By James le Page
Former Product Test Team Leader | Kaiārahi Kapa Whakamātau Hautaonga
We first experienced the Kia EV3 before it was released to the general public.
Then, we were given another chance for an extended evaluation. Since our first drive, it’s been awarded World Car of the Year (selected by a jury of 102 automotive journalists).
First impressions
The EV3 is basically a shrunken down EV9.
If you've driven one of those before, everything will feel very familiar. In our view, their mutual shape feels more fun in miniature.
We had the $62,000 Light LR version of the EV3. LR is short for ‘long range’, and Kia claim you can get 605km from the 81.4kWh battery.
The boxy shape makes for plenty of headroom when you climb aboard, and I had plenty of space as the driver. There’s what feels like one continuous screen across two-thirds of the dashboard. In reality, it’s two separate screens. On the right, you've got your classic dashboard read-out of speed and navigation. On the left, is a widescreen infotainment system. It’s all very well put together, feels high tech and works well out of the box.
There are some physical buttons for controlling the air con and radio volume, plus short-cuts for the infotainment, which are nice to have. Underneath them is a USB-C port for your Apple CarPlay or your Android auto.
The steering wheel has a plethora of buttons (I counted 13). That's not the worst thing in the world, because it keeps your hands on the wheel rather than elsewhere.
While the space up front is great, the rear gets rather cramped when you've got people sitting in the front seats. I put a rear-facing child’s car seat into the backseat to take my son out for a pootle, leaving barely any legroom in the front passenger seat for my wife. Behind me (a 6′9″ driver), there was no shot of fitting an adult, unless they were a contortionist.
Commuting and day-to-day life
One interesting quirk of the EV3 that I notice on my commute was the fixed-speed-camera locations programmed into it. When you're approaching a camera, the EV3 gives an audible warning. The speed limit is programmed in, and if you exceed it, your posted speed on the dashboard glows red. It's a great visual indication that you’re at risk of getting a ticket and hats off to Kia. I like that feature, and I wish my own car had it.
The best feature of the EV3 is the suspension. In my opinion, this is its main selling point. It’s probably one of the most comfortable cars I've ever driven around town. It appears capable of soaking up any general bumps you come across, and you can drive around all day without feeling the judders you get in other vehicles.
For a daily driver, the EV3’s small size makes parking very easy. You don’t get a 360° camera in the LR, but you get a reasonably high-definition rear-view camera.
Road trips
Like all the cars I assess, I took the EV3 over the Remutaka hill to test it on a highway and hilly, winding driving. I set the regenerative braking to max, which takes it all the way down to stop. It's pretty good – just not as good as the EV5’s one-pedal system.
I had the lane-keep-assist switched on for the entire highway section, and it made things nice and relaxed. It adjusts the steering naturally by putting a bit of weight one way or the other on the steering wheel. It almost feels like an e-bike, in the sense that it makes life that little bit easier, assisting you on your journey. Not all cars can do this – the lane-keep-assist on some feels very grabby and intrusive.
The main thing you expect when you take an EV on the highway is that the economy will decline with the higher speeds. Surprisingly, with the EV3, the figure on the dash for the 68km highway drive was 15.8kWh/100km – much lower than the 17.4kWh/100km average from my days of commuting.
One reason for that good economy is probably the motor. The EV3 isn’t a powerful car by any means. You can get to 100km/h in about 8 seconds, so it’s not sluggish; it’s just not an overtaking weapon.
Final thoughts
The EV3 is a nice, comfortable car, well suited for use as a second car or for a household with only two adults. This vehicle’s good – and that's what you want. You’re spending a lot of money on a car, and you expect it to deliver the goods. The EV3 does that – and 102 journos think so, too.
If you’re like me, though, and need to regularly use rear-facing car seats, look for a different model. Or cut off your legs.
