The EV3 is Kia’s first compact EV, a car that has excited observers in the design world for transferring the XXL EV9’s maximal Minecraft aesthetic onto a smaller platform. Its wheelarches are blocky, its sills fashionably pinched, and even the wheels themselves have a square motif.

It looks like the family transport the future promised us, and from where I’m currently sitting—the back seat on a four-up run to the airport—it feels big-car comfortable. Kia has worked hard to reduce the triple bugbears of noise, vibration and harshness, and their absence is palpable.

Concept-car-made-real design isn’t the only thing that’s generating major buzz. The EV3 claims the most substantial range of a small-ish electric car, an impressive 375 miles (WLTP). It’s also packed with tech usually reserved for upper segment cars. And despite its relatively compact size (4.3m long, 1.85m wide), it’s roomy enough inside to support Kia’s claim that this could be the household’s main car.

There’s a 25-liter frunk, and up to 1,250 liters of luggage space at the back. All told, a tipping point has been reached in the fast moving EV landscape. Did we mention that prices start from £32,995? US fans will have to wait, however, as it’s expected to land stateside in 2026 for around $35,000.

That’s for the entry-level Air model fitted with a 58.3kWh battery, though you’ll need £10k on top of that for the Long Range GT-Line S version with the 81.4 kWh battery which delivers that eye-catching 375 mile figure. It arrives into a busy sector, the EV3 lining up alongside the likes of the Volkswagen I.D3 and Volvo EX30, although it’s a better equipped, more value-for-money proposition than those premium rivals. Old habits die hard.

Space-Age Vibes

Perhaps they should, because the EV3 confirms that both tech and design leadership now reside in South Korea. That blocky form is actually impressively aerodynamic: The EV3 has a drag co-efficient of 0.26, the stuff of sci-fi not so long ago. That, of course, is good for range and efficiency.

It sits on the group’s E-GMP (electric global modular platform), a scaleable architecture that underpins cars such as the impressive Hyundai Ioniq 5. Although it’s smaller than that car, it has a similar airiness to its interior, Kia pushing the lounge vibe pretty hard. There’s a sliding tray center console big enough to rest a laptop on, should you have the urge to turn your car into an office. The seats look and feel good, and can be tilted way back. More relaxing space-age loungey vibes… get Juan García Esquivel onto the (Harman/Kardon) sound system now.