Hyundai KONA Electric vs Kia EV3

The Hyundai KONA Electric costs £1,945 more than the Kia EV3. For that premium it adds 48 miles more WLTP range. The Kia EV3 is not just cheaper - it also offers 26 kW faster peak rapid charging. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Hyundai KONA Electric comes out ahead overall.

The Kia EV3 is £1,945 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £136 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Kia EV3 comes out roughly £1,825 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 266 miles for the Hyundai KONA Electric and 193 miles for the Kia EV3 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Hyundai KONA Electric goes roughly 73 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 41 minutes in the Hyundai KONA Electric and 29 in the Kia EV3, so the Kia EV3 loses less time at each stop. So the Hyundai KONA Electric stops less often while the Kia EV3 stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The two are within 25 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 575 mm of total clearance for the Hyundai KONA Electric and about 550 mm of total clearance for the Kia EV3.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 86% battery health for the Hyundai KONA Electric and 89% for the Kia EV3. That gives the Kia EV3 a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.