By Gareth Butterfield
Take a look through Kia’s electric-car range (skip past the Niro) and you’re arguably eyeing up one of the greatest automotive line-ups on sale in the UK.
The EV9 is a marvel, the EV6 continues to be brilliant, the new EV4 and EV5 are proving justifiably popular, and so this EV3, the smallest of the EV-something range, had a lot to live up to.
Don’t read into the “smallest” thing too much though, the EV3 is a largeish car, probably a crossover, not quite an SUV, tricky to pigeonhole, but do we even care any more?
With a starting price of around £33,000 it’s keenly priced, spec is as generous as you’d expect from a Kia, and it even looks pretty sharp – if you don’t mind a futuristic, anti-mainstream sort of style.
The interior is another big highlight, as it has been across the current EV range, with creative packaging leading to a spacious, bright, and airy cabin for all occupants, especially the driver and passenger.
Kia knows its new cars need to be good because they’re not only competing with more conventional offerings from the likes of the Volkswagen Audi Group, but they’re now fighting off increasing pressure from the Chinese.
The irony of the Korean brands that once waded in and shook up the industry now becoming lawful prey, but the way Kia and Hyundai are being kept on their toes is what’s producing some of the best cars on the road right now.
It’s the boxy styling that gives the EV3 the capacious interior, and Kia has certainly put that space to good use, with a floating centre console, a sensibly laid out dash, some welcome physical buttons, and acres of storage space.
There are some hard plastics, if you’re boring enough to find that irritating, and you’ll be reminded of so many different things with an array of different bongs that if something genuinely important happens, you’ll probably overlook it.
The twin 12.3-inch displays are nicely laid out, and function well, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android auto is a standard thing, which it jolly well should be these days.
There’s a decent boot at the rear, a small frunk at the front, and nice little storage cubbies everywhere. It’s a great family workhorse.
The one thing we all like to talk about with EVs is range, and there are two battery options, with the standard range likely to find 230 miles easy enough, and a longer range battery which should kiss 300 miles on a long day.
During a week of varied trips, I found that 3.5mi/kWh wasn’t difficult to achieve and, perhaps more importantly than the range, the ability to fast charge at up to 128kW, which is handy on a long run.
Handily, there’s a “Max” and “Min” indicator on the central screen, which lets you know how much range you can expect if you’re being frivolous, and how much you should have left if you’re being careful. It’s a handy indicator that more cars should have, as it’ll probably make us all a bit more frugal.
Don’t expect any thrills and spills and you won’t be disappointed with the EV3. It’s designed for comfort, and it delivers that very well. But it’s neither fast nor thrilling. Not that buyers will really be bothered.
Top spec models with the larger 84kWh batteries will cost around £44,000 as a base mark, and there’s some tempting finance deals to look through.
Kia’s current popularity, and the seven-year warranty, will help residuals, so the EV3 could make sound financial sense.
Overall though, it’s just a lovely car to take on your journeys in. Kia’s current run of form continues to impress, and the EV3 makes for a fine entry level option.
