It’s a weird time for electric cars in America. Honda just canceled its entire EV project, Volvo ditched the EX30, and Chevrolet’s set to discontinue the Bolt again shortly after bringing it back from purgatory. However, that doesn’t mean that some automakers aren’t trying to bring small EVs stateside, such as the Kia EV3. It’s essentially a subcompact hatchback-with-cladding laser-targeted at the new Nissan Leaf. However, it’s also launching in America with something almost all other entry-level EVs don’t offer. I’m talking about a performance variant, the EV3 GT.
Kia officially calls the EV3 GT an SUV, but that feels like a stretch. Sure, it’s 3.3 inches taller in stature than the dearly departed Fiat 500 Abarth, but that includes about six-tenths of an inch worth of roof rails. More importantly, it’s a whopping 25.3 inches longer than the Fiat. If I’ve done my math correctly, that’s 17.5 percent longer, 5.6 percent wider, and a 13.5 percent wider track. Proportionally and dimensionally, that’s hatchback stuff.
Granted, some Socrates will probably still argue that the criteria for an SUV lie in its acronym, at which point Plato will powerslide a Porsche Boxster into the Agora, popping the frunk to reveal a full keg tucked neatly in the luggage bay with enough spare room for several pizzas. See? Sport and utility. Even if we go by function, with no low range, no skid plates, and no real off-road pretensions, the Kia EV3 GT is almost a hot hatch, and one worth approaching with real curiosity.
Photo credit: Kia
Obviously, we’re looking at an electric vehicle, and its dual-motor all-wheel-drive system kicks out a respectable 288 horsepower. Based on that figure alone, I’d expect the zero-to-60 mph dash to happen in well under six seconds despite a somewhat porky curb weight. While an official weigh-in for the U.S.-spec model hasn’t been announced, the European version tips the scales at 4,409 pounds. Even though DIN curb weight and SAE curb weight have some measurement discrepancies, that still makes a Tesla Model 3 look feathery. Hey, an 81.4 kWh battery pack is an 81.4 kWh battery pack, even if 400-volt charging isn’t state-of-the-art.
Photo credit: Kia
However, the really interesting parts of the EV3 GT don’t lie in dragstrip prowess. For one, it has a similar sort of simulated manumatic mode as the ones in the EV6 GT and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. Now, this is something manufacturers can get extremely wrong, but everything I’ve driven on the Hyundai-Kia E-GMP platform with the feature has got it extremely right. It’s the sort of thing that adds dimensionality to what would otherwise be a fairly flat commuting experience.
Photo credit: Kia
Then there are the other typical performance accoutrements. Firmer MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension, an edgier steering calibration, seats with taller bolsters, and large brake calipers. The EV3 GT doesn’t seem like just a go-quicker-in-a-straight-line proposition, and if its EV6 GT big brother is any indication, this subcompact performance EV should have some proper stick in the corners.
Photo credit: Kia
In keeping with other applications of the GT trim, the EV3 GT will be hard to pick out in traffic from its GT-Line sibling. There’s a splash of retina-searing green on the calipers, a few bits of unique trim, new wheels, a subtle badge, and that’s about it. Your coworkers wouldn’t need to know that you selected the hot version, and there’s something nice about that. More importantly, the interior’s outfitted like an actual car. A screen for your gauges and a separate one for infotainment, a top-level climate control display, a bunch of real buttons and knobs, shortcuts for important functions. Nothing inside looks obviously cost-cut, and that should pay dividends in user-friendliness.
Photo credit: Kia
Of course, curb weight is still a concern, but let’s not forget that this isn’t replacing a beloved combustion-powered hot hatch. The EV3 GT is Kia trying something it hasn’t really done before, and a performance EV in this sort of footprint with real buttons and stuff feels like something worth experiencing. It’s a gamble given the current state of the EV market in America, but automakers taking risks and doing completely new-to-them stuff is something I like to see. Expect pricing and further details to come later this year, closer to the EV3 GT’s on-sale date in late 2026. Who’d have thought that America’s first electric hot hatch would be a Kia?
Top graphic image: Kia
