Kia EV3 2025 review - International first drive

The EV3 is going for a premium feel in a small SUV package, and the features list proves it.

While the base model we drove on launch gets cloth seats and no sunroof, the seats are still electrically adjustable and there’s a massive 30-inch panel with 12.3-inch driver display, 5.0-inch climate control touchscreen and a 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen as standard across the range.

That means even if you only opt for the lowest spec the EV3 is primed to impress, especially if you’re coming from a car several years older.

2025 Kia EV3 GT-line and base model

Depending on how Kia Australia decides to go when it comes to features, expect the more expensive variants to have a sunroof, heated and cooled front seats, a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats and maybe even some options for contrast trim colours.

A few other locked-in features are the cabin’s ambient lighting, an adjustable central table that slides out from the armrest and V2L (Vehicle-to-Load) capacity for powering appliances from the car’s battery.

The price of the EV3’s going to be pretty important, but we don’t know exactly what figure Kia has in mind this far out from its Australian launch.

Expect pricing for the EV3 to have it battling the higher-end variants of rivals like the BYD Atto 3 or MG ZS EV - which land around $50,000

It’s pretty much guaranteed it’ll be priced lower than the mid-size EV5 SUV, though eventually a GT-Line version of the EV3 is likely to show up and cause overlap between pricing for the two line-ups.

Kia says in pre-production opinion testing participants thought the car looked bigger than it is.

It's larger than a Volvo EX30 and smaller than a BYD Atto 3 - dimensions are 4300mm long, 1850mm wide and 1560mm tall - but it's inside where the space is really important. 

For a start, the 460L boot is much bigger than the EX30's (318L), and it also has a 25L frunk.

2025 Kia EV3 GT-line

Also, because it's a dedicated EV platform, it's got a low, flat floor and its wheels sit at the corners of the car, not eating into the interior space.

It's a pretty clean, crisp space, and a combination of good light and some clever packaging make it feel closer to a mid-size SUV on the inside. 

The seats are electrically adjustable with leather and the cloth options feeling pretty nice to touch. The headrests are comfy, too.

2025 Kia EV3 GT-line

Adjusting the seats to find comfortable positions is easy, and two adults can sit comfortably one behind the other in the EV3 without lacking knee-room.

In terms of the tech functionality, Kia leans a little further into using the touchscreens than feels necessary. Having a climate panel always accessible is good and the shortcut buttons below the main multimedia screen are useful, but menus are more distracting than they need to be at times.

Storage in the cabin is above the standard for a small SUV: you get the aforementioned quasi-desk that pulls out from under the central armrest, cupholders and bottle storage isn't in the way and even the phone charging pad is roomy.

Behind my own seating position, I've got a nice amount of knee and headroom at 178cm tall, the backrest has a wide adjustable range and there's a standard fold-down armrest with cupholders, too. The rear seat is also where access to the interior V2L socket is.

At launch, the EV3 will come in a single-motor, front-wheel drive layout with a power output of 150kW and 283Nm of torque.

A standard-range 58.3kWh and a long-range 81.4kWh version will make up two battery choices, but later an all-wheel drive GT-Line variant is set to show up with more power.

Power outputs for future variants remain unconfirmed by Kia, so we’ll wait until a local confirmation comes along in regards to Australian line-up and outputs.

2025 Kia EV3 base model and GT-line

While Kia says the maximum driving range under WLTP testing should be about 600km, its standard range 58.3kWh battery doesn’t yet have a confirmed claim.

A proper power consumption figure also hasn’t been confirmed, but during the launch the EV3’s anticipated range even after quite some driving suggested a 600km run on one charge is reasonable.

Kia Australia hasn’t confirmed charging speeds, but specs from the UK suggest the smaller battery can charge up to 102kW on DC charging, while the long-range battery maxes out at 128kW. 

The EV3 uses a 400V architecture instead of the 800-volt used by larger Kia EV models, thus its slower charge rate. Both should charge in around 31 minutes from 10-80 per cent, Kia says.

No independent safety testing has been carried out for the EV3 yet, but a five-star rating from the likes of ANCAP is crucial for an SUV from a high-volume brand like Kia.

The EV3 does come with plenty of safety kit, including an advanced driving assistance suite with an electric dynamic torque vectoring system, forward and reverse collision avoidance assist, lane keep assist and a pretty well-sorted smart cruise control that, in Korea at least, can automatically let you know your average speed over a stretch of road to avoid getting pinged by point-to-point cameras.

2025 Kia EV3 GT-line