2025 Kia EV3 review – Australian launch

How much does the 2025 Kia EV3 cost and what are the options?

The Kia EV3 is available in three versions. The Air, mid-spec Earth and top-spec GT-Line. All models are two-wheel-drive (2WD) with 150kW of power and 283Nm of torque and have a lithium-ion battery.

The base model Kia EV3 Air is available with a standard or long-range battery. The EV3 Air Standard-Range is able to do 0-100km/h in 7.5 seconds and has a battery range of 436km and is priced at $48,990 excluding stamp duty, rego etc. And the EV3 Air Long-Range is able to do 0-100km/h in 7.7 seconds and has a battery range of 604km and is priced at $56,490 (plus on road costs).

The mid-spec Kia EV3 Earth has a long-range battery with a 563km range and is able to do 0-100km/h in 7.9 seconds. It is priced at $62,690 before costs.

The top spec Kia EV3 GT-Line has a long-range battery that's able to do 563km and 0-100km/h is 7.9 seconds. It is priced at $68,490 + costs.

Charging time for the Kia EV3 standard range battery, from 10-80%, is 55 minutes at a 50kW fast charger. For the long-range battery, from 10-80%, it takes 79 minutes at a 50kW fast charger. Using more powerful 350kW chargers can bring these times down to 29 minutes for the standard range and 31 minutes for the long range. As I've found running EVs, most of your charging will be at home (if you're able to install a charger there) and the fast-charging time only matters on road trips (which the 500+km range of most EV3s would give plenty of wiggle room for). Fast chargers at the shops can also good for a super convenient top-up though!

You can get a V2L (vehicle to load) adaptor you can plug into the cars charging port on the EV3 and turn it into a power source, which is great for charging laptops, camping accessories etc Or as the Gold Coast where the Australian EV3 launch recently experienced, during power cuts and natural disasters it can keep various household items running.

There is also a regular household plug socket in the rear footwell.

With ownership of the Kia EV3 comes a seven-year warranty and three, five or seven-year prepaid service plan options (priced at $674 for the first three years, $1285 for five years and $1897 for seven years).

Both battery sizes of the EV3 Air have 17” alloy wheels.

The EV3 Earth and GT-Line both have 19″ alloy wheels.

The exterior of the Kia EV3 looks great, it’s like a miniature EV5 or EV9. It’s a great design, looking modern and slick.

The side sills on the Air and Earth models have matte plastic and silver colour finish.

The top spec GT-Line has gloss black and body colour finish side sills.

The rear door handles are up on the side of the rear windows. This might make them out of reach for independent kids (which could be good or bad!)

Size-wise, the exterior of the EV3 is smaller than the BYD Att0 3, but the EV3 has more interior space in the rear shoulders, legroom and boot space than the BYD.

How good is the storage in the 2025 Kia EV3 for families?

The interior of the Kia EV3 is spacious and has some great design features. The boot is cavernous for such a little car, with a drop-down boot floor that can add around 15cm more depth and a hidden storage space underneath it.

I could easily fit the Thule Spring compact folding stroller in the boot of the EV3 with lots of space around it for bags or scooters.

How many child seats will fit in the Kia EV3?

When it comes to installing child seats in the Kia EV3 there are ISOFix points in the two outer rear seats, they are not within plastic guides and are easy to locate and to connect to.

There are top tether anchorages on the back of all three seat backs, behind slits in the seatback fabric, that are easily accessible through the boot.

I was amazed I could fit three child seats across in the back of the Kia EV3 which is fantastic for a small car like this. It’s great news for families with three children or grandparents who need the flexibility of driving their grandchildren.

Three child seats fit across forward-facing I had two 0-4 convertible child seats in the central and outer seat and a 0-8 convertible seat in the other outer seat. I also rotated one of the 0-4year convertible seats to the rear-facing position behind the driver, and that combination fits nicely too.

Legroom is tight in the Kia EV3 with the rear-facing child seat installed. I could fit in the driver's seat in front of it (I'm 162cm) but only up to a 170cm driver would fit. With forward-facing child seats in the back of the Kia EV3, you can fit a 180cm driver in front.

<h3 id=“comfort“>How comfortable is the Kia EV3 for families?</h3>

Being fully electric, the kis EV3's rear footwell is completely flat, giving fantastic legroom and kick-room in the back and making it easier for kids to move through the rear to access their seats.

Rear passengers are kept comfortable with rear aircon vents in the back of the central console box and USB-C sockets so they can charge devices while driving.

A great feature in the front of the top-spec GT-Line Kia EV3 is the slide-out central console table. I can imagine many uses for it sharing sushi with my eldest daughter on there when we're on a road trip, and having my laptop on there when my little one is asleep in the back

The Kia EV3 Earth and GT-Line models both come with heated and ventilated front seats, which are very enjoyable for the adults and the smart handsfree tailgate is great for families so you can easily load the boot.

How safe is the 2025 Kia EV3 for families?

When it comes to safety, the Kia EV3 does not yet have an ANCAP safety rating.

It does come with multiple safety features and technologies including forward collision avoidance assist, adaptive cruise control (ACC), lane-keep assist (LKA), lane-follow assist, highway driving assist (HDA2), intelligent speed limit assist (ISLA), rear occupant alert, downhill brake control (DBC), hill-start assist control (HAC), multi-collision braking (MCB), blind-spot collision avoidance assist (BCA), rear cross-traffic collision avoidance assist (RCCA), driver attention warning, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), front and rear parking sensors and rear view camera with dynamic parking guidelines.

Seven SRS airbags come as standard including:

Driver’s front airbag, passenger’s front airbag, side curtain airbags, front centre side airbags and front seat side airbags

The front dash is dominated by the central 12.3” touchscreen media system in the Kia EV3.

The cameras in the Kia EV3 are excellent quality, with lovely, clear, and crisp images, making parking and manoeuvring easy.

The media system has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you can safely access your phone's navigation, messaging, podcast and music apps etc while driving.

I love the 5″ climate control screen which makes changing the climate while driving easy and distraction-free.

The Kia EV3 has a 12.3″ driver display screen too.

The top spec GT-Line has a head-up display projected into the windscreen in front of the driver and dynamic ambient lighting so you can change the interior colour.

There is a wireless phone charging pad in the central console.

What is the 2025 Kia EV3 like to drive?

When it comes to driving, the Kia EV3 feels smooth and being fully electric, it is lovely and quiet! You get all the lovely benefits an EV like sitting with the aircon running while your child naps in the back or you’ve got the best park and you’re waiting at school pick up without burning through fuel and polluting the local environment.

The Kia EV3 grips the road really well, especially around corners. I drove it on a lot of very wet and winding country roads and it was fantastic. It was really showing off at its best!

Visibility is very good in the Kia EV3. With three child seats in the back, you can see a little over the top of them and out of the rear windscreen. The turning circle is nice and tight, being a small SUV, and the steering is light, making parking and manoeuvring easy.

Compare the 2025 Kia EV3

If you're looking at the 2025 Kia EV3, you might also want to consider other small electric SUVs like the BYD Atto 3. The EV3 is actually smaller externally than the BYD, but offers more interior space in the rear shoulder area, legroom, and boot space.

BabyDrive Verdict on the 2025 Kia EV3

I really enjoyed driving the new 2025 Kia EV3 around the Gold Coast and Hinterland. I look forward to testing it in the coming weeks with my family on board and using our full range of Thule prams in the boot and child seats in the back.