Kia EV3 test drive | New car reviews 2025

Make and model: Kia EV3
Description: Small electric SUV
Price range: from £32,995

Kia says: “The EV3 carves out its own uniquely progressive identity in a compact crossover form. This compact SUV features a future-facing exterior that is both playful and thoughtful, along with an open interior space that emphasizes restorative relaxation on every journey.”

We say: The Kia EV3 is a tremendously competent small SUV and an excellent choice as a first EV. It’s a deserving winner of our Car of the Year 2025 award.

Introduction

The small SUV market has been growing at a phenomenal rate for several years and has driven many conventional hatchback/saloon/estate models to extinction. And as the car industry continues shifting from fossil-fuel power to electricity, small SUVs have become almost a perfect package for new electric models.

The Kia EV3 is one of many new small electric SUVs fighting for your attention and has received plenty of praise since it was launched at the end of 2024. It was also awarded The Car Expert’s Car of the Year 2025 award, based on a consensus of media reviews from across the UK motoring media. So it’s highly rated, but what’s it like to drive and live with? Read on to find out…

Read more: Kia EV3 (2024 onwards) – Expert Rating

What is it?

The Kia EV3 effectively replaces the Kia Soul in the company’s model range, although it’s slightly larger and more practical. It’s a conventional square-shape small SUV/crossover, although the styling follows Kia’s distinctive EV styling philosophy. If you’re not sure about it in these photos, it looks quite striking in the metal.

Like almost all small crossovers, there are no great claims of off-roading ability here. The biggest attraction of SUV-style cars tends to be the high seating position, which suits electric cars as the batteries can sit along the floor with plenty of space for the cabin above it.

What do you get for your money?

The EV3 range runs from a starting point of £33K, for the entry-level ‘Air’ model with the smaller of two battery sizes, through to £44K for the top of three specifications with the larger battery and a heat pump. The electric motor is the same in all models so performance is broadly similar across the range.

• Air specification: 58kWh or 81kWh battery, £33k and £36K
• GT-Line specification: 81kWh battery, £39.5K
• GT-Line S specification: 81kWh battery, £43K without heat pump or £44K with heat pump

The standard spec on the Air model is good, with all the most popular convenience features and crucial safety kit included as standard. You certainly don’t feel like it’s a bare-bones entry-level special that only exists to create an attractive starting price – it’s probably the best-value model in the range. The seats are cloth and manually adjustable, although the front seats are heated (as is the steering wheel), but otherwise there’s not a lot that you really feel is missing.

Jumping to GT-Line is an extra £3.5K over the Air with the same (larger) battery. Some of the differences are cosmetic, while others are fairly minor (automatic pop-out door handles instead of manual ones, illuminated vanity lights in the sun visors, etc.). In terms of genuine added value, you get artificial leather upholstery for both the seats and steering wheel, electric driver’s seat with lumbar adjustment, bigger alloy wheels and tyres (19-inch instead of 17-inch), a sliding centre console (surprisingly handy) and wireless charging for your phone.

GT-Line S is a further £3.5K over the GT-Line, plus an extra £900 if you want the heat pump. That’s a hefty £11K (or an extra 33%) above the starting-level Air specification – or an extra £8K with the same battery. The good news is that you do get quite a bit of extra kit that makes the GT-Line S look better value than the mid-spec GT-Line. You get ventilated front seats, while the outer rear seats are heated. The driver’s seat has a memory function as well, which is handy if you have two or more drivers regularly sharing the car. You get a panoramic sunroof, automatic tailgate, upgraded sound system, head-up display and V2L (vehicle-to-load) capacity – see charging section for more information.

Expert tips

• Three specs – entry-level Air is best for value, top-spec GT-Line S gets lots of decent kit.
• Mid-spec GT-Line model seems weakest value.
• Only Air spec available with smaller battery – you can save £3K if you don’t do a lot of long-distance driving.
• Kia’s seven-year new car warranty on all models is the best in the business.

What’s the Kia EV3 like inside?

The cabin is very spacious for a car this size, although that’s at least partly due to being an EV – an electric motor takes up a lot less space than a petrol engine, gearbox and other gubbins. That means more space for your legs in both the front and rear, and more storage room in the centre console. There’s also a decent boot (460 litres) and a small frunk (front trunk) under the bonnet for storing your charging cables. Overall, there’s more room in here than in quite a few larger, more expensive vehicles.

In terms of interior design, it’s all very minimalist with very few physical buttons. Basic temperature control can be done from dedicated switches, which is handy when on the move, but if you want to fiddle with other climate control settings then you’ll need to use the touchscreen.

The dashboard is dominated by a pair of 12-inch screens side-by-side, a non-touch screen for the driver’s display and a touchscreen for controlling all the car’s systems. There are also USB-C ports in both the front and rear for charging your devices. The GT-Line S also gets a head-up display so you can see key information like your speed without looking away from the road.

Expert tips

• Plenty of room in cabin, suitable for four adults plus luggage.
• Seats are comfortable, heated in the front on all models – and in the rear on GT-Line S.
• Steering wheel on GT-Line and GT-Line S is nicer, with an artificial leather rim instead of plastic.
• Twin 12-inch screens are good, infotainment system responds immediately to touch. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard.
• Panoramic sunroof standard on GT-Line S only, makes interior a lot lighter and brighter.

What’s the Kia EV3 like to drive?

Like most compact crossover vehicles, there’s not a lot of driving excitement to be found in the EV3. But that will suit many of its buyers just fine. Some people criticise EVs for lacking any kind of driving feel but, in reality, this is not much different to a new petrol, diesel or hybrid small SUV – few of them are particularly involving to drive, and they’re not really designed for that anyway.

More importantly for most customers, the EV3 is smooth, quiet and comfortable to drive, with handling that is predictable in all conditions. Electric vehicles tend to be smoother and quieter than fossil-fuel cars anyway, but the EV3 remains more hushed than most even at motorway speeds, with only marginal increases in wind or road noise. Like other electric Kia and Hyundai models, the regenerative braking is good and feels natural. It works well and is one of the best implementations of this technology on a new EV.

Performance is brisk enough for most drivers, although you can certainly buy faster small electric SUVs if that’s a priority. All versions of the EV3 have the same 201hp electric motor and drive through the front wheels, so performance and overall driving experience is broadly similar across the range. The entry-level Air with the smaller battery is the quickest from 0-60mph, with the extra weight of the larger battery and extra standard equipment making the GT-Line and GT-Line S models fractionally slower – but not enough to really notice.

Expert tips

• Ride quality on smaller 17-inch wheels on Air model is better than 19-inch wheels on GT-Line and GT-Line S models
• Adaptive cruise control failed to recognise multiple speed limit signs, which is problematic if you see the cruise control to follow the speed limit when it changes.
• Lane-keep assist generally works very well and doesn’t feel like the car is trying to pitch you into a hedge, which gives you confidence to use it whenever appropriate – not all cars are as good.
• Steering wheel paddles allow you to control regenerative braking levels on the go, allowing you to use the electric motor to slow the car down rather than the mechanical brakes. This also helps to push more electricity back into the battery to help improve your range.

How safe is the Kia EV3?

As of February 2025, the Kia EV3 has not been assessed by Euro NCAP so we can’t give you a definitive answer of how safe it is (Euro NCAP testing assesses new cars over and above minimum legal safety requirements).

The EV3 comes loaded with all the latest safety kit, so it will probably perform well if and when it is tested. But only formal Euro NCAP testing can show whether all of those systems work exactly as they should, and allow you to compare this car with other cars you may be considering. We’ll update this review with results once they become available.

The good news is that all three specifications of EV3 in the UK come loaded with all the key safety systems you would want on a new car, rather than making them extra-cost options.

Expert tips

• The EV3 has not yet been tested by Euro NCAP (as of February 2025)
• All key safety equipment is standard on all models
• GT-Line S gets a few extras – like blind spot monitoring and 360-degree cameras – but these are “nice to have” rather than “essential”
• Active safety systems like lane-keep assist work well, which encourage you to keep them switched on rather than switching them off
• You get plenty of annoying warning beeps and bongs, but they’re mandated by the EU these days so that’s not Kia’s fault, and all new cars do the same thing. You can turn some of them off but they’ll be reactivated next time you start the car.

EV3 economy, battery range and charging

The Kia EV3 has good electrical efficiency, which is the EV equivalent of fuel economy in a petrol or diesel car. In our comprehensive Expert Rating Index, which analyses every new car across all trim levels and specifications, the EV3 scores an A for its efficiency, so it should be a very affordable car to run.

The smaller 58kWh battery in the Air is good for 270 miles of range, according to the official UK/EU laboratory test programme that is used for every new car. In the real world, you should be able to get more than 200 miles even in cold weather, and closer to the official number in optimal weather and driving conditions.

For most customers, that’s going to be plenty of range, given that 98% of all trips in the UK are less than 50 miles and 99% are less than 100 miles. But if you want more range for longer journeys, the 81kWh battery can offer up to 375 miles in official lab tests – so call it 300 miles in worst-case conditions. That’s an extra 100 miles of range for £3,000, so you need to work out how often you’re likely to need that (although you’ll get some of that back again at resale time).

The GT-Line and GT-Line S models are only available with the larger battery, so the argument is moot if you want a higher-spec car.

Expert tips

• Best model for battery range is the Air with 81kWh, which has an official battery range of 375 miles. The GT-Line gets 367 miles and GT-Line S drops to 362 miles. The Air with 58kWh is good for 270 miles, officially.
• All versions can take up to 350kW charging from the fastest (and relatively rare) public chargers, meaning either battery can charge from 10% to 80% in about half an hour
• Charging port is located on the front right-hand-side wheel arch, which means parking nose-first into most charging bays to make sure the cable can stretch from the charger to the car.
• GT-Line S model has vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability so you can power devices when off-grid (like camping)

Verdict

The Kia EV3 shows how electric cars can be objectively superior to fossil-fuel cars in most of the ways that really count. It’s a compact SUV with more cabin and boot space than many larger vehicles. It’s smooth, quiet, comfortable and refined to drive. It has more than enough battery range for the vast majority of UK driving habits. It throws in plenty of standard kit at a very competitive price, and it’s intelligently designed for family car needs.

We haven’t assigned full marks for safety because we’re still waiting on Euro NCAP to assess the EV3 and confirm that its safety systems all perform as expected in an emergency. Assuming that all goes well, this could improve our safety score to a 10/10 and improve the overall result, in which case we’ll update this review accordingly.

Based on the UK launch drives, the EV3 is another winner from Kia. If we get the opportunity for a longer review, we’ll update here with additional information.

Expert recommendations:

• The Kia EV3 should be at the top of your list if you’re looking for a small electric SUV
• If you’re thinking about switching from a petrol car to an EV, this would also be a very good choice
• Entry-level model is best value, top-spec car gets lots of equipment but is pricey. Unusually, the mid-spec model is the least appealing.

Similar cars

BMW iX1| Citroën ë-C4 | Cupra Born | Hyundai Kona Electric | Jeep Avenger | Kia EV6 | Kia Niro EV | Mercedes-Benz EQA | MG 4 | MG ZS EV | Peugeot e-2008 | Renault Mégane E-Tech | Smart #1 | Vauxhall Mokka Electric | Volkswagen ID.3 | Volkswagen ID.4 | Volvo EX30

Key specifications

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