Kia EV3 is UK Car of the Year 2025

Richard Aucock, Contributor
Wed, 12 Mar 2025

The Kia EV3 has been named UK Car of the Year 2025 after beating six other category winners to scoop overall honours.

In being named UK Car of the Year 2025, the Kia EV3 follows in the footsteps of its larger sibling, the Kia EV9, which was UK Car of the Year 2024.

The Kia EV3 had already been named Small Crossover of the Year back in February, and its overall triumph follows votes by a 31-strong jury of industry experts, including HonestJohn.co.uk’s editor David Ross.

John Challen, co-chairman of the UK Car of the Year Awards, said: "Securing back-to-back successes in this competition has only been achieved once before, which shows the outstanding attributes and appeal of the Kia EV3, which emerged victorious from a strong field of finalists.

"The specification, driving range and distinctive interior and exterior styling are just three EV3 elements that impressed our panel of experts."

Paul Philpott, president and CEO of Kia UK, said: "We’re delighted to once again be victorious winning the outright UK Car of the Year Award with EV3. This follows our success in 2024 with EV9.

"These consecutive awards clearly demonstrate Kia’s strong leadership in electrification, the genuine demand from UK customers and the quality of our product line up.  

"With this outstanding recognition and our increasing order bank, we and our dealer partners are confident EV3 will continue being a popular and accessible choice for the growing number of people switching to electric.”

The Kia EV3 was also a finalist for European Car of the Year and World Car of the Year 2025 – with the top three nominees for the latter set to be announced later in March.

It means the success story for the Kia EV3 may yet continue…

Ask HJ

Should I leave my EV on charge while parked for two months?

My Kia Niro will be left unused for two months does it need to be left on charge ?

The guidance for how to store an EV for an extended period of time varies between manufacturer and vehicle, so we would suggest consulting the owner's handbook for any specific guidance. As a general rule we would advise charging the main vehicle battery to at least 50% to ensure it does not discharge completely during the time it is left parked. You may wish to consider using a trickle charger on the 12V battery to ensure this remains functional also. EV batteries should ideally be stored between 20% and 80% rather than 100%, so unless you can remotely control the state of charge while you are away it may be better to leave the vehicle unplugged.

Answered by David Ross

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