Car of the Year Awards 2025: Best small electric SUV of the Year
Small electric SUVs should provide everyday usability and the capability to travel far on a single charge. But the best need to up the game with a great interior and user friendly tech, too...
Kia EV3 Standard Range Air
The first electric vehicle (EV) ever to win our overall Car of the Year award was a Kia. That was back in 2019, when the e-Niro came out of nowhere to prove that EVs didn’t need to cost a fortune to offer a long range and decent performance.
Fast forward five years and Kia has moved the game on once again with another cracking electric SUV. The EV3 is fractionally smaller than the e-Niro (and its replacement, the Niro EV), but it’s still a surprisingly practical family car.
Rear seat space is far better than in the rival Jeep Avenger Electric and Mini Aceman, and not far off what’s offered by the Skoda Elroq from the class above. The EV3’s boot is even more impressive, and only slightly smaller than that of the Kia EV6 – the second EV to win our overall Car of the Year title back in 2022.
There’s further storage under the bonnet for charging cables – something that’s curiously absent in the majority of rivals. Another big source of appeal is the EV3’s driving position.
This is an SUV that really does feel like one when you’re behind the wheel, because you sit in an upright position and noticeably farther from the road than you’d be in a Volvo EX30.
The EV3 drives like an SUV should, too. That is to say Kia hasn’t worried about trying to make the EV3 go around corners like a hot hatch. Instead, fairly squidgy suspension has been f itted to help soak up bumps and potholes – something that’s far more important to most buyers of small SUVs than agile handling.
The tricky bit is choosing which EV3 to go for, because, with the exception of the range-topping GT-Line S, all versions are compelling. With a Tesla Model Y-beating official range of up to 375 miles, the 78kWh (usable capacity) Long Range has obvious appeal; even in winter and when cruising on the motorway, you’ll easily get 250 miles between charges. However, we think the 55kWh Standard Range version is an even better choice. Its smaller battery still provides an above-average official range of 270 miles – which is plenty for most people’s needs, assuming the majority of journeys are less than 200 miles.
True, you can’t get this version in sporty GT-Line trim (which brings bigger alloy wheels and gloss black exterior details), but it still looks sharp and comes with loads of luxuries in entry-level Air trim. These include heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise control and keyless entry.
Perhaps even more important is that it keeps the price closer to £30k than £40k. If your budget extends to the latter, the EV3 – as excellent as it is – finds itself up against the larger Elroq and Renault Scenic.
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