Clever in a compact package: the Kia EV3, democratizing Kia’s EVs.
Kia held its New Zealand edition of its EV Day in Auckland today, giving press and fleet buyers a chance to sample what is the country’s broadest range of full EVs, including the compact EV3, which launches officially next month. The brand-new EV4 was also on show, in GT Line trim.
Justin Benzie, Kia’s national sales’ manager for Aotearoa New Zealand, believes the company has been very successful at establishing itself as the country’s number one, now having occupied sectors from large to compact, and with commercial vehicles to come, such as the PV5.
The strategy, he explained, was to carve out a premium niche first, establishing halo cars with the NCM battery first—namely the EV6, a former Lucire Car to Be Seen in, and the EV9, which we tested last year. The EV5 takes the EV9 formula and reproduces it in a mid-sized form (a road test is to come in Lucire). Now Kia is extending the same ideas downmarket with more affordable LFB batteries, and more mid-range NCM ones, and it’s the job of the EV3 and EV4 to take on cheaper markets.
It’s familiar to those who have observed other brands: BMW, in 1986, redefined its brand by introducing the E32 7-series, the first mass-produced postwar German super-saloon with a V12, something that Mercedes-Benz did not offer at the time. The new design theme for the 7 went down the range to the 5-series, then in more diluted form to the 3-series. Establish something that knocks it out of the park, make it premium, then have that shift down to lower segments that benefit from the halo effect.
Seeing the range of Kia EVs at the Rydges Formosa Auckland Golf Resort puts this into context: the odd numbers for the boxier EVs, even numbers for the fastbacks. And as Kia New Zealand product manager Sang Jeon explained, Kia has aimed to fit out the EV3 with the luxuries people expect of the EV9, including a 29·6 in panoramic display plus a 12 in head-up display. ‘We want to offer high tech to a wider audience at a reasonable price,’ he said. There are even V2L adapters for those who want to use the car to charge other devices, included in the price, while the interior, said Yeon, has a range of premium sustainable materials.
He also noted that the drag coefficient of the boxy EV3 is a low 0·263, achieved by covering the bottom of the car by 79·1 per cent, and having a rear track that’s 10 mm narrower than the front, which minimizes turbulence. Two batteries will be on offer: 58·3 and 81·4 kWh.
The EV4 shaves a bit off the EV3’s drag coefficient, down to 0·23, in Hyundai Ioniq 6 territory, but bettered by the Chinese competition—the likes of Geely Galaxy, Stelato and Hyper have broken the 0·20 barrier, admittedly with larger or more specialized vehicles.
Price-wise, the EV3 starts at NZ$55,520 for the standard-range Light trim, with a 436 km range (WLTP), heading up to NZ$62,220 for the long-range model. The Earth trim adds another NZ$7,000, while the GT-Line takes the price to NZ$75,220. The connect service subscription is good for five years, with over-the-air updates.
There’s certainly some truth to Yeon’s claims with the low-frequency damping doing its bit in the EV3 to provide it with good road manners and a controlled ride, though in the Light trim, it understandably makes do with less premium materials and no head-up display. Still, our brief drive around Beachlands in east Auckland suggests Kia has a hit on its hands, with the larger cars’ chunky theme translating exceptionally well to the smaller size, giving us the same sort of impression—but in a 2025 context—to the original Fiat Panda: a fine piece of industrial design with plenty of style baked in. The grey materials are more pleasant in reality than in photographs, the 29 in display works well, and we liked the extra touches around the cabin, such as the vertical strip in front of the door handle that does little more than be shiny and lift the æsthetics. But it works.
Favourite: Kia EV6 GT Line.
The larger EV6 GT Line, in facelifted form (which gives it a more purposeful, efficient and modern look, with slim headlights and triangular clusters), shows how Kia’s original halo EV has aged exceptionally well in four years. It needed so few changes to bring it bang up to date for 2025. The steering remains well weighted, it is dynamically sound, and it is the most entertaining and enlightening to drive of all the Kia EVs. Not all our colleagues could park the wide car well, with nearly 1·9 m to manœuvre, but on the road, you don’t feel the bulk at all. You do, however, in the EV9 and the EV5.
The EV4 piqued everyone’s curiosity, especially as the newest shape at the resort. It’s a junior, accessible counterpart to the EV6 in theory, but the design takes a different approach, using more of the soft-but-angular themes of the EV3 and EV5. New Zealand gets the EV4 with the traditional boot and not the hatch—and we think Kia has this right, though the boot isn’t the most accessible or sizeable. The contrasting grey-and-white shades for the GT Line spec lifts the interior; however, we would associate white less with gran turismo and more with Star Wars Stormtroopers. Most of the materials are premium, but some hard plastic was given a lift through textured design. The seats felt like a leather substitute to us, but they were comfortable. Sadly, the lone EV4 wasn’t available to the press to drive, with a third-quarter proper launch in New Zealand.
Overall, it is promising to see Kia stick with maintaining a broad EV line-up, prepared to lower its carbon emissions, and keeping on track to have carbon neutrality by 2045, including at its factories. Regardless of governmental policy changes, Kia is betting on EVs being the future—a bet that we think it’s wise to make. Others who feel they can delay their introduction, or lobby in favour of oil companies, will simply be left behind.
Advancing the game: the Kia EV4 GT Line saloon.
Jack Yan is founder and publisher of Lucire.
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