2025 Kia EV3 Long Range GT-Line Seven-Day Test: Korea serves up a lesson in small SUV desirability
As the Chinese flood our market with cheap small SUVs, it’s clear legacy brands like Kia simply can’t match them on price.
That puts the brand’s new EV3 – it’s smallest electric car yet – in a tricky spot from the get-go.
How can it compete?
Style, smart layout, desirability, polished drive experience and grades to suit a few budgets are key, and Kia appears to have hit the target on all.
The entry-level EV3 costs from a respectable $48,990 drive-away, the Air Standard Range offering 436km range from its 58.3kWh battery.
That’s the one to get you in the door, but our test Long Range GT-Line’s the pick for those with deep pockets.
Its 81.4kWh battery delivers an impressive 563km range, while specification digs into Kia’s box of luxe for a rather sumptuous cabin.
We tested this flagship GT-Line over a week of family life, to see if it can justify its $68,490 drive-away price.
Day 1: Pricing pickle
Okay, dammit. I know. It costs too much.
This EV3 GT-Line nudges 70 large on the road, so it’s well into Tesla Model Y and bigger brother Kia EV5 territory.
But hang on.
Say you don’t need a larger electric SUV. Maybe, like me, you have only two kids and realise you can survive with a small SUV or hatchback.
We do. We’ve managed with a VW Golf hatch for the last seven years, and even with a 10- and 13-year-old, it’s still large enough for 99 per cent of our trips.
If you’re an empty nester – prime small EV demographic – you absolutely should favour a small SUV like the EV3. Easier to park, manoeuvre, etc. and with lighter kerb weight, helping with economy.
And this little Kia’s a style powerhouse.
I collect it from Brisbane and instantly am sold.
Futuristically boxy I’ll call it, and set off with bold black side stripes and gloss black wheel arches over its minty Matcha Green body.
It replicates the toy-like chunkiness I like so much in Kia’s giant EV9 SUV, and the 19-inch alloys with square designs through them look a massive improvement over the entry-level EV3’s wheels.
Today’s a transport stage, getting the car back home, 120km along the highway.
I hop into the cabin and it feels impressively large, well laid out and rich with goodies.
Battery is at 100 per cent, but range shows 509km – a bit off the claimed 563km.
Interestingly, the digital dash also says my minimum range is 329km, and maximum is a 749km potential. That’s mighty. Must be in absolute ideal circumstances – easy town use, perfect temperature and all those nice things like air-con and ventilated seats switched off.
Off I go, and within 10 seconds I’ve pulled in again.
Kia’s bloody safety systems. I’ve been bonged at already.
Off goes the driver monitor, lane keep and speed limit warning – cheers Kia, I can cover all that stuff.
Blessedly, I can make turning these off a shortcut button on the steering wheel, saving time after every start.
The first cruise is rather lovely. It feels a solid, large-ish SUV and motors along in a cosseting manner.
My EV driving range starts going up too. The previous user must’ve been a hoon.
Day 2: Meet the family
Wifey likes it. Big fan of the colour… pastel shades are still in, apparently.
Kids seem to approve too. Youngsters love any design that’s brave, bold and a bit different, so invariably an EV3 appeals more than some of the cookie-cutter SUV shapes coming out of China.
The whole family struggle with the pop-out door handles for some reason. All three of them push the wrong end of the flush handles, re-locking the car rather than opening the doors.
I show them the way, but notice over coming days they keep making the same mistake. Either Kia’s set them the wrong way round, or (more likely) my family members are slow learners.
While they delight in the fancy cabin, I mention it’s the same price as a Tesla Model Y. Which is massive inside. And the Tesla has a TV screen for the kids in the back, and games, too. They ask why Kia can’t do likewise for the price, and I have no answer.
Then I mention the Kia’s not an Elon Musk car, and they start coming round.
And then I say Dad prefers a Kia’s interior over a Tesla’s because there’s sensible things like a driver display behind the steering wheel. And buttons for the climate control.
“Do the indicators fart?” my daughter asks. I say no, and she’s back on Team Musk again.
It’s a funky kinda cabin with two-tone colour throughout, including for the heated/ventilated faux leather seats, heated steering wheel and door cards.
With a large glass roof it’s light inside, the pair of screens are merged in a single panel, there’s a head-up display and pretty pumping Harman Kardon audio.
The last two items there are on the GT-Line grade only, as is an extendable laptop table in the centre console (make sure your laptop’s small… it’s not a big table), and “Premium relaxation seats” which one-touch recline for snoozing when public charging.
Really, you could live without all of the above, save six grand and get the EV3 Earth Long Range instead for $62,690 on the road. It looks the smarter buy.
Day 3: Hitting the road
It’s not quick. In fact, this weightier range-topper takes a quite pedestrian (for a modern EV) 7.9 seconds to hit 100km/h. The entry-level EV3 with smaller battery does it in only 7.5 seconds.
So it runs out of puff when you start hitting highway speeds, but it’s a punchy little thing in town, which will be an EV3’s common hunting ground.
It’s fit-for-purpose with 150kW and reasonable 283Nm going through the front wheels from its single motor. Response is very good – especially in Sport mode – and the rubber doesn’t squeal any protests. It’s been nicely calibrated for sensible motoring.
Need to go warp speed? Wait for a twin-motor AWD EV3 GT, which will no doubt land here at some point in the near future.
The ride is standout.
These EV3s are Korean built, unlike the bigger EV5 sibling, which is assembled in China. Both have had Australia-specific ride and handling, but the little EV3 feels more convincing.
It’s firm-ish, but never crashy, even on these large 19-inch and quite low profile tyres. It behaves well on choppy roads, and sits tight and balanced when chucked into a roundabout.
Steering feel, too, isn’t half bad. It’s rewarding to drive without ever being outright fun, but good grief it grips hard. You can seriously push on in one of these things, and there’s mighty braking to help.
I’ve driven a fair few Chinese EV SUVs of late, and none can match the easy-going, intuitive and outright pleasant drive experience this Kia offers. It costs more to engineer a car this way, hence the EV3 being pricier than most.
Don’t know about you, but I’ll pay that cost to get a car I actually enjoy piloting.
So far we’re returning 16.7kWh/100km, which is just above quoted, and range is staying true to the prediction. Kia’s and Hyundai’s EVs are probably the most reliably truth-telling range-wise.
I sling it on to overnight charge using my garage’s domestic 10amp socket. It’s down to 265km range at 49 per cent.
Day 4: Family road trip
Overnight charging drags that range up to 380km… nice little top-up.
It’s needed, as we’ve a long road trip down to Brisbane, and we want to get there and back (roughly 300km) without needing to charge. Hotels, I’ve noticed, are increasingly asking dollars to use their AC chargers, and if you don’t book them, they’re usually taken.
The EV3’s boot’s above average for a small SUV at 460L, but it’s a shame there’s no spare wheel, nor a space-saver, just a repair kit. Even so, it means we can get a suitcase and four carry-on bags into the boot.
Now we’re settled into road trippin’ it really feels a size above our VW Golf hatchback, helped of course by a fully flat rear floor giving mighty leg room. The kids have acres of head room back there too, plus air vents (it’s dual-zone climate control), USB-C ports and a domestic socket.
Damn. I forgot to bring the Nespresso machine for that.
Up front there’s a rubberised wireless charge pad for my phone, which makes the wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto make sense. There’s also two USB-C ports, while I note the voice assistant has an Aussie accent. Fan of that.
We make use of the giant centre console area; it’s easy to sling wallets, sunnies and snacks in here, plus there are some smart cubbies too.
Day 5: City life
Ah, city traffic. What an EV SUV is made for.
I reset the economy readout, and we’re getting 13.2kWh/100km in town. Excellent.
I’ve used the EV3’s steering wheel paddles to select the ‘i-pedal’ for upping brake regeneration.
There are three levels, then ‘off’. I’ve left it off for normal driving as it feels smoothest like this, but in traffic, I want as much regeneration as possible.
Level 3 means maximum arresting, and I drive with one pedal, not needing to touch the brake. By planning my throttle lift-off, there’s deep (competitive) satisfaction to perfectly coming to a halt at the traffic lights or behind the stopped car in front.
It’s quiet, buttery smooth to drive and just makes sense as an urban flier. Even on some pretty dismal bits of potholed city track, the EV3 is unfussed and soaks it all up.
After almost a week of driving it, it’s one of those cars that’s been easy to gel with.
I remind myself how damn much it costs, and that of course it should be this polished at the price.
Day 6: Little things
I leave the driver assist kit on at first, to give it a chance. Nope. I can’t stand it. Beeping at me when a few km/h over the posted limit (and it made a mis-reading), while the lane-keeping robs the car of some of its lovely driving feel.
More positive is the superb quality rear camera through the central 12.3-inch screen, and safety I like, such as rear cross traffic alert and blind spot monitor.
There’s a little digital panel between the infotainment and digital driver displaying, showing your climate control settings. It’s a neat idea, but the steering wheel blocks it, and it’s a pain to use and see from the driver’s seat.
But I dig the little stalk twist to select gears, the fabric lower dash, squircle steering wheel, and the little design panel and ambient lighting in the doors. There’s a useful 25L frunk, and you know what? Kia does bloody great-looking keys. Conversely, closely-related Hyundai does shockingly bad car keys.
Day 7: Public charging, and farewell
Such has been the EV3’s decent range and efficiency, I’ve not needed to visit a public charge station. Bliss, because have you noticed how expensive they’re getting?
Before returning it to Brisbane, I decide to quickly test its charge speed at the 350kW public charge station on the highway. No dice. It’s one of those days when three of the four are already in use, and a BMW’s parked in such a way there’s no way to access the final charge point.
So I can’t report how we found DC charging it, but can tell you its peak charging is 150kW, so in ideal conditions you’re looking at 30 minutes to go from 10-80 per cent.
But as we found, if you’re just using the car for short-ish trips, a quick top up overnight is all that’s required.
It’s been a much-enjoyed little SUV (that’s not so little inside) with very few compromises.
Price is chunky, not least beside the Chinese, but I reckon the entry-level Air Standard Range at under $50k on the road looks cracking value.
It has the same powertrain as our GT-Line, and its 436km range will be ample for most.
You lose many of the niceties of our fancy pants range-topper, but not the fresh exterior and cabin design, infotainment, safety and impressive all-round drive experience.
Still, Kia must offer these full fruit GT-Lines, and if you’ve got the means, it’s a spoil-yourself trim on a very accomplished and easy-to-recommend EV. It feels like a keeper.
2025 Kia EV3 Long Range GT-Line specifications
Price: $68,490 drive-away
Basics: EV, 5 seats, 5 doors, small SUV, FWD
Range: 563km (WLTP)
Battery capacity: 58.3kWh
Battery warranty: 7 years/150,000km
Energy consumption: 16.2Wh/100km (WLTP) – 16.4kWh/100km as tested after 576km
Motors: 1 front, 150kW/283Nm
AC charging: 6.9kW, Type 2 plug
DC charging: 100.7kW, CCS combo plug
0-100km/h: 7.9 seconds
