Why the Kia EV3 is everyone’s favourite new electric car

The Independent

Steve Fowler takes the new Kia EV3 for a spin in Los Angeles to find out why it's everyone's favourite new electric vehicle.Kia have steamed ahead of the bigger manufacturers with their EV offerings and in the EV3, Steve finds that the Korean manufacturer is cementing that reputation with a decent build quality, good charge range and an attractive package all-round.Watch more reviews with The Independent's EV section.

Transcript

00:00Happy 10th EV birthday, Kia! It was 10 years ago that they bought the Kia Soul to market.

00:06Since then we've had Soles, we've had Neros, we've had EV6s, EV9s, the latter a world car of the year

00:13last year. And now this, the new Kia EV3. And this car is just going on sale in the UK. It's

00:20already won a hat full of awards. People are loving it. But why?

00:33So why is everybody raving about the Kia EV3? Okay, let's start with some stats. The price.

00:39It starts at £32,995. Let's not get hooked up on list prices. Everybody pays monthly and the

00:45monthlies will be fairly affordable, I'm sure. £32,995 gets you a 58 kilowatt hour battery

00:52and that car will go 270 miles. Not bad, but for £35,995 you can get an 81 kilowatt hour battery

01:01and that car will go 375 miles. And in my experience with Kias, they tend to do what they say on the tin,

01:10unlike so many other cars that the ranges are realistic and the mileage tends to drop with

01:15the miles past. Not as some cars do, they just disappear at what seems to be twice the pace.

01:20So a realistic range, I reckon 350 miles, maybe a little less in the cold, but that is seriously

01:27good for £35,995. You will not go further for less money, which is impressive. You can spend £43,

01:35£895 on a car with that bigger battery, the long range, and that's a GT Line S. That car comes with a

01:41heat pump. Shame all cars don't come with a heat pump, but hey, you've got to cut the cloth accordingly,

01:47haven't you? What else do I like about this car? Do you know what? It's just really, really nice to

01:53drive. It's really comfortable on these pretty ropey California freeways. The car rides really nicely,

02:00it's relatively quiet as most EVs are. Visibility is good. Fords, big mirrors,

02:07good visibility out the back as well. And there's lots of space, there's lots of headroom. I could

02:13sit behind myself, there's enough legroom if I could possibly do that. So it's going to be easy for the

02:17family. The boots are good size. And in here you've got a twin 12-inch display screen. And yes, you've got

02:25separate buttons for the heating. You haven't got to delve into menus to try and adjust the temperature.

02:31Quality is pretty good too. Styling, you can decide on that. Personally, I think it looks modern. It's a

02:40nice development of the EV9, the seven seater and the EV6. Talking about the EV6, there's so much space

02:47in the back of this and it's just so nice to drive. Do you know what? I don't think I'll bother with the

02:52EV6, but don't tell Kia. So yeah, by and large, I think I'm falling in love with the EV3 too.

03:01So what do I think about the Kia EV3? Well, I'll be honest, it really is very, very good. It ticks

03:07so many boxes. It's got loads of space. It's got loads of kit. It goes a long way. It's well priced.

03:12I think it looks good too. I mentioned at the start, the 2024 World Car of the Year was the Kia EV9.

03:19Could it be a double for Kia? Could this be World Car of the Year for 2025? That's what I'm here judging.

03:26And you know what? It's so good. I reckon it stands a really good chance.

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