Kia EV3 – an all-round electric car suitable for everyday use in the driving report

With the new EV3, Kia offers a successful and innovative electric car. With good range, suitability for everyday use, sustainable materials and pleasant driving characteristics, it is a strong offering in the compact segment. The price is also quite attractive for an electric car.

The car manufacturer Kia simply calls EV the representatives of a new electric generation. It started with the two 800-volt grenades EV6 and EV9.

Now comes the EV3, which is very similar to the EV9 on the outside and inside, but is a few sizes smaller in terms of space, performance and drive technology. This has a decisive advantage: With the EV3, the financial barrier to entry into Kia’s new electric world will drop to 36,000 euros in the future.

With the design of the EV3, Kia is once again demonstrating remarkable courage. The body shape is essentially a pragmatic five-door hatchback. Thanks to some idiosyncratic accents, it offers a robust and progressive-looking as well as aerodynamically optimized outer skin. Despite the boxy basic shape, the drag coefficient is 0.26.

For city and camping trips

Out into nature or into the urban jungle – the Korean visually declares himself ready for some adventures. If you go on a camping trip with the Kia, you can do without a power connection thanks to the bidirectional vehicle-to-load function and, for example, use the driving current to operate an electric grill or charge your notebook thanks to the 220-volt socket.

Although the EV3 is compact at 4.30 meters, it offers a spacious interior. Since the battery and drive are housed in the underbody, the passenger compartment is more airy than is usual with combustion engines of this length. Even if tall people sit in the front, adult rear passengers still have enough knee room. And there is no transmission tunnel at the back.

The trunk is also spacious at 460 liters and of course can be classically expanded to 1250 liters. There is also a 25 liter storage compartment under the front hood for charging cables and small items.

Use of recycled material

Some plastic parts of the outer skin, with their speckled look, indicate the use of recycled material, which can also be found to a large extent in the interior. In the cockpit, different colored plastic surfaces with the look of recycled plastic catch the eye. Like other manufacturers, Kia wants to increasingly use materials from the circular economy in its cars. It doesn’t look elegant in every way, but it certainly has its charm. In any case, the mix of materials with an eco-touch looks modern and homely, especially when optional textile surfaces adorn the tidy dashboard.

As with other models from the manufacturer, the EV3 also has three screens framed into one unit, each with a diagonal of 12.5 and one 5.5 inches. Of course, the vehicle is networked and can also be connected to smartphones, the content of which can be integrated into the infotainment system. The possibilities of this powerful and responsive computer technology in every respect are already impressive and are also open to updates and new features, of which there are likely to be a few.

The screens, which can be designed with variable content, provide a good overview of driving-relevant information and elementary functions. Only the small central touchscreen for the air conditioning is partially covered by the steering wheel from the driver’s perspective. If the driver wants to find out about the interior temperature or change it, his gaze does not wander downwards and away from the traffic. The head-up display also helps. If the driver doesn’t look ahead, the on-board system warns them to pay attention. In other ways, assistants often patronize and warn you.

No loophole for combustion engines

Kia consistently relies on emission-free drives. There is no loophole for combustion engines in the EV3. There are three performance variants and two battery formats to choose from. The latter is available with 58 or 81 kWh, each of which can be combined with the 150 kW/204 hp basic drive. The twin-motor versions AWD and GT, which are each combined with the large battery as standard, promise significantly more power and shorter sprint times. Kia will only reveal the exact performance data of these variants later.

We were allowed to drive on test laps in and around Seoul with a large battery and the basic drive, which ensures lively propulsion. It goes from standstill to 100 km/h in 7.7 seconds; the equally powerful version with a smaller and therefore significantly lighter battery is two tenths of a second faster. The top speed is 170 km/h. The EV3 has a regenerative braking system with four levels that can be adjusted using the paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. The third recuperation level with one-pedal drive function proves to be pleasant and practical in city traffic. On the motorway, regenerative braking level 1 or deactivating recuperation is recommended.

Range of 500 to 600 kilometers

The large battery promises a range of over 600 kilometers. In practice, which is not always consistently geared towards efficient driving, you won’t get quite that far. In our case, the on-board computer showed 380 kilometers of remaining range after driving around 170 kilometers. Above and below, the display also shows significantly different range values ​​for a particularly economical or, alternatively, fuel-intensive driving style.

When it comes to charging, the EV3 with DC charging power doesn’t come close to its fast 800-volt brothers. The small battery has a maximum charging power of 101 kW, the long-distance version can handle up to 128 kW. At a Korean 200 kW fast charging station, we charged the battery from 63 to 80 percent in 9 minutes and refilled it with 15 kWh. Kia states that it takes 31 minutes to charge from 10 to 80 percent. For refueling stops on longer journeys, you should allow a little more time with the EV3 than, for example, with the large EV9, which charges with over 200 kW but also consumes more while driving.

Napping or using a notebook while waiting

The waiting time can be used in different ways in the EV3. The driver’s seat can be placed in a reclining position, for example to take a nap. Media can be consumed via the infotainment system. A notebook can be placed on the small table top in the center console and the charging break can be used for office work.

The EV3 is a comfortable companion when driving. The chassis handles many bumps calmly without appearing spongy. We found the steering to be pleasantly unobtrusive and homogeneous. The drive and driving noises are even very low. Here, electric cars like the EV3 have a clear advantage over combustion engines.

However, the EV3 cannot compensate for one disadvantage of electric cars, the slightly higher price compared to combustion engines. It starts with the small battery at around 36,000 euros, the long-range version costs 41,400 euros. This is a very attractive price in the area of ​​electric cars. Kia Germany is already taking orders and it will hit the streets at the end of the year.

Technical data – Kia EV3 150 kW FWD Long Range

• Five-door, five-seat compact SUV
• Length: 4.30 meters, width: 1.85 meters, height: 1.56 meters, wheelbase 2.68 meters, trunk volume: 460 to 1250 liters, front storage compartment (frunk): 25 liters
• Electric motor on the front axle, 150 kW/204 HP, maximum torque 283 Nm, battery with 81.4 kWh, range according to WLTP: 605 km, one-speed automatic, front-wheel drive, Vmax 170 km/h, 0-100 km/h : 7.7 s, charging power: DC up to 128 kW (31 min from 10-80 percent, WLTP standard consumption: 14.9 – 16.2 kWh/100 km
• Price for basic model: from 35,990 euros, price for tested drive variant: 41,400 euros