Its credentials are compelling, and built around a smartly styled and technologically advanced compact SUV, that should demand attention in a tightly packed segment of our EV market. It’s one where Chinese brands are pushing hard to exert their dominance, and tempting buyers with the peace-of-mind of long 7-10-year new vehicle warranties.
The EV3 makes a strong case with a claimed 600km all-electric range for the long-range version of the entry-level Light provided for this road test. I couldn’t match that figure, and averaged an all-electric range of 470km. This credible figure stacks up well against most of its rivals. Many variables influence range, such as your driving style, vehicle load and type of terrain. Hills are no friend of EVs and can chew the battery charge at an alarming rate.
This vehicle stands our on our EV landscape with its daring boxy chunky profile that mimics its larger siblings, the big and bold EV9 and EV5. The EV3 plants itself nicely between these two models. It defies its tall boxy upright stance, scything through the air with Teflon-like slipperiness and a drag coefficient of 0.26. Less wind resistance helps extend the vehicle’s driving range.
The EV3 replaces the all-electric model in the popular and capable Kia Niro that now becomes a hybrid offering only, although the performance of its 104kW hybrid system is bit lacklustre.
Following in the footsteps of other Kia models bound for this part of the world over the last 10 years, the EV3 has also gone down the path of being fettled for Australian and New Zealand conditions. Company engineers carried out more than 20,000km of local testing to create a unique combination of suspension hardware and shock absorber settings, tuned for life on the road here.
All EV3’s are powered by a 150kW/283Nm electric motor, which integrates with an inverter and reduction gearbox to form a single unit mounted at the front of the vehicle. Each model offers Vehicle to Load outlets as standard, enabling electric devices to draw on the power supplied by the car’s battery, for power anywhere. All models can be re-amped back to full, from 10% to 80%, at a 350kW DC fast-charger in just 30 minutes.
The 4-model range leads off with the aggressively priced $55,520 Light standard range, and in long range, sells for $62,220. The mid-spec Earth retails for $69,220, with the appealing range topper the $75,220 GT-Line, a reasonable enough ask if you want the raciest looker in the EV3 family. Having a model priced comfortably under $60k is an attention grabber, but I reckon the Light long range I test-drove is the best value.
It ticks most of the boxes that matter on EV buyers’ check sheets and has the longest claimed EV driving range at 603km. Owners enjoy Kia free motoring with a seven-year/ 150,000km warranty, plus an eight-year/160,000km on the battery.
All except the entry-level Light short-range model, which has a smaller 58kW battery, get their thrust from a beefy 81kW battery and single motor pairing that conjure up 153kW of power and 283Nm of torque. This was plenty to propel the test car along with real purpose. Throttle response is snappy and sharp. The single-speed automatic works unobtrusively in the background, providing effortless progress in both urban and open road driving.
Luggage capacity is a generous 460 litres, and morphs into an enormous 1251 litres with the rear seats folded down. A 25-litre trunk at the front of the car is perfect for storing the charging cable, or smaller items that need to be readily accessible. The EV3 taps into the packaging benefits of a re-sized E-GMP platform from the king-size EV9 wagon to create exceptional interior space, given the vehicle’s compact exterior, with head, legroom and shoulder more like a vehicle a size bigger than this one.
A 29.6in panoramic display screen is easy to use, and so much so, it will seem like an old friend in next to no time. The level of technology is impressive, including the seamless integration between the new EV3 and mobile phones. Thanks to the Kia Connect app, there are nine different vehicle functions that can be applied to the new EV3, including Remote Climate Control, Remote Lock, EV Charging Locations and Status, as well as Real-time Vehicle Tracking.
The driver and passengers are cocooned in safety thanks to the inclusion of the same Advanced Driving Assistance Systems and Vehicle Dynamics found in the EV9. These include forward collision avoidance assist, lane keep assist, lane follow assist and smart cruise control with stop and go.
The suspension set-up strikes the right ride and road-holding balance, and it feels and acts like it relishes life on our roads. The development work Kia put into ensuring the suspension was in sync with our driving conditions has paid off big time. A cosseted ride does a fine job of suppressing suspension noise even when confronted by gnarly patchwork and potholed road surfaces.
Responsive and nicely weighted steering rounds out a competent and capable suspension package. The road feel and well-considered weighting of the steering is hard to fault, and for an EV, provides an unexpected but welcome sporty feel. I feel this one’s all round ride and handling package is more complete across the board, compared with the larger EV5 I drove a few months ago. In the EV5’s defence, unlike the EV3, it doesn’t have the considerable benefits of being built on a dedicated electric vehicle platform.
