Kia EV3 vs Lexus UX 300e

The Lexus UX 300e costs £14,440 more than the Kia EV3. On the headline specs that premium buys little measurable advantage - the two are closely matched on range, charging and space. The Kia EV3 is not just cheaper - it also offers 77 kW faster peak rapid charging and 93 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Kia EV3 comes out ahead overall.

The Kia EV3 is £14,440 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £160 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 £14,520 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 193 miles for the Kia EV3 and 233 miles for the Lexus UX 300e - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Lexus UX 300e goes roughly 40 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 29 minutes in the Kia EV3 and 80 in the Lexus UX 300e, so the Kia EV3 loses less time at each stop. So the Lexus UX 300e stops less often while the Kia EV3 stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The two are within 10 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 560 mm of total clearance for the Lexus UX 300e and about 550 mm of total clearance for the Kia EV3.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 89% battery health for the Kia EV3 and 84% for the Lexus UX 300e. 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.