The 2025 Kia EV3 Won World Car of the Year, But What Is It?
The 2025 Kia EV3 is a small front-wheel-drive-only electric vehicle shaped more like an SUV than a hatchback, and it’s aimed at the affordable end of the EV spectrum. While available globally, the EV3 is not in the U.S. right now, but Kia says it does have plans to sell it in the states at a currently unannounced date.
Related: Kia Teases Subcompact EV3 SUV
The EV3 is making news anyway, being named World Car of the Year at the 2025 New York International Auto Show by a group of international journalists. Kia also stated that the EV3 is still heading for the U.S. market during the introduction of its all-new EV4 electric sedan at the show.
There’s a lot to be excited about with the EV3, and while we wait for its arrival, let’s give you a rundown of the subcompact SUV’s size, range, price and features as they appear in global markets, knowing that not everything will translate exactly to the U.S. version and some specs will change.
How Big Is the Kia EV3?
The EV3 is a subcompact. It’s shorter than Kia’s current subcompact FWD all-electric hatchback, the Niro EV, which is 174 inches long and whose days might be short-lived with such a similarly sized car coming this way on Kia’s latest E-GMP EV platform (the same platform underpins the EV6 and EV9). Looking at other four-door hatchbacks, the EV3 is similar in length to the 2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI (169 inches) and 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage G4 (170 inches), and it’s considerably shorter than the 2025 Kia EV6 (184 inches).
Kia EV3 Dimensions
- Length: 169.3 inches
- Width: 72.8 inches
- Height: 61.4 inches
- Wheelbase: 105.5 inches
Kia EV3 Range
The EV3 doesn’t have an EPA-rated range just yet, but we expect it to fall around 310-320 miles with the optional, higher-capacity 81.4-kilowatt-hour battery; with the standard 58.3-kWh battery, it should fall around 220-230 miles. That’s because the recently introduced EV4 sedan, which shares its battery and motor combinations with the EV3, has an automaker-estimated range of 330 miles for the long-range version and 235 miles with the standard battery. We expect the hatchback to be hit with a slight mileage penalty versus the EV4; hatchbacks are usually rated with lower efficiency than their sedan counterparts because they’re less aerodynamically friendly.
Part of the EV3’s potential affordability upside is using a 400-volt system versus the full-blown 800-volt system that unlocks extremely fast on-the-road DC fast-charging speeds in the EV6 and EV9. However, the trade-off is slower charging times; the EV3 is estimated to charge from 10%-80% in 29-31 minutes, depending on battery size — far slower than the 18 minutes from 10%-80% that the EV6 is capable of with a similar-size battery.
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Kia EV3 Price
If you thought range was hard to predict, guessing pricing is an even bigger stretch because of the current unknown impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported cars and parts. The EV3 is currently built in South Korea alongside the EV4; if the EV3 replaces the Niro EV, it would likely have to start at or under the 2025 Niro EV’s current starting price of $40,995 (prices include destination) because the bigger 2024 EV6 starts at $43,995.
A starting price in the mid-$30,000s would be great, but that seems increasingly unlikely because of the tariffs and the fact that the Niro EV uses an older EV platform versus the EV3 being built on Kia’s latest EV platform. Kia, prove us wrong.
Kia EV3 Features
For the U.K. market, which is where we’ll pull standard features from, the EV3 is filled with Kia’s modern technology, including dual 12.3-inch screens for the digital instrument panel and center touchscreen, plus standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Standard safety features include blind spot warning with rear cross-traffic alert, forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane departure steering assist, lane-centering steering and Hyundai’s Highway Driving Assist 2.
Some of the more unique features, which we’re not sure we’ll get all of, include a sliding table that extends from the center console storage to give space for a quick bite to eat or a laptop, a head-up display, 360-degree camera system for a top-down parking view, power liftgate, ventilated front seats and rear heated outboard seats. The EV3 also uses Kia’s vehicle-to-load function, which allows users to power household devices in a power outage or while camping or tailgating.
Kia EV3 Release Date
No official release date has been communicated by Kia, but we expect to hear more news about the EV3 during the next round of auto shows, starting with the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. If that’s what happens, we expect an on-sale date sometime in 2026.
Specs and feature availability might change on its way to the U.S., so stay tuned to Cars.com for more EV3 news as we learn more about Kia’s new affordable EV.
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