Kia’s 2027 EV3, the almost-a-compact electric crossover that gets us closer to electric vehicles within reach of most everyone, will arrive in the U.S. with five trim levels, two battery choices and up to 320 miles of range, the automaker says.
The global reveal of the EV3 was held 22 months ago and it went on sale in most markets last year. But Kia just pulled the covers off the North American version the New York auto show this morning. It won’t go on sale here until late this year, however, and Kia is withholding pricing info until closer to sales time.
If the company intends to hold to its earlier goal of using the EV3 to “move millions into the EV era,” we’d expect a starting price somewhere close to $35,000.
The very geometric EV3 is a two-row, five-seat compact styled a lot like the three-row EV9/Kia
EV3 Trims and Tech
There will be five trim levels for North America. The base Light trim is front-drive only, the Wind and Land trims come with front-drive but electronic all-wheel drive is an option, and the GT-Line and GT trims are all-wheel drive only.
We haven’t got interior and exterior dimensions for the north American version of the EV3, but the platform is the same globally, so the body dimensions should be close to identical as well (it may be a bit longer outside to account for U.S. bumper standards).
The global model’s exterior measurements place it just between compact and subcompact in size: 169.3 inches from bumper to bumper, 72.8 inches wide, 61.4 inches high with a 105.5-inch wheelbase.
The long wheelbase and flat floor give the EV3 a fairly spacious interior, with 41.7 inches of legroom in front and 37.4 inches for rear seat passengers, along with 39.9 inches of headroom up front and 37.6 inches for the rear seating area. Those dimensions would put it near the top of the small SUV class.
The trims are differentiated by some exterior differences – GT models get green brake calipers and unique 19-inch wheels and all-season tires, for instance, along with escalating interior appointments – two=-tone seats in the GT-Lime and sport buckets and neon green accents in the GT, for instance. Trims other than the GT get standard 17″ wheels and all-season tires, but 19″ wheels and tires are an option.
All trims get a clean “EV-modern” interior with lots of sustainable materials. Most controls and instrumentation is embedded in a pair of 12.3-inch screens – driver info and infotainment – flanking a 5-inch climate control screen.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility are standard, along with a Wi-Fi hotspot and wireless phone charging, multiple USB ports, and, an option in the higher trims at least, vehicle-to-load capability so the EV3’s battery can be used to power 120-volt appliances, tools and entertainment equipment. Vehicle-to-home capability will also be available, but requires a special bidirectional charging system.
Batteries, Range, Power, and Charging
The Light trim will come with a 58.3 kWH standard-range battery, good for 220 miles per Kia’s in-house estimate. Other trims get a larger 81.4 kWh long-range pack, good for up to 320 miles depending on trim level and drivetrain layout.
Kia’s only disclosed horsepower for all-wheel drive models – 288 hp for the EV3 GT and 261 for the GT-Line and the Land and Wind trims with optional all-wheel drive.
The EV3 uses 400-volt electrical architecture, which enables only average DC fast charging speeds. The company says it will take an estimated 29 minutes for the smaller battery to be charged to 80% of capacity when starting at 10%, and 31 minutes for the same 10% to 80% charge with the large battery.
The standard Tesla-style NACS charging port is located on the front passenger side to accommodate access to Tesla Superchargers with short cords.
Data about Leve1, 120-volt and Level 2 , 240-volt charging has not been released, but we expect at least a 7.4 kW on-board charger, good for an easy overnight recharge of a depleted battery of either size,
The Kia Plug and Charge automated charging payment system is standard but requires the Kia smartphone app and a subscription.
Safety and Driver Assistance
The North American EV3 will come with an array of active safety and driver assist systems including forward collision avoidance with emergency braking and on-coming vehicle detection while making left turns (full intersection oncoming vehicle detection and braking is optional), reverse parking collision avoidance assist, remote smart parking assist and Kia’s Highway Driving Assist 2 package of hands-on cruise control with lane centering, turn-signal activated automatic lane charging and evasive steering assist.
There’s also a one-pedal setting for maximum regenerative braking, allowing the EV3 to be stopped without use of the brake pedal. One-pedal mode also serves as a stand-in for downshifting when cornering and navigating twisty roads. And it is a setting that’s remembered when the power’s shut down, so it doesn’t have to be reset each time the EV3 is powered up.
There’s almost 30 inches of screen in the EV3/photos courtesy of Kia
Cargo Conundrum
According to the pre-show information Kia distributed, the North American EV3 has with a healthy 26.1 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats (think 26 standard brown paper grocery bags, or 6-8 carefully stacked airline carry-ons), swelling to 56.5 cubic feet with the rear seat-backs folded down. There’s also a tiny front trunk – frunk – that measures just under one cubic foot.
There’s a big discrepancy between those cargo capacity numbers and the ones for Asian and European versions of the EV3, however – 10 cubic feet more in the rear and 12 cubic feet more overall for the North American version.
That likely is accounted for by differences in the way carmakers are allowed to measure – U.S. regulators permit more space above the seat backs to be counted, even though stacking cargo that high isn’t very safe. It’s either that, or Kia stretched the North American EV3 without telling anyone!