Summary: For what is essentially a slightly larger hatch, the Kia EV3 puts a big price premium on being an electric vehicle.

2025 Kia EV3 GT-Line compact electric SUV

Pricing:  $63,950 (GT-Line, plus on road costs), $70,490 driveaway)

Warranty: Seven-years, unlimited kilometre, seven-years battery pack, seven-years capped price servicing, one-year roadside assist (extended up to eight years with authorised Kia dealer service)

Safety: five-star ANCAP (2025)

Engine: single electric motor

Battery: 81.4kWh Lithium-Ion

Service intervals: 24 months or 20,000km

Power: 150kW

Torque: 283Nm

Transmission: single-speed, front-wheel drive

Body: 4310mm (long); 1850mm (wide); 1560mm (high)

Build country: South Korea

Kerb weight: 1845kg

Towing capacity: 1000kg

Luggage storage: 460L (rear boot), 25L (front boot)

Wheels: 19-inch alloy

Tyres: 215/50 19 Hankook iON Evo

Spare wheel: puncture repair kit

Ground clearance: 140mm

Turning circle: 10m

Claimed energy consumption: 16.2kWh/100km

Claimed range: 563km

Claimed charging time: 31 minutes (350kW fast charger, 10 to 80 percent)

Energy consumption on test: 13.6-16.3kWh/100km (400km)

seniordriveraus consumption on test: 17.4kWh/100km (270km)

[review]

The EV3 is the smallest of Kia’s electric SUVs, sitting behind the EV5 and EV9.

They persist in calling the EV6 an SUV too, but it’s not. It’s really more of an over-sized hatch.

By virtue of its size EV3 is also the cheapest too, if you can call $50,000 by the time you put it on the road, cheap.

This could be a problem for the Korean car maker, when cheaper, similarly-sized e-SUVs are fronting up every other week.

Some of them are pretty impressive.

What’s it cost?

The EV3 replaces the Kia Niro.

There are four grades, well three really: Air Standard Range, Air Long Range, Earth Long Range, and GT-Line Long Range, priced from $47,600 plus on-road costs.

Even the Air Standard Range is $50,000 when on-road costs are added. The long-range version is $7500 more, and with range the primary concern of prospective buyers, who’s going to settle for second best?

Our test vehicle the top of the GT-Line is $63,950 plus on-roads, or $70,490 driveaway.

In contrast the Geely EX5 is priced from a razor-sharp $40,990! You can even get $2500 of a Leapmotor C10 if you shop at Costco.

Aussies love a bargain and it’s only a matter of time before the flat screen TV effect kicks in.

EV3 Air models feature cloth trim, while Earth and GT-Line step up to artificial leather.

The Earth grade goes a step further in providing a choice between Subtle Grey and Light Warm Grey artificial leather.

Two-zone climate air is standard, but there’s no power adjustment for the seats in the Air.

For that you have to spring for Earth or GT-Line in which the seats are also heated and cooled. They also get a smart power tailgate.

The Air also scores adaptive cruise, LED all round, auto high beam, auto lights and wipers, auto-dimming rear view mirror plus front and rear park sensors.

It sits on 17-inch alloys, while the other grades step up to 19s and lower profile 215/50 rubber, Hankook iON Evo in the case of the GT-Line.

Features exclusive to GT-Line include a Head-Up Display (HUD), a sunroof, heated steering wheel, and eight-speaker Harman Kardon premium sound.

They haven’t skimped on the infotainment features, however, with built-in navigation standard across the range, along with wireless phone charging.

All grades are equipped with a 12.3-inch touchscreen, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a small 5.3-inch air conditioning monitor, with Kia’s latest GUI.

Other features include Bluetooth, voice recognition, AM/FM and DAB+ digital radio, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, over-the-air updates and Kia Connect telematics and six-speaker audio and Sounds of Nature elevator music.

There are two USB-C ports in the front and another two in the side of the front seats to service rear seat passengers, along with a 12-volt outlet in the lower console.

A granny charger is supplied, but not Mode 2 cable for recharging at outlets which don’t have their own connectors. A V2L connector kit is also included.

The EV3 wears a five-star safety rating, with seven airbags including a centre airbag and suite of safety systems.

Autonomous emergency braking (Car-to-Car, Vulnerable Road User, Junction & Crossing, and Head-On) as well as a lane support system with lane keep assist (LKA), lane departure warning (LDW) and emergency lane keeping (ELK), and an advanced speed assistance system (SAS) with a speed sign recognition system are standard.

There are three top tethers and two ISOFix child restraint anchorage points.

The EV3 is covered by a seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty but the battery and other high voltage components are restricted to seven-years/150,000km.

Most companies warrant the battery separately.

What’s it go like?

Funky space-age styling persists and from a distance the EV3 is easily mistaken for the larger EV5.

They’re cut from the same mold, but it’s the even larger EV9 that it shares design elements with.

I’m not sure where the numbers come from, but they’ve got nothing to do with the number of people they can carry.

The EV3 seats five and adopts the brand’s ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy with a ‘Digital Tiger Face’ front fascia and ‘Star Map’ signature vertical lighting front and rear.

The chassis is based on the Hyundai-Kia K3 platform but it has been redesigned for battery electric vehicles, now called the Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) 400-volt architecture.

At 4.3 metres, it’s not only Kia’s smallest electric SUV, it’s also the smallest Kia EV in the lineup, full stop.

You can pick the GT-Line by its classy wheels and gloss black fender flares.

The front is spacious with a cloth-look strip across the lower part of the dash, funky satin chrome vertical design elements for the doors and two-tier console that extends, but does not open and eight cupholders – two front, two rear and one in each door.

Physical volume and aircon controls are provided in addition to the screen.

Rear legroom is good with a flat floor and rear air outlets.

The smallish boot holds 460 litres, but has a two-tier boot floor and a handy froot (front boot) under the bonnet that holds another 25 litres.

It’s large enough to accommodate two medium-sized roller bags.

The EV3 is the first Kia to incorporate its i-Pedal 3.0 one-pedal regenerative braking option.

The most impressive aspect of the vehicle however is its excellent ride and handling.

Kia has spent years tuning vehicles for Australia’s crap roads and that expertise has obviously been applied to its electric vehicles.

The ride in the EV3 feels big, plush and composed, but not soft, and manages to avoid the porpoising behaviour often exhibited by EVs. But don’t make the mistake of entering too fast, because the weight and short wheelbase will see the vehicle run wide, even with the battery under the floor.

All grades are equipped with the same single electric motor that generates 150kW of power and 283Nm of torque, only the size of the battery pack changes.

That of course means they are all front-wheel drive only, helping to keep weight down and to maximise range.

The electric motor is integrated with an inverter and reduction gearbox to form a single unit mounted at the front of the vehicle.

There are five drive modes: Eco, Normal, Sport, Snow and customisable My Drive.

Regenerative braking can be adjusted using steering wheel paddles, but there’s also a set-and-forget smart mode.

The lightweight Air Standard Range accelerates from zero to 100km/h in 7.5 seconds, the Air Long Range in 7.7 seconds, and the heavier, better equipped Earth and GT-Line Long Range in 7.9 seconds.

It feels quick, but not as quick as some.

But let’s talk range, because range is the most important factor when it comes to EVs for most prospective buyers.

The Earth has a 58.3 kWh battery capacity, the rest 81.4kWh. Both are lithium-ion.

The charge doesn’t seem to evaporate the way it does in some EVs.

The Air Standard can travel 436km on a single charge, Air Long Range 604km, and Earth and GT-Line 563km – that’s on paper at least.

Of interest, our GT-Line not only shows the current projected range, based on driving style and the amount of charge remaining in the batteries, but also the absolute minimum and maximum range possible which is handy to know.

The Air is rated at 14.9kWh/100km, the Earth and GT-Line Long Range at a claimed 16.2kWh/100km.

Being based on 400-volt architecture, the EV3 cannot be charged as quickly as 800-volt vehicles.

Charging is via a Type 2 port located on the driver’s side front of the EV3, with charging from 10 to 80 percent possible in as little as 29 minutes for the Air Standard with a 350kW fast charger. The Earth and GT-Line take 31 minutes.

While maximum range is based on 100 percent of the battery, it’s not recommended to fully charge the battery because it can reduce battery life. It also takes much longer.

The inside of the EV3 is a comfortable place to spend time and our phones hooked up quickly and easily.

But we don’t like the flush door handles which don’t pop out automatically nor the start-stop button which is awkward to use in its position on the inside of the gear selector.

You have to reach through the spokes of the steering wheel to turn the car on or off (see photo).

Sustainable materials are used where possible, including PP and Bio PE plastic, Bio PU Leather, Bio PU foam, Bio Paint, BTX-free Paint, recycled fishing net, recycled PET Yarns, and recycled PET felt and fabric.

You can unlock the doors, track the vehicle and start the aircon remotely using an app.

A rear-view camera with guidelines is fitted, along with front and rear parking sensors – but no 360-degree camera.

There is no spare wheel, just a puncture repair kit.

When we picked up the car it showed a charge of 98 percent and range of 503km (minimum 316km/maximum 734km).

We clocked up 400km from a low of 13.6 to a high of 16.3 kWh/100km.

The trip computer showed a long-term average of 17.9 kWh/100km after 1500km.

What we like

• Roomy for a small wagon
• Easy to drive and operate
• Range comparable with traditional vehicles

What we don’t like

• Relatively expensive
• Door handles don’t pop out
• Position of start button

What over-50s need to know

There’s a lot to like about the Kia EV3.

Apart from the annoying door handles and awkward start button, it offers easy entry and exit and is a snap to drive.

With more than 600km of range accessible, depending on the grade, it has what it takes to compete with traditional petrol and diesel-powered vehicles.

But price could be a stumbling block. So could the lure of cheaper, better equipped Chinese EVs. Your call.

seniordriver comments

It’s cars like the Kia EV3 that make people think that EVs are just too expensive when compared to ICE vehicles. With a price from $50,000 for what is essentially an over-sized hatch, and $70,490 driveaway for the car as tested, it’s not hard to see why.

The EV3 is distinctively designed and very appealing, and at the GT-Line level, in particular, very well equipped.

Kia was one of the first companies to apply tuning to suit Australian conditions, and it shows. The EV3 is an accomplished handler, although that EV weight and short wheelbase count against it.

We find it cheeky that companies recommend charging the battery to only 80 percent, and then quote the range based on 100 percent charge. Come on guys! You can’t have it both ways.

The omission of a 360-degree camera is cause for concern; front and rear parking sensors don’t compensate.

We found it of interest that Chris managed energy consumption of between 13.6kWh/100km, lower than the claimed figure, to a high of 16.3 (just above the claimed figure. seniordriver achieved 17.4kWh/100L, somewhat higher than the claimed figure. The discrepancy, we suspect is that most of our travel was done on highways, where EVs are not at their best. On these figures, the EV3 range would be 1033.0km (13.6kWh/100km), 931.3km (16.3kWh/100km) and 701.1km (17.4kWh).

Thanks to my brother for working out the range figures

Chris Riley has been a journalist for 40 years and is the managing editor of cars4starters.

He has spent half his career as a writer, editor and production editor in newspapers, the rest of the time driving and writing about cars, both in print and online.

His love affair with cars began as a teenager with the purchase of an old VW Beetle, followed by another Beetle and a string of other cars on which he has wasted far too much time and money.

A self-confessed geek, he’s not afraid to ask the hard questions – even at the risk of sounding silly.