{"id":157955,"date":"2025-11-28T12:13:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T12:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/157955\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T12:13:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T12:13:14","slug":"kia-ev3-is-the-best-city-suv-of-2025-driven-car-guide-aa-insurance-nz-car-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/157955\/","title":{"rendered":"Kia EV3 is the best City SUV of 2025: DRIVEN Car Guide AA Insurance NZ Car of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re looking for an urban EV-SUV<\/a> with absolutely no compromise in dynamics, quality and especially range, the Kia EV3<\/a> is it.<\/p>\n

\"Kia
\nKIA EV3:\u00a0POWERTRAIN 81.4kWh battery, single-speed transmission, FWD\u00a0OUTPUT 150kW\/283Nm EFFICIENCY Range 563-605km (3P-WLTP) SIZE 4300mm long, 1845-1930kg PRICE $55,520-$75,220.<\/p>\n

Ostensibly a replacement for the Niro EV, but more importantly a clear signal of what Kia can do with electric technology in a small package, the EV3<\/a> wows with striking styling, a premium cabin that achieves a great balance between minimalism and actual buttons, and deeply impressive range from its generous 81.4kWh battery (over 600km, depending on model).<\/p>\n

Dynamically, the EV3<\/a> is nicely calibrated. It\u2019s front-drive, but the power delivery is smooth rather than wheel-spinny, the ride soft but also well-controlled. The clever one-pedal mode allows you to tailor the throttle response and regen to your own driving style. And it\u2019s not limited to the city: that range and grown-up ride and handling mean it has long legs, too.<\/p>\n


\n Read More
\n <\/p>\n

There are three screens united across the dashboard, so it looks pretty high-tech, but the displays and controls are not daunting. We\u2019re keen on features like the permanent climate-control display and standalone audio-mode button on the steering wheel.<\/p>\n


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<\/p>\n

\"Kia
\nEmphasis on the digital in here, but not too much. There are also buttons.<\/p>\n

Being an EV with a flat floor, the EV3 is also blessed with a spacious and airy cabin, plus a frunk and big boot.<\/p>\n

The EV3 is not just the best city SUV of 2025, we reckon it\u2019s Kia\u2019s finest EV-effort to date.<\/p>\n

Runners up: Chery Tiggo 4, Toyota C-HR (2024 winner).<\/p>\n

Check out the other Category Winners here<\/p>\n

And don’t forget the Overall Winner will be announced at 7am on Friday, December 5.<\/p>\n


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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019re looking for an urban EV-SUV with absolutely no compromise in dynamics, quality and especially range, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[6190,138,104373,104376,104374,18930,104375,64313,111,43,139,69,17620],"class_list":["post-157955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-bev","tag-business","tag-car-of-the-year","tag-car-of-the-year-2025","tag-coty-2025","tag-ev","tag-ev3","tag-kia","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-suv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}