Kia EV3 GT-Line S 2025 Owner Review

David C drives a KIA EV3 GT-Line S Long Range 78kWh 2025.

This is David’s third electric car, he’s owned the EV3 less than a year and drives 10,000-15,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 5,000-10,000 miles and he achieves 250 miles range from an 80% charge. David added metallic black paint and a towbar.

Why did you choose the Kia EV3?

Range
7-year warranty
reputation of Kia with EVs
vehicle size being smaller than my previous Škoda ENYAQ
high spec features
availability prior to the expensive vehicle tax.

Positives

Range and efficiency – the EV3 has been a breath of fresh air and makes driving long distances a pleasure. We now charge when we stop (for a comfort break/coffee) as opposed to stopping to charge as we did with our previous EV. The charge rate is also much flatter so it charges around 125 kW per hour from 20-80%, (my previous EV peaked at 100 and then dropped off quickly). So the charge speed for the EV3 is very good in comparison.

The app simply does what you need without a fuss. So far, it’s been a revelation and updates are frequent. The over-the-air updates for the car and sat-nav are frequent versus our previous EV. The manoeuvrability and the vehicle size makes parking and driving on narrow Cornish roads so much easier yet the interior space is still really good.

Negatives

Some of the interior surfaces are a little plasticky such as the door cards and the central sliding table is largely pointless. I’d prefer a storage bin, to be honest.

Compared to when you first bought the car, does your battery still charge at the same rate & do you still get the same range?

Yes, it charges at the same rate and the range has improved over the summer since getting the car in January. I expect to see the range drop as we enter the colder months but with the ever-expanding charging network, that isn’t an issue.

Having driven to Scotland and France in the past few months, range anxiety has all but disappeared. As I mentioned earlier, we now ‘charge when we stop’ as opposed to ‘stopping to charge’ as we did with our previous EV.

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

None

What are the standout technological features of the car?

It just does what it’s supposed to do without any fuss. The controls are a good mix of physical controls for the ventilation system and proper buttons on the steering wheel for many the cruise control and speed limiter systems.

The settings and features on the main touchscreen are generally easy to find and use. The car also has a configurable dash behind the steering wheel which includes the speed display. The GT-Line S also has an excellent head up display which means looking down at the dash is much less frequent as speed and cruise control/speed limit settings are displayed. The adaptive cruise control with steering assist and lane change control are also very good for longer motorway drives.

Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about your Kia EV3

The car can be remotely driven forward and backwards in a straight line from outside using the car key! Very useful for extracting the car from a tight parking space (and for showing off!). I can also power the essentials in the house during power cuts thanks to vehicle-to-load (V2L). I thought this was a gimmick but its saved our freezer, fridge, TV, Wi-Fi and kettle 3 times already!

What’s the biggest or funniest myth you’ve heard about EVs?

That the batteries won’t last. The evidence is clear that batteries will far outlast the rest of the car, in most cases.

What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?

I’m still happy with the EV3 and not yet looking at another car currently, though the EV4 looks interesting! By the time I’m ready to look anew the market will be very different to today, I suspect.

Home charging unit

Chargemaster 7kW home charger – this was supplied with our first EV in 2018. It’s a ‘dumb’ unit so unfortunately isn’t able to work with intelligent tariffs such as Intelligent Octopus Go.

Electricity supplier & tariff

Intelligent Octopus Go (IOG) – which provides 8.5p per kWh between 00:30-05:30. This is fine for my usage. If I had a more modern smart charger such as a zappi then I’d use IOG to provide power between 23:30-05:30 at 7p per kWh.

What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?

I try to use the open Tesla chargers with their app, where possible, as their costs and reliability are second to none. Otherwise, I use my Octopus Electroverse card with most chargers giving me a 5% discount.

Insurance

Cornmarket Insurance via IAM RoadSmart – this gives good cover and price for those who’ve passed the advanced driving test.

Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a KIA EV3

I’m saving around £2,000 on fuel per year; servicing is every two years and is free with the deal I got for the first one. After that, the cost is just a few £000’s every 2 years, much, much less than my last diesel with its expensive annual service. Insurance cost is the same as my previous diesel car. The EV also gives my home cheap electricity at night which I use to charge my home battery which powers the house for most of the day. This saves me about £1,000 per year!