In a sea of egg-shaped crossovers, the new Kia EV3 feels like a breath of fresh air. Despite its boxy proportions, Kia claims the EV3 will be highly efficient, delivering more than 320 miles of range with the larger battery pack and front-wheel drive. At the New York International Auto Show, company officials told InsideEVs exactly how it plans to pull that off.
The relentless pursuit of efficiency has pushed some automakers toward teardrop EV designs that slice through the air to achieve the long driving range that customers demand. That has led them to sometimes go too far with designs that look like a compromise—think the Mercedes-Benz EQS, with its jellybean silhouette, or even Kia’s own EV6.
Now, with smarter packaging, more energy-dense batteries, and aerodynamic workarounds, automakers can electrify boxier, more traditional shapes without sacrificing meaningful range. The Rivian R2 is a great example of that, and the EV3 appears to be Kia’s answer to the same challenge. They’re still no match to aerodynamic sedans, but are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with stubby SUVs.
Photo by: Suvrat Kothari
“Despite its boxy shape it’s very aerodynamic,” Joshua Kim, manager of product planning and strategy at Kia America, told me at the auto show.
The EV3 looks friendlier and more welcoming than the larger EV6, whose swoopy, offbeat design can be a little polarizing. The smaller sibling, by contrast, has the kind of clean, practical two-box shape that Americans have historically loved.
Despite that squarer stance, Kia is claiming 320 miles of range with the larger 81.4 kilowatt-hour battery, and 220 miles with the smaller 58.3 kWh pack. The automaker also said the EV3 achieves a drag coefficient of 0.275.
While it’s not quite in the same league as a Lucid Air or a Tesla Model Y, it’s pretty great for a crossover of this shape. For context, that puts it in the same ballpark as the Porsche Cayenne Electric (0.25 Cd) and the Hyundai Ioniq 9 (0.26 Cd), both of which are much larger and more expensive. They likely have larger frontal areas, however, which should make the EV3 more efficient.
Photo by: Suvrat Kothari
On the battery side, Kim said both the small and large packs use “the newest generation of NMC batteries.” Kia declined to be specific about what had changed in the nickel-manganese-cobalt chemistry.
Kia also packed in a suite of design details that, together, add up to something meaningful. Up front, active aero flaps open when the battery needs cooling and snap shut during highway cruising to reduce drag. Aero wheels and low-rolling-resistance tires will smooth airflow along the sides. A large roof spoiler tapers downward at the rear, contributing to that 0.275 Cd figure. And a fully flat underbody keeps air flowing cleanly from nose to tail, which can be pretty crucial for highway efficiency.
That’s a lot of aerodynamic work for what is expected to be the cheapest Kia when it goes on sale later this year. “We’re really trying to take our proven EV technology you’ve seen on the EV6 and EV9 and distill it into a smaller and more affordable package,” Kim said.
Photo by: Suvrat Kothari
The EV3 will also arrive at a time when Kia’s EV lineup in America isn’t doing all that well. The EV6 has been a sales dud in recent years, while the mechanically similar Hyundai Ioniq 5—which also has a more squared-off, retro-modern design—continues to fare much better.
The Niro EV is not expected to return for another model year. That will leave plenty of room for the EV3 to become Kia’s entry-level and the most affordable model in the U.S. The price and production location for the U.S. market version are yet to be determined, Kia said.
We already reviewed the EV3 in Seoul back in 2024 and came away impressed. How it fares in American conditions remains to be seen.
Contact the author: [email protected]
