Kia EV3 - Interior, design & technology

Colours are an entirely subjective thing, but it’s a bit of a shame that Kia has been so conservative with the EV3’s exterior palette when it’s such an interesting car to look at. While there is a green, a blue and a red, they’re a bit flat and dreary, and even then, most are limited to a specific trim level. Beside those options, it’s monochrome all the way. 

It’s a symptom of a wider problem that buyers are understandably reluctant to choose a colour with any personality in case it harms resale values. But we think the EV3’s edgy lines would really suit a more lively paint finish. 

The cabin is modern, well built and largely sound ergonomically, but it’s not an interior that will leave jaws on the floor in terms of design. There’s very little to find fault with, though.

What is the Kia EV3 like inside?

The EV3 takes plenty of design inspiration from its bigger EV range mates, with the fundamental dashboard layout and a variety of details that will look familiar to anyone with experience of the Kia EV6 or Kia EV9. 

The largely uncluttered layout strikes a decent balance between physical controls and touchscreen interfaces. You might be hunting for the starter button at first, but it’s located on the column-mounted gear selector, which seems perfectly logical once you’re used to it. 

Higher-spec models get a sliding mini-table between the front seats, which pops out from under the armrest. Yet it feels too small to be particularly useful, and we’d prefer to have the extra storage space that Air trim has instead.

What is the interior quality like?

The cabin feels solidly put together, although some rivals feel just a little posher inside, because there are a few too many hard, scratchy plastics falling close to hand. 

Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment 

When it comes to standard-fit tech, it’s hard to look beyond the entry-level Air trim. Among its standard features are 17-inch alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera, twin 12.3-inch displays, heated front seats and heated steering wheel, plus Kia’s self-steering Highway Driving Assist 2.0 system.

If you want bigger 19-inch wheels and wireless smartphone charging, then the GT-Line is the model to have, while the GT-Line S adds more luxurious features such as front-seat cooling, rear-seat heating, a 360-degree parking camera, a head-up display and a beefier sound system from Harman Kardon. 

All models get a small 5.3-inch touch panel for the climate controls, located between the main digital displays. It’s a bit irritating to use – not least because the panel is largely obstructed by the steering wheel from the driver’s seat. Fortunately, the EV3 reserves a few key physical buttons for temperature and fan speed on the dashboard, so we ended up using those instead.

While the EV3’s infotainment system isn’t as bold or as colourful as the systems found in some rivals, for the most part the layout is logical and easy to work out. The one exception to this rule is the driver-assistance menu, where the sub-menus are scattered around the image of a car, when a simple list would be much easier to figure out. 

Loading times are reasonable, if not class leading, but for the most part, Kia has taken a sensible approach with the infotainment that shouldn’t irritate too many users.