KIA EV3 REVIEW: IT'S LIKE DAFT PUNK REMIXED A VOLVO
Here's an EV you might actually want to buy.
South Korea recently took the world by surprise by going a bit mad for a minute, declaring martial law on the streets of Seoul. And now it’s sprung another shocker, by building an electric car you might want to buy.
The Kia EV3 is set to become one of the most popular electric vehicles on our roads, thanks to its compact size, reliability, range and a price you can’t really argue with. The standard range entry-level ‘Air’ costs £32,995 with a WLTP quote of 270 miles from a single charge, but the long range version I drove this week can do 375 miles for just three grand more. This compares very favourably with its competitors. The longest range Volvo EX30 costs £37,050 but can only do 296 miles on a charge, the Cupra Born is £44,625 and can do 372 miles and the Volkswagen ID.3 is £46,315 with a range of 369 miles. The Kia has more boot space than all of them, and a much better warranty: Seven-years or 100,000 miles. Incidentally, Kia keeps coming top in surveys of the best dealers.
They used to be about as aspirational as pink loo paper, but a recent rebrand and a flood of strong new models has made Kia every bit as respectable as its rivals in Gothenburg and Wolfsburg. In fact, in democratising family EVs, the EV3 could very well do for the genre what the VW Golf kicked off for petrol-powered hatchbacks 50 years ago.
The EV3’s styling has lots of contrasting angles, which makes it look futuristic, sturdy and uncommonly individual in this class of compact hatch crossovers where aesthetics generally ape appliances you might buy in Currys. The design philosophy is ‘opposites united’. To the squinted eye, I suspect Kia started with a picture of the EX30, but then had Daft Punk attack it with some straight bold lines, wheels that create the optical illusion of being square, and a slightly elevated boxy stance that reminds me of those four-legged all-terrain armoured transport vehicles from the Star Wars universe. Elon Musk once blasted a Tesla into space as a publicity stunt. The Kia would look much more at home up there.
Inside the bright and spacious cabin, my car’s dashboard is a light shade of grainy grey plastic, like a Nintendo Game Boy. The video game vibes extend to the driving experience. One is confronted with two 12.3in screens; one for the instrument display and the other for the navigation, but the touch-tech is balanced with a welcome number of physical switches. Scan the QR code on the dash and it’ll tell you where its many recycled materials come from. There’s a chance the seats were once plastic fishing nets washed up on a Hawaiian beach.
The long-range Air’s 0-62 time of 7.7 seconds won’t see you take the title off Max Verstappen next season, but it’ll boss the school run, and it is as silent as a distant draft. Selecting sport mode adds a twist of lime to the powertrain’s gin and tonic; not exactly a double measure, but it stiffens the steering and makes the throttle more urgent. It corners so flat you’ll barely need to use the brakes and the experience, overall, is as smooth as Tom Hiddleston dipped in margarine.
What bugs everyone about modern cars are the nannying bings and bongs, which the hi-vis jacket brigade have insisted all manufacturers install and which must activate every time you start the vehicle. Kia have come up with a solution to disable the speed limit warning bong easily; you simply press and hold the volume button on the steering wheel for three seconds. There’s no having to poke around the infotainment screen while you drive into a ditch. Bings not so easily disabled include one to tell you to keep your eyes on the road and another to suggest it’s time you stopped for a coffee. No doubt, drifting off to sleep is a constant danger in an electric car. They are sterile things and the only way to avoid going numb in the head is to make your hatch a hot one and order the 641bhp Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, which shares the EV3’s platform but is £65,000 and will devour its batteries in a single gulp if driven as intended. Mr Sensible will choose the Kia over that, not least because of all the kit the base car comes with. Just call it Free Gear Kia.
Heated front seats and heated steering wheel are standard. Also included is the latest generation of forward collision avoidance assistance, blind spot sensors, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance and semi-autonomous steering on highways, plus mercifully seamless connectivity. There’s lots of cubby holes for storage and a wireless charging pad that’s big enough for two phones. In the back, there’s room for three long-legged adults and three suitcases in the boot. Kia, which expects to sell over 10,000 of these in the UK next year, says the £39,495 ‘GT Line’ spec car will be the most popular, coming with softer plastics, bigger wheels, some sportier styling tweaks, and fake leather as opposed to cloth seats.
South Korea’s president may be getting impeached, but Kia’s EV line-up is unimpeachable. The EV3 is the best sub-£40k all-electric family car on the market.
The Hayometer: Kia EV3 Air (long range)
Motor: Front-mounted electric
Power: 201 bhp / 150 kW
Torque: 283 Nm / 209 lb ft
Acceleration: 0-62mph: 7.7 sec
Top speed: 105mph
Battery capacity: 81.4 kWh
WLTP range: 375 miles
Weight: 1,885kg
Price: £35,995
Release date: On sale now
Adam’s rating: 4/5