.3-inch display for climate control. And GT-Line S models also get a head-up display.

There’s also stuff like over-the-air updates, video streaming, on-demand features via the Kia Connect store and Digital Key 2.0 tech enabling drivers to share it with three others and start the car with a phone or smartwatch. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are also standard fare.

Stowage options like bottle holders, containers and trays are all over the show and the tested model also had a smartphone charging pad. Safety gear is comprehensive on every EV3 and all also come with Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile transferable warranty.

It’s well put together too, with plenty of premium touches, 19-inch alloy wheels on cars with higher grade trim and a choice of seven colours – including the stand-out Pistachio Green.