BEST ELECTRIC CAR
Kia EV3
No dynamic fireworks, but the EV3 handles nicely and rides well on smaller wheels
‘E Vangelists’ love to shout that range doesn’t matter because many people can charge at home and because the rapid-charge network has become really quite sophisticated. But the fact is that autonomy remains a major hurdle in many buyers’ minds.
The smart car maker just plays the game – and Kia is smart. The latest electric battleground is C-segment SUVs – in other words, roughly Volkswagen Golf-sized crossovers. While a lot of rivals were muddling around with 60-70kWh batteries, Kia released the EV3, an 81.4kWh mic-drop with up to 375 miles of range. The clincher? At £36,005, it’s cheaper than the shorter-range Niro EV it is in effect serving to replace. Now that’s what I call progress.