Here is the Kia EV3, the compact electric car with the best autonomy in the segment

Kia unveils a new electric car, the Kia EV3. This is a compact car with an attractive technical sheet. It replaces the Kia e-Soul and is therefore the manufacturer’s most affordable electric car while waiting for the Kia EV2. Its advantage: a range of 600 km.

If all manufacturers are working hard on electric vehicles, it must be admitted that some are doing better than others, whether in terms of image or technology. This is the case of the Hyundai group, parent company of Kia, which is presenting its new 100% electric compact SUV, which is predicted to be a real success. Neat and daring design, trendy color, recycled materials galore, attractive technical sheet and even honest prices should guarantee it a good market share.

Kia did not wait for the ban on the sale of electric cars in 2035 in Europe to launch generously into electric vehicles, quickly offering a very convincing e-Niro in 2018 and a nice e-Soul from 2014. This is the place of the latter, gently aging, which the new EV3 takes with its length of 4.30 meters (4.19 M for the Soul), ideally placed under the e-Niro (4.42 meters), while the EV5 will be placed above with 4.61 meters.

Suffice to say that the manufacturer’s electric range is visibly becoming more dense, and it’s not over. Kia plans 15 EVs by 2027 and 1.6 million exclusively electric sales in 2030, 30% of which in Europe.

It is not the very American EV9, although world car of the year in 2023, which will represent these sales, but smaller models, such as this new EV3. For dimensions, it is necessary to count on a length of 4.3 meters, a width of 1.85 meters and a height of 1.56 meters for a wheelbase of 2.68 meters.

Compact SUVs represent the second largest segment in electric and Kia has thrown itself into the middle of already fierce competition, where we find the new Volvo EX30, the Renault Mégane E-Tech, the Jeep Avenger, the Smart #1 or the Peugeot e-2008, the Opel Frontera and even the Volkswagen ID.3.

Very serious arguments to be made

The task will not be simple, and yet the Kia should come to grab market share with its new SUV with resolutely assumed shapes, robust and perfectly in tune with the times.

Since we’re talking about time, one of Kia’s arguments is that relating to the journey, announced faster in EV3 than with the competition’s models. To do this, the Korean manufacturer takes the example of a journey between Frankfurt and Paris, simulated on ABRP, where its model arrives 40 minutes earlier than its opponents (Megane, EX30, Smart #1) thanks to a single stop. of recharge to cover the 580 km.

How is it possible ? Thanks to the range on the WLTP mixed cycle of 600 km of the large battery variant. Obviously, Kia has taken a scenario that suits it strongly, we will have to see in real conditions what this gives or on shorter or longer journeys. The fact remains that 560 km, in this segment, it starts to become serious and places the EV3 at the level of the excellent Cupra Born 77 kWh.

Here, however, the battery size is 81.4 kWh and powers a 204 hp motor. For those whose autonomy is not an important argument, it is then possible to opt for the small 58.3 kWh battery, allowing up to 410 km of WLTP autonomy.

Performance and recharges

Whatever your choice of battery, the motor is the 204 hp one, exclusively driving the front wheels. This allows the Kia EV3 to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.4 or 7.7 seconds, depending on whether you have the small (and therefore lighter) or large battery.

On the charging side, in order to keep costs low, Kia does not use the 800 volt electrical architecture of its higher models, but a more classic 400 volt one. Both packs come with an 11 kW AC charger (22 kW available as an option from 2026), while DC charging will be 102 and 128 kW depending on battery capacity. In both cases, the 10-80% charging time is claimed to be around 30 minutes.

Finally, you can count on V2L, V2G and V2H technologies, which allow you to send energy to the network, your home or mobile devices.

A techno model

We were able to get on board the new Kia EV3, as you can see in this article where we detail this part for you. Please note, however, that the compact SUV comes with the same infotainment system as the EV9, with a single-piece triple screen.

This includes the 12.3-inch instrument cluster, a 5.3-inch comfort screen (air conditioning) and finally the 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment screen. Everything comes with ChatGPT or the possibility of accessing Netflix, Spotify or even Youtube.

Obviously, the Korean comes with a plethora of ADAS of all kinds, including Highway Driving Assist which keeps your car in its lane on the highway and can even overtake on its own.

Price and availability

Prices have not yet been announced. The Kia e-Soul, which the Jia EV3 replaces, started around 40,000 euros for the small battery and 45,000 euros for the large battery. We can therefore imagine fairly close prices.

For availability, Kia says the EV3 will launch first in South Korea in July 2024, then in Europe in the second half of this year. We can therefore expect it in France by the end of the year.

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