Honey, I shrunk the Kia EV9! South Korean car giant Kia has today unveiled the third model in its new-generation electric SUV rollout.
Although it looks huge in these images due to its bold and futuristic design, the Kia EV3 is smaller than a Toyota RAV4 and designed to compete in the booming city-SUV class.

As with the flagship Kia EV9 seven-seater, and the upcoming Kia EV5 mid-size SUV, the Kia EV3 will be available in three model grades: Air, Earth and GT-Line.
Price and details for the Kia EV3 are yet to be announced.
However using overseas pricing as a guide – said to be starting from $US35,000 – the Kia EV3 could cost from about $50,000 and climb to $60,000-plus for the top-of-the-range model in Australia.

The Kia EV3 is due to go on sale overseas in the second half of this year.
Using that timing as a guide, we reckon the Kia EV3 could be in Australian showrooms in the first half of next year, pending any delays.

The great news is Kia has adopted the design themes – inside and out – from the Kia EV9 flagship.
And then added some extra ideas for good measure.

For example, the one-pedal driving mode is adjustable, so drivers can increase or decrease the amount of regenerative braking before the car comes to a stop.
And the centre console has a clever tray that pokes out so you can rest a lap top when parked (perhaps to stream movies while your car recharges), or spread out your bounty of fast food.
In other welcome news, the Kia EV9 GT-Line’s digital side mirrors – which look great but are worse than regular side mirrors in real-world use – are not available on the Kia EV3 (or the upcoming Kia EV5).

Meantime, here are the key preliminary details on the Kia EV3:
- Air (entry model)
- Earth (mid-grade model)
- GT-Line (flagship model)
- Length 4300mm
- Width 1850mm
- Height 1560mm
- Wheelbase 2680mm
- Front-wheel-drive
- 58.3kWh battery pack (standard range, up to 400km)
- 81.4kWh battery pack (long range, up to 600km)
- All models powered by 150kW/283Nm electric motor
- Claimed 0 to 100km/h: 7.5 seconds
- Claimed top speed: 170km/h
- Aerodynamics: Drag coefficient of 0.263 Cd (claimed)
- Interior: Widescreen instrument cluster and infotainment screens (top models also get 12-inch heads-up display in windscreen)
- Vehicle-to-load (V2L): First electric vehicle in the segment with this tech, says Kia, to power small fridges, lap top computers, coffee machines and hair dryers
- Smartphone ‘key’ access
Stay tuned to EFTM for further updates on the Kia EV3 as new information becomes available.



Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, most of that time with Fairfax (The Sydney Morning Herald), News Corp Australia (Herald Sun and News.com.au), and most recently Drive.com.au (owned by Nine Media). He is also a World Car of the Year judge, has won numerous journalism awards, and test drives up to 200 cars per year.