Kia has revealed pricing for its new EV3, the Korean’s brand’s most affordable electric vehicle yet, writes James Stinson.
Prices for the compact all-electric SUV start from £32,995 – about £2,000 less than key rivals like the Volvo EX30 and Cupra Born, and undercutting the slightly larger Kia Niro EV by more than £4,000.
The entry-level EV3 ‘Air’ offers up to 267 miles of range, thanks to a 58.3kWh battery, or for an extra £2,000, buyers can get a larger 81.4kWh unit that’s good for 372 miles on a single charge. ‘GT-Line’ and ‘GT-Line S’ models are fitted with the bigger battery as standard, but due to their larger wheels, the maximum range is reduced to 347 miles. Every EV3 uses a 201bhp electric motor, driving the front wheels, which has a 0-62mph time of 7.5 seconds.
Standard kit across the range includes a 12.3-inch digital driver’s display, 5.3-inch climate control screen and 12.3-inch touchscreen all housed in a single panel – just like in the Kia EV9 seven-seat SUV, from which the EV3 borrows plenty of other styling cues.
Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto also feature, along with a reversing camera, heated front seats and steering wheel, LED headlights and 17-inch alloy wheels. Smart cruise control and driver-attention warning are among the suite of driver-assistance technologies onboard, too.
The EV3 GT-Line is priced from £39,495 and adds sportier styling, 19-inch rims, gloss-black exterior trim and rear privacy glass, while the interior gets two-tone seat upholstery, alloy pedals, a sliding centre console and a wireless smartphone charging pad.
The top-of-the-range EV3 GT-Line S starts from £42,995, and features luxuries like an eight-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, a head-up display, an openable sunroof, ‘premium relaxation’ front seats, a powered tailgate, a 360-degree surround view camera and blind-spot monitoring.
GT-Line S also gets vehicle to load (V2L) charging. The charging port cable converts so three-pin household devices can draw down on car’s battery to power devices on-the-move, which is handy especially if you do a bit of camping.
Premium paint options cost £625 extra on Air and GT-Line trim, but come standard with GT-Line S cars, which are the only ones available with an energy-saving heat pump that costs £900 extra.
Just like in the larger EV9, the dashboard is dominated by two 12.3-inch screens – one for the infotainment and one in front of the driver, and there are plenty of recycled materials used on the seats and the door cards.
In terms of practicality, this may be a small SUV but it has a pretty big boot. You get 460 litres of luggage space, 60 litres more than the Volvo EX30 and 130 litres more than the Smart 1 has to offer.
Like the much bigger EV9, this new baby SUV is a real head turner as well as being strong on engineering, space and refinement.