Kia EV3 Review

​Practicality & space

There’s 460-litres of space in the EV3’s hatchback boot, which is usefully more than you get in the Volkswagen ID.3 and Volvo EX30, although the Renault Megane E-Tech gets close. Those rear seats in the EV3 fold flat in a 60/40 split, and you also get a small frunk that will take a charging cable without you having to learn Ninja-level cable-tidying skills. Drop the seats and you get 1,250 litres of space, on a par with the VW ID.3 and Cupra Born, but the Renault Megane E-Tech does have slightly more storage with the seats down.

Space in the back seats is good, too, so you’ll get a couple of average-sized adults back there no problem, plus there’s a centre rear armrest (actually quite rare on this class of car). No transmission tunnel means that the middle passenger has plenty of leg room, but one downside is that the rear doors don't open that wide so you may need to reach it at an angle to get small children in and out of cars seats - on that note, there are ISOFIX points on each of the outer seats.

Interior & Design

The EV3 draws on the EV9 for a lot of its interior design and tech. The first thing you notice are the huge screens; two 12.3-inch screens and a smaller, 5-inch display all together in one slim housing on top of the dash. They're straight out of the Kia EV9 - so you get big car tech at a more affordable price - and just like the EV9 there are also real, physical buttons, which I’m a big fan of. 

That’s not the only smart feature in the EV3; the centre armrest and storage area in the front is really clever. The top section slides out (on all but the Air models) so that you can turn it into a laptop table for getting your emails done while the car is charging; my large MacBook fitted on it comfortably and the table feels solid and robust, as does the rest of the interior. Underneath the centre console is a large storage area for your snacks and other gubbins, or it also makes a great handbag cubby. One of my favourite features from the EV9, the super-comfy mesh headrests, also make an appearance on the EV3. They look great but are also extremely comfortable and add to the 'lounge' vibe, helping to make it a really great place to spend time.

Dashboard

Some of the plastics and materials around the lower half of the EV3’s cabin feel a touch cheap, but generally it all feels classy and pleasant. The switches and stalks are really nicely damped, too. It’s a simple design, majoring on horizontal lines, but the interesting material finishes brighten it up so that it all feels really modern, fresh and appealing.  

Technology & Equipment

The EV3’s infotainment is one of the best in terms of user-friendliness. Touch-sensitive switches beneath the screen make it easy to hop between the home menu and the key functions in the screen, and there are also physical switches for the air-con and audio volume, which are so much better than in-screen controls for making adjustments when you’re driving. I still hate having to dive into the touchscreen menus to change the climate- and volume, despite years of it with plenty of modern cars, so I reckon Kia’s got the right idea with the physical buttons in the EV3! 

Of course, you get sat-nav with charger search function, as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, not to mention ChatGPT voice control in the ‘Kia AI assistant’, which learns how you speak and the common requests you make. 

Given that the buttons and touchscreen infotainment are all pretty easy to use, I’m not sure how much you really need the voice control. But it is pretty responsive and accurate (by the hit-and-miss standards of every in-car voice control system) so it’s still useful.

Over-the-air software updates keep the touchscreen and voice assistant software on point as the years pass, and there’s also a store of optional apps on the Kia Connect Store that users can choose to download and use at extra cost. Kia told me that they will never charge extra for upgrades on things like electrically heated seats or steering wheel and that any downloads will be options to personalise your EV3.

There are three trims to choose from: Air, GT-Line and GT-Line S, and all are available with both battery options. All models also get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated front seats, front and rear parking sensors along with a reversing camera, and automatic headlights, not to mention the big touchscreen infotainment system.

GT Line cars also get a wireless phone charger, two-tone upholstery and the ability to unlock and drive the car via an app on your phone. Top-spec GT Line S cars add a Harman Kardon sound system, electrically adjustable front seats, heated rear seats, 360-degree surround-view cameras and a powered tailgate. The top-spec EV3 GT-Line S gets that Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) technology that I’ve already  talked about, and you have to go for this model to add a heat pump (for £900 extra!), too. 

Safety

The Kia hasn’t yet been crash tested by Euro NCAP,  but it comes with a full suite of safety tech including lane-keep assist and autonomous emergency braking. Other standard safety highlights include adaptive cruise control, two sets of Isofix points, automatic wipers and LED lights, reversing camera and parking sensors, and blind spot warning. It’ll even warn you if there’s a car or cyclist coming when you’re parked up and about to open the door.

Go for top-spec GT-Line S and you also get a camera feed that shows the side of the car when you indicate and a 360-degree parking camera.

The semi-autonomous driving mode in the EV3 is also controlled from the steering wheel, and is really useful. It links to the nav information, as well as using sensors and cameras to work out where the road goes, speed limits, lane markings, the speed of the car in front and more. It automatically adjusts the speed if needed, as well as independently control the steering to keep the car in its lane. On a four-lane motorway in Korea, in heavy rain and on roads I didn’t know, the semi-autonomous mode definitely took away a lot of the stress.