Kia EV3 vs Mercedes-Benz EQA

The Mercedes-Benz EQA costs £10,440 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 27 kW faster peak rapid charging and 120 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Kia EV3 comes out ahead overall.

The Kia EV3 is £10,440 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 £10,520 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 219 miles for the Mercedes-Benz EQA - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Mercedes-Benz EQA goes roughly 27 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 29-30 minutes.

The two are within 16 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 566 mm of total clearance for the Mercedes-Benz EQA and about 550 mm of total clearance for the Kia EV3. The Kia EV3 also turns in a 1.0 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 89% battery health for the Kia EV3 and 84% for the Mercedes-Benz EQA. 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.