New Kia EV3 shows how the Korean brand’s bold aesthetic approach works at any scale

Just over a decade ago, Wallpaper* published its first article on Kia as ‘one to watch’. Ten years on, the previously value-led South Korean brand has become established as a maker of well-built mainstream global automotive products and more recently, a desirable premium contender in the specifically full-electric EV segment. 

Kia EV3 electric crossover revealed

Kia’s consistent focus on strong design has been the key, via various excellent hires from more established and historic marques, including Audi, Bentley and BMW, and this approach is exhibited perfectly in its new Kia EV3 small crossover. 

It’s the second major EV to launch under the watchful eye of Karim Habib, Kia’s global head of design since 2019 and shares the geometric-and-chunky exterior approach of its much bigger brother – the 5m-plus long Kia EV9 – but in a much more compact and affordable package. 

Kia insiders are quick to namecheck the Volvo EX30 as a rival and although the EV3 is a little longer, the two vehicles’ equally smart designs and shared emphasis on sustainability gives that view credence. Based on an EV-only platform with a choice of two battery pack sizes placed between the axles, cabin space is maximised and front and rear overhangs minimised. 

From a design point of view, to balance the pushed-forward windscreen at the front, there is a thick body-coloured C-pillar a the rear, horizontally split by a gloss-black section near the roof. This strong graphically led approach is mirrored in the front and rear sections – and in the unusual wheel designs – via carefully positioned black elements to break up the body colour.

Case in point, the EV3’s sides have a lower ground clearance than usual for a crossover, to help achieve a commendable 0.26 Cd aerodynamic figure – but that greater bodyside depth is visually offset by a moustache-shaped black ‘rocker panel’ detail. 

Take a closer look and there are some neat chamfered edges to the body work as well, which carefully help to integrate the front and rear light clusters and smooth transitions in surface, material or shutlines.

The interior is a calm design – just like the EV9 – and shares its three-screens-in-one-frame driver infotainment approach, plus a good smattering of physical buttons and switches. 

The EV3 has been considered for its function while stationary as well as while moving. In the centre, between the front seats, Kia designers have integrated a good-sized horizontally deploying front table that slides out from the centre console to provide a practical resting place for food, drink or even a laptop when the car is still (perhaps while charging). As VP of Kia interior design Jochen Paesen explains: ‘It’s not just about driving, it’s about that “living room” feel and multi-use case scenario.‘

For a compact car, rear legroom and headroom is very good and it doesn’t feel like a second-class experience compared to the front.  Smart grey marl-style fabric wraps around the upper front seatbacks and smartphone charging points are usefully integrated midway up both seatbacks’ sides. The boot’s flat floor can be lowered to create more space and the EV3’s charging cables have their own dedicated space under the front bonnet.

Recycled plastic PET is deployed across the seats, headliner and floor mats, among ‘Ten Must Have’ sustainable items that Kia has enforced upon itself. There’s a welcome layer of transparency to this approach too, in the shape of a small QR code printed on the far passenger side edge of the dashboard that, via a smartphone click-through to a website, highlights where Kia’s recycled materials are being used.   

On sale first in South Korea from July 2024, the EV3 will land in Europe in the second half of 2024, with other, yet-to-be-confirmed regions after that. A 204hp electric motor with a choice of two battery options – a 81.4kWh pack good for 373 miles (600km) and a 58.3kWh unit able to provide 255 miles (410km) – should start at circa £35,000. At this price point, the practical as well as stylish Kia EV3 should find many more new customers to the brand.

Kia EV3, more information at Kia.com