Electric-only Kia EV3 is a cutting edge car with big battery range set to take on junior SUV rivals

LIKE everything about Kia’s EV9 except its size and price?

Sorted.

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Here’s EV3. Half the size. Half the price. Yet filled with 100 per cent Kia goodness.

The junior SUV arrives in November, electric-only and priced from £32k to take on Volvo’s EX30.

The 58kWh battery will do up to 255 miles. The 81kWh battery will do up to 372 miles. Volvo won’t like that.

The Tardis-like cabin blends lots of recycled materials with bleeding-edge tech. Volvo won’t like that much either.

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As for looks . . . well, that’s your department, but I like it.

You’d buy this car with your head and your heart.

When EV3 is parked or charging, watch movies or play computer games on the big screen. Over-the-air software updates will keep things fresh. There’s a slide-out table for your drive-thru meals.

There’s a proper plug socket to power an air fryer on camping trips.

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Up to 33 per cent of the cabin is recycled, with seats made from plastic bottles and carpets from fishing nets. Kia also uses bio paint.

Greta “good buy” stickers aside, EV3 is a cool car that’ll be easy to place on the road and to park at Tesco. And it’s got a best-in-class 460-litre boot.

Now read our quick-fire Q&A with Kia design chief Karim Habib...

KARIM, first of all congratulations again for EV9. World Car of the Year.

Oh yes. Thank you very much. Again.

Did you get a pay rise, or a bonus, or an extra day off?

(Laughs) No. I did not.

I see elements of EV9 and EV6 in this car, is it the love-child of the two?

This is a very important car for us. EV6 and EV9 came first and we learned a lot from these cars. There are certain elements you might recognise.

The interior is like a shrunken EV9. If I don’t need six or seven seats and I want something smaller, I feel I’m getting the same love at a more affordable price with this car.

That’s great. The best we could ask for. We do not want people who buy smaller, more affordable cars to feel like they do it because they can’t afford the other ones.

There needs to be no apology for choosing something more affordable. Luckily, we have the exact same screens, the shift-by-wire is the same, and the same quality materials.

Then we’ve got really simple but practical ideas like the sliding table.

I know we are here to talk about EV3, but will EV2 have similar chunky looks and a more upright back? And the same interior?

I can’t talk about EV2 today, but what I can say is the interior is pretty consistent throughout our whole palette.

Economies of scale allow us to bring a richness at the lower end of the platform.

Apart from being important for the planet, the recycled cabin materials look fresh and different. Car interiors have become too black and grey and dull over the last 20 years or so . . .

It really is opening up possibilities for us. It costs money. But it is the right thing to do in terms of responsibility but also for building the brand.

Tell us about the QR code on the dash because kids will be curious, put their phones on it, and they’ll learn, won’t they?

That was actually our CEO’s idea. He asked us to find a way to identify the recyclability of our materials in the car. It leads you directly to the site where you see all the information.

Electric vehicles have been out of reach for many people, but this is closer to what families might be able to finance. Is EV3 the most important Kia yet?

In the mission to encourage people to go zero-emission, this car is very important. Could it be the tipping point for us in terms of EV mass presence? Maybe. I really hope that transition continues.

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We want to make people feel part of a vibrant, uplifting, changing, positive world. We want our products to emanate that sense of progress and positivity.

Thank you, Karim.

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