The EV revolution has happened in stages. First we got microcars and hatchbacks, then we got sedans and large SUVs. Now, automakers are finally filling out their lineups with smaller SUVs. The Kia EV3 wants to slot neatly into that gap.
The subcompact electric crossover aims to combine a gorgeous neo-future aesthetic with genuine on-road practicality. It follows on from the EV6, EV9, and EV5, rounding out the range by offering something smaller and lighter with the same sharp design language.
The Kia EV3 is is still a ways away from landing in the US. It’s confirmed for North America, but isn’t expected until the 2026 model year. However, it’s due to land in the UK market in just a few short months, and that’s given us our best look at the model yet. Let’s dive in.
Crumpet Spec
The EV3 really is a properly compact offering. It comes in at just 169.2 inches long, 72.8 inches wide, and 61.4 inches high. That’s only a hair over 5 feet tall! It will be the smaller complement to Kia’s existing EV lineup, which is already finding plenty of willing customers in the US.
Kia UK will open pre-orders for the EV3 on August 1. It will offer the model in three grades—the Air, GT-Line, and GT-Line S. Pricing won’t be a direct guide for US buyers, as there are grand differences between auto markets across the Atlantic. Still, it’s interesting to see what the Brits will get versus what eventually comes to America.
The Air starts at £32,995 ($42,405 USD) with a 58.3 kWh battery, which is good for 267 miles of range on the WLTP combined cycle. For just £3,000 ($3,855 USD) more, though, you can upgrade to the 81.4 kWh battery, which will stretch that to 372 miles. It’s not a lot of extra cash to spend for a lot of extra range. If you’re financing the thing, you might not even notice the difference. The Air models are front-wheel-drive, with a single motor good for 201 horsepower and 209 pound-feet of torque.
As the base model, the Air is still very well equipped. It comes with all the usual collision avoidance and lane-assist tech you’d expect, along with heated seats and steering wheel as standard. Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, too, as is a 12.3-inch driver display and a 12.3-inch touchscreen navigation system. Sorry to say, though, button fans, but Kia uses a 5.3-inch touchscreen for the HVAC controls in the EV3. Also, if you like grey cloth upholstery, the Air has just what you need.
From there, we step up to the GT-Line, which starts at £39,495 ($50,770 USD). It’s only available with the 81.4 kWh battery, with a range of up to 347 miles. It adds 19-inch wheels, up from 17-inch on the Air, along with two-tone upholstery, automatic flush door handles, a wireless phone charger, and an ambient lighting system
The GT-Line S takes things one step further, starting at £42,995 ($55,260 USD). Again standard with the long-range battery pack, it too achieves 347 miles of range on the WLTP combined cycle. It adds luxury touches to the EV3, including an 8-speaker Harmon Kardon premium sound system, a front sunroof, heads-up display, and “front premium relaxation seats.” Hopefully not too relaxing. You also get heated outer rear seats and ventilation in the front seats, too. You also get a power tailgate, vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality, and a 360-degree surround view monitor. Optionally, the GT-Line S can also be fitted with a heat pump for more efficient heating. It’ll set you back a further £900 ($1,156 USD).
Notably, the GT-Line and GT-Line S have the same drivetrain and power output as the Air. And yet, they post 7% lower range figures—most likely due to the wheel and tire package, more than anything else.
In the US, the model is expected to land somewhere under $40,000. It’s expected that only the larger battery option will land on these shores, given the American taste for range. Barring that, though, don’t expect a whole lot of surprises versus what’s landing in Europe later this year. Except, you know, the steering wheel being on the correct side. The full lineup and specifics are yet to be announced, but we’ll keep a close eye out as the EV3 inches closer to its North American launch.
Rise of the Subcompact
The EV market is growing richer every day. If you want an electric sedan or SUV, you’re spoiled for choice. There are also a great many options for tiny city cars if you happen to be in Europe. But thus far, the subcompact SUV segment has been a quiet space waiting for entrants.
Rivian is making a big play in this regard. The R3 SUV stunned the world when it was first revealed earlier this year. It was a well-styled compact that drew heavily from past retro designs, while nonetheless using Rivian’s solid design language to root itself firmly in the near future. The R3X then took things further by adding just a tinge of rally-bred ruggedness.
You ever see a car that just perfectly captures what everybody wants even when they didn't realize it pic.twitter.com/XRKEFTBgxP
— Lewin S. Day (@rainbowdefault) March 7, 2024
The design took the car world by storm, but there was just one problem. It wasn’t ready yet. Rivian is making us wait, likely until 2026 at the earliest, to get our hands on this gorgeous thing.
Could this leave an opening for Kia? True, the EV3 doesn’t have quite the classic design of the Rivian. But it is good looking, it is a chunky little subcompact SUV, and it might just hit the market first. It also has the name of a major automaker behind it. For the average punter on the street, Kia is still a more familiar brand than Rivian.
Ultimately, the two models may end up serving very different markets. Kia is aiming the EV3 at the everyperson. If you want a small, electric SUV, here it is! Meanwhile, Rivian has a rather magical design on its hands with a rorty AWD tri-motor version in the works. It might be something that lands more upmarket. Think a tidy Nissan Maxima versus the sportier charms of the BMW 3 Series in decades past, and you get what I’m saying.
In any case, it’s an exciting time for the EV market. Kia is bringing us more handsome product real soon. They can only be faulted for making us wait for the old colonials to get theirs first.
Image credits: Kia, Rivian
What’s up with the 1980s Tron video game styling on just about every EV?
Style moves in waves. And I’m into it.
Starting at $42,000 and you can spend $60,000 if you want to.
I don’t know who this is for, but they’re not saving any money by going electric if they choose this car.
Those are UK prices, as stated. Likely to be cheaper in dollar terms in the US.
Why is the steering wheel on the right? I thought South Korea was a left-hand drive country.
It’s in the news again for the announcement of UK specs and pricing, with the order books opening in a couple days.
Paragraph 3:
“However, it’s due to land in the UK market in just a few short months, and that’s given us our best look at the model yet. Let’s dive in.”
“Who doesn’t love concealed rear door handles?”
Me. They are a stupid trend. Especially if you live in a climate that gets ice rain. You need handles that can actually give you proper purchase to tug open a frozen door. Also smaller kids have a harder time reaching up higher to open the door. I guess you will be getting out every time to let them in.
They probably never entered that data into the AI they are using to style things these days.
Still waiting for a truly small and cheaper subcompact EV here, but these are definitely a step in the right direction.
Still waiting for a place to charge them, let alone travel with them.
Signed, Condo owner.
Waiting for the N version (hot hatch!).
Looks great!
Except for the ugly headlights.
That weird black striped thing everybody puts on the C pillar. Do those have a name, you know like bangle butt or whatever it is that BMWs had? Anyway, those are alway ugly. Can’t decide if its the equivalent of a razor fade mullet or a neck tattoo for cars.
Oh and WTF is that doubleheader hockey stick on the side for? I would be loosing to much time wondering how that got there. Is it covering up some body seam? Life is too short to waste that much time.
The Rivan looks nice. Nothing to complain about. Well, they might try making an actual car with that design language, but that’s definitely the opposite of a complaint.
That R3 photo just reminds me how much I want a fiat Mk2 gen. Panda EV.
I like how it’s not too big. Unfortunately this is probably the closest I’ll get to a Corolla hatchback sized EV. I know I’m wasting my time but please someone give me a small sedan or (preferably) hatchback with about 275 miles of range starting under 30k. I don’t want a Cosplay Utility Vehicle. I had one years ago, it was no better at carrying my stuff than my sedan.
It looks nice, like the other Hyundai and Kia EVs but $40,000 is a deal breaker, compounded by having to do business with the slimier than a hagfish dealer network.
So this thing is supposed to compete with the Hyundai Venue compact SUV even though the price is twice as high?
“Nuzzle into that hole.”
One of us definitely needs to get into horny jail.
Uhhhh. I didn’t write that. Not quite my style. Reverted the edit.
Really excited for more B-Segment crossovers. They’ve pretty much replaced compact hatches in the US and are actually affordable compared to these massive 60k+ monstrosities that automakers have been pushing. BYD and other Chinese makers could have already been pushing this segment to where the masses could afford them but it is looking like we are getting a re-run of the 50s-70s with what happened when Japanese car makers came to the US.
That explains the excitement about the EV3 and the EX30. The R3 is domestic and more off-roady and therefore would have attracted a lot of interest anyway; unfortunately, Rivian’s site page for it is devoid of anything but pics, unlike the R2’s page, which includes dimensions, a starting price and a promised on-sale date of 2026. Volvo has already announced its intention to increase EX30 production in Belgium to cover US demand and delayed its rollout here because of the tariff; if Kia can build EV3s here. they can benefit from that sweet, sweet incentive money assuming things don’t get even worse in November.
But all three of these are getting a lot more interest than the Equinox EV, which is adequately equipped at around $35,000 after the tax credit now (and probably a little less than adequately at $29,000-ish net when the 1LT comes out) and has more room for people than any of these. Part of it is that all three of these offers more specific enthusiast appeal – more features, more refinement, better road manners, more interesting styling – but probably part of it’s just that Chevy is a little too quotidian if it’s anything but a Corvette or Camaro, and the Equinox with any drivetrain is even more so.
The thing that sucks is that in the US we will sell it only with 30 inch wheels that kill the ride, reduce aero, make tires and wheels 3x more expensive, and just all around ruin the car in the name of ‘design’. Woot woot.
They also reduce the range.
So I could buy one or buy 2 Kia Souls for the same price? I want one but 40K to start is just too much for what would be our around town grocery getting 3rd car.
No AWD? That’s going to be a hard sell in the northern US where we’ve been brainwashed into believing that AWD is necessary for the decreasing times it snows.
Also, with EVs, I think the heated/ventilated seats and heat pump climate control should be standard on all trim levels. Save the upcharges for frivolous nonsense like the power doorhandles and liftgate and branded audio systems and range-sapping big wheel packages.
Seems like this would make the Niro EV redundant as dimensionally they’re pretty close – Niro’s a bit longer, EV3 a bit wider. Unless the Niro as a whole is on the way out after the Seltos adds a hybrid.
Didn’t run this by Adrian, did you?
I have great respect for Adrian, but only a few of the same opinions.
I often imagine his scathing comments whenever I’m praising this or that design… XD
I still think that Rivian is missing out on a co-branding opportunity with Shelby. That R3 is really giving me Dodge Omni vibes, and the tri-motor version could really cosplay as an R3 GLHS(e).
At $40k no one will buy this thing. Broadly speaking it’s a Bolt competitor, but a whole 1/3rd higher cost? Kia had better sharpen their pencils and rethink what they’re doing if that is indeed their plan…
Subtract 20% since the British price includes a 20% VAT. Us colonials don’t agree with that.
True, specially since the EV6 starts at $45K and offers way more room, features and performance.
I rented one recently and I liked it, but as most EVs it isn’t suited for road trips. It can’t make a trip from Chicago to Detroit on a single charge, though (despite what the MFR says).
Nice that the power door handles are optional. Call me an old man but I don’t trust them to last, at all, and wouldn’t buy a car that had them.
I liked the design until I saw those. What a stupid way to bump up the cost for no benefit.
This is more of an EX30 competitor than R3, the Rivian will appeal more to the adventure crowd, like a safari Golf. But yeah it’s far enough out that the price will jump by $10k before it gets here, and who knows what else will change.
It’s like all of the 2020’s design themes thrown onto one car
No EX30 until 2025, no EV3 until 2026, no R3x until 2026.
I want my subcompact EV SUV! （；´д｀）ゞ
Remember those old commercials where people would shout “I want my MTV!!”? I heard this comment in that voice.
If you’re really old, you remember the “ I want my Maypo” commercials.
And now I’ve got Sting singing in my head. Thanks for that