For years, Americans have asked when we would actually be able to afford long-range electric cars. Good news: The answer to that is right here, right now. The Chevrolet Bolt is the homegrown salvo with 262 miles of range for $28,995, the Nissan Leaf S+ just barely beat it to the punch with 303 miles of range for $31,565, and now there’s a new kid on the block with big ambitions: The Kia EV3.
Already on sale in America, the cheapest trim of this compact crossover stickers for $31,385 and promises 221 miles of range. Not a huge figure, but while stepping up to the cheapest long range trim bumps the price up to $36,485 including freight, it also increases range to 321 miles. On paper, this little crossover’s playing in the big leagues, but how does it drive on tarmac? I flew to Victoria, British Columbia, which is in Canada, to find out.
[Full disclosure: Kia flew me to Victoria, British Columbia to drive the EV3 and provided accommodation and nourishment for the three-day duration of the program. Also, shoutout to the employees at the Tim Hortons on North Shore Road in Lake Cowichan for their grace in dealing with the rush of orders mid-drive-day. Food service is a rough industry, and 19 undercaffeinated journalists and their minders rolling up at once is quite the rush.]
The Basics:
Battery pack: Standard 58.3 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, optional 81.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
Drive: Standard single-motor front-wheel-drive, optional dual-motor all-wheel-drive.
EPA Range: 221 miles (356 km) for the base short-range FWD model, 321 miles (517 km) for long-range FWD models, 280 miles (451 km) for long-range AWD models.
Output: 201 horsepower and 209 lb.-ft. of torque on FWD models; 261 horsepower and 284 lb.-ft. of torque on AWD models, 288 horsepower and 345 lb.-ft. of torque on the GT model.
Curb Weight: 3,836 pounds to 4,453 pounds.
Base Price: $31,385 including freight ($39,180 in Canada).
Price As-Tested: $39,985 including freight for the Land FWD trim, $45,430 for the GT-Line AWD trim ($45,930 and $54,930 in Canada, respectively).
Why Does It Exist?
With a quartet of powertrain options including two with all-wheel-drive, maximum range of 321 miles, and long-range model pricing from $36,485 including freight, it doesn’t just have to compete with the most affordable new EVs in America (like the Leaf and Bolt and Equinos). It also has to compete with gently used ones, and that’s a big challenge.
How Does It Look?
A few years ago, Kia impressed just about everyone when it unveiled a blocky, mature styling language for its new EVs on the EV9. In a sea of rotund road manatees, the chiseled features of this look stood out, but how does it adapt to a seriously small form? As it turns out, rather well. The EV3 measures just under 170 inches long, two inches shorter than a Toyota Corolla Hatchback. In the North American market, that’s downright dinky, but it doesn’t look it. Instead, it seems rather grown-up, and it’s full of interesting details like the shark-fin C-pillars, vertical slats on the fascia, and range of four-spoke-based wheel designs.
Unlike many EVs with fancy flush-fit door handles, the door handles on the EV3 are actually mechanical. On every trim but the cheapest one, there are little actuators to pop the front ones proud of the body and that’s it. Pulling each lever moves a cable which pops a latch. Why reinvent the wheel? Granted, the C-pillar-mounted rear door handles aren’t ideal for people with children old enough to buckle themselves in but too young to reach the high cabinets.
What About The Interior?
It’s certainly funky and there are some hard plastics in places you’ll never really touch, but Kia’s pulled the trick of making everything close to the driver feel properly posh. Swaths of fabric clothe the dashboard fascia and door panel inserts, adding rich texture and cohesion. The clicky toggles for the temperature control seem almost Germanic, the armrests feel straight off a sofa, and the steering wheel’s wrapped in faux leather so convincing, you can almost imagine the fake moos from the fake cows that laid down their fake lives for this. While the bank of capacitive touch buttons for infotainment shortcuts isn’t as nice as real buttons would be, Kia makes up for that by not including a single piece of shiny black plastic anywhere inside the EV3. That’s the way it should be.
The seats in Kia’s littlest EV also punch far beyond their weight class. Although they could use a touch more thigh support, they’re otherwise excellent for the money, particularly when it comes to lower back support. The front seats include clever integrated USB-C charging ports for rear passengers, while the rear seats benefit from a perfectly flat floor.
Despite its compact dimensions, the EV3 offers nigh-on as much rear legroom as the current Toyota RAV4, and rear headroom and shoulder room competitive with some of the more big-boned members of the subcompact crossover crew. Of equal importance, there’s more than adequate foot space underneath the front seats, and even the cargo space is packaged cleverly. There’s a tiny frunk under the hood good for charging cables or emergency supplies, and a two-position false floor in the trunk to provide either extra load height or seats-down flatness on demand.
However, it’s not all perfect in the EV3. The bezel for the dashboard speaker casts a monstrously distracting reflection on the windshield so big you’ll need polarized sunglasses to eliminate it, and the steering wheel rim on GT-Line models is too thick for anyone smaller than Shaq to wrap their hands around. It’s not nearly as prominent as the dashboard reflection of the Chevrolet Equinox EV, but it’s one of those things you can’t unsee.
How Does It Drive?
In an age of electric horsepower wars, 201 horsepower from front-wheel-drive versions of the EV3 sounds downright quaint. No matter, because in daily commuting duties, you really don’t need any more potency than this. Because the car’s torque is so immediate and seamless, Kia’s claimed zero-to-60 mph time of between 7.1 and 7.5 seconds depending on battery pack size and wheel diameter may not seem quick, but it belies the urgency at which this thing nips into gaps and builds speed for sensible overtakes. It’s not jumpy, either. Kia’s little electric crossover is a smooth operator, even in more potent all-wheel-drive trim.
Mind you, power is secondary to where a full charge of electrons can take you. While the base model’s 221 miles of EPA range isn’t much to write home about, long range front-wheel-drive models are all rated to cover 321 miles on a charge, and all-wheel-drive models all feature a claimed range of 280 miles. After a day of real-world driving, I think those figures seem conservative. More than 320 miles on a charge in long range front-wheel-drive configuration should be easy to achieve, and while the headline maximum DC fast charging rate of 127 kW (120 kW on standard range models) doesn’t sound outstanding, Kia claims a flat enough charging curve to run from 10-to-80 percent state-of-charge in 31 minutes.
Beyond the electric powertrain, the overarching feel of the EV3 on the road is one of ease. Insulated glass on all but the base trim aids in maintaining a mature quietness at freeway speeds, light steering makes it easy to park but an accurate sense of dead-ahead prevents any high-speed wander. There’s a touch of torque steer when you plant the pedal through the carpet, but that’s to be expected in this sort of car. Less expected is the sophistication of the regenerative braking. Not only is there an automatic mode that uses the forward-facing radar system, there are three levels of regenerative braking and three levels of deceleration rate for one-pedal driving. That’s a lot of choice. The advanced driver assistance suite is impressive too, with lane keeping assistance and radar-guided cruise control that operates with a deft touch. In many ways, the EV3 feels like a more expensive car than it is.
I wish I could say the same about the ride quality. though. Although it’s perfectly compliant almost all of the time, certain situations make it clear that the rear suspension on the EV3 is noticeably underdamped. Over smaller bumps like ripple strips, this merely manifests as slightly louder slap from the rear tires, but large and/or successive undulations is where things get a little spooky. There just doesn’t seem to be enough rebound damping to keep the rear springs in check, resulting in an unsettling pogo-like movement over frost heaves as the near two-ton mass of Kia’s littlest EV becomes glaringly obvious. If you’ve ever been bounced around in a car with blown rear shocks, the feeling’s similar. It’s one massive fly in an otherwise highly agreeable ointment, but one that’s fixable with a little more time in the oven. Kia, if you’re listening, rear dampers with stiffer tuning and a more digressive profile, preferably with frequency-selective valving, ought to fix this entirely. Your customers will notice and likely thank you for it.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
You bet. Dress an EV3 up to the nines and you’ll be revelling in gizmos including a tack-sharp 360-degree camera system, a hands-free power liftgate, a “relaxation” deep-recline setting for the driver’s seat, and power-folding mirrors. However, even the base trim’s well-equipped with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a big digital cluster, dual-zone climate control, LED interior lighting, and GPS navigation. Remember when that sort of stuff was only found in the chariots of plutocrats? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Speaking of electronics, shoutout to the standard audio system for being vastly better than expected. These days, great audio is part-speaker but nearly all tuning, and Kia’s done a proper job here. Clarity exceeds that of the optional Bose system in the Nissan Leaf, kick drums hit cleanly, and the sound stage is nice and airy. Sure, you can upgrade to the top trim with the Harman/Kardon system, but you really don’t need to.
Three Things To Know About The Kia EV3
- It’s far roomier than its size suggests.
- Light on options is the way to go.
- Be wary of mid-corner frost heaves.
Does The Kia EV3 Fulfill Its Purpose?
Minor quibbles around suspension tuning and dash trim aside, the Kia EV3 is the best sub-$40,000 300-plus-mile EV North America’s seen yet. However, it’s best enjoyed with a light touch on the option sheet. The long-range battery is totally worth the $5,100 ($4,000 in Canada) upcharge from the Light model to the Wind trim, but beyond that, anything else is simply nice-to-have. At $36,485 including freight for the cheapest 321-mile trim ($43,180 in Canada), you get heated seats, a power driver’s seat with adjustable lumbar support, automatic power front windows, acoustic glass, loads of USB-C ports, rear seat air vents, dual-zone climate control, and a solid roster of driver assistance systems. It’s good kit at a price about on the level with the shorter-range, cheaper-feeling Nissan Leaf SV+, even if it’s a couple grand more than a similarly equipped albeit shorter-range Chevrolet Bolt.
As for whether the EV3 is worth buying over a used EV, that’s a far more loaded question because it’s highly dependent on risk tolerance. A second-hand Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Tesla Model 3, or Polestar 2 can be a strong deal right now provided you’re alright with a shorter remaining warranty term and the likely higher interest rates that come with used cars. Regardless, a front-wheel-drive EV3 with the 81.4 kWh battery pack will have more range than most gently used EVs you can buy for the money, a five-year bumper-to-bumper warranty, and the easy financing access that comes with a new car.
What’s The Punctum Of The Kia EV3?
Bang for the buck indeed.
Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal
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