The 288bhp Kia EV3 GT has landed, and it’s got a virtual gear shifter
Kia’s excellent hatchback has gained an extra motor and all-wheel drive to go up against the Skoda Elroq vRS and the Volvo EX30 Twin Motor. But is it enough?...
On sale Spring 2026 | Price from £40,000 (est)
Is the word ‘fun’ the most ambiguous thing in the English language? Probably. To some, it means hiking for several miles up an icy mountain, forehead drenched in sweat and calves burning like a star on the verge of going supernova. To others, it could be woolly joggers, a bowl of cheesy nachos and an umpteenth repeat of Friends. At Kia the definition is a little bit different, because it looks like this: the EV3 GT.
One of three new performance models recently launched by Kia – alongside the EV4 GT and EV5 GT – it has become the new entry-point into Kia’s GT range, and spins off the underpinnings of the fantastic EV3 hatchback. This hunkered-down version has some stiff competition in the small performance electric SUV class however, with the likes of the Skoda Elroq vRS and the Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Performance lurking around. So, what does the EV3 GT bring to the table?
For starters, the GT ditches the 201bhp single motor for a 288bhp dual-motor setup, receives permanent all-wheel drive, and has tighter suspension tuning to improve cornering stability. Its 0-62mph now drops to 5.7secs, which is just three-tenths short of the Elroq, but two full seconds off the pace of the blistering EX30.
Though the EV3 GT may lag behind its rivals for pace, it does have a couple of neat gimmicks up its sleeve. The first is a Virtual Gear Shift, which simulates gear changes like a traditional paddle-shift automatic gearbox to add a more authentic feel to throttle inputs. The other is an active sound system that creates a synthetic noise, again, present in an attempt to recapture the combustion experience. It all seems quite fun.
Range figures are being kept under wraps for now, but we do know the EV3 GT gets an 81.4kWh (total capacity) battery that can charge from 10-80% in around 31 minutes. We expect it’ll deliver somewhere between what the standard EV3 (270 miles) and the Long Range (375 miles) can.
Naturally, you’ll spot a couple of changes to the design. Externally, the lairier skirts and creases are complemented by a set of sporty 20in alloys, themselves wrapped around Michelin Pilot Sport performance tyres.
Inside there’s bucket seats inspired by those in the EV9 GT, a bespoke steering wheel, racier accents and trim pieces, plus ambient lighting which mimic the various drive modes – presumably, the redder the glow, the more lively the car’s settings are. Other key features include a head-up display and Harman Kardon speakers, which link up to the same infotainment setup as the standard EV3. That’ll be a pair of 12.3in displays either side of a smaller 5.3in screen.
Production is scheduled to begin in the coming months, with pricing set to be announced in due course. Our best guest currently hovers around the £40k bracket, which would undercut both the Elroq vRS (£46k) and the EX30 Dual Motor Performance (£45k). Mind you, listening to a palaeontology lecture from Ross Gellar would prove a significantly cheaper means of having fun.
Read more: Kia EV3 review
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