Kia EV3 grabs Car of the Year GONG – wins too for Citroen e-C3 and BMW i5

DrivingElectric’s Car of the Year 2025, and Best Family EV, is the new Kia EV3, with awards too for the BMW i5 and Citroen e-C3.

It’s arguable that the most successful legacy car maker in the EV world is Hyundai Kia, with some very decent offerings like the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 proving that EVs can be appealing and practical, although not exactly cheap.

But last year saw the arrival of the Kia EV3 as a small-ish electric SUV – about the size of a Peugeot 2008 – to add to Kia’s EV offerings and cut the entry price of a Kia EV to £32,995. Relatively cheap by EV standards.

The entry-level EV3 Air does come pretty well-specced too with heated front seats, 12.3″ screens for driver display and infotainment, Auto lights and wipers, Climate, Roof Rails, 17″ alloys and LED headlights.

That offering is enough for the Kia EV3 to be awarded DrivingElectric’s Car of the Year 2025 – and Best Family EV – with DrivingElectric saying:

Kia has a reputation for shaking up the EV market and the EV3 does it again, for an even wider audience.

Also on the winners’ rostrum is the Citroen e-C3 which grabbed the gong for Best Value EV with its very competitive pricing – starting at under £22,000 – and a pretty no-frills spec, with DrivingElectric declaring:

The Citroen e-C3 isn’t groundbreaking; it’s just a refreshingly simple and well-equipped electric car that won’t cost you a fortune. What’s not to like?

Somewhat further up the EV pecking order, the new BMW i5 – BMW’s electric take on the 5 Series – grabbed the Best Premium Electric Car award for 2025, with DrivingElecric saying:

From a best-in-class driving experience to outstanding tech, the BMW i5 ticks all the right boxes for a premium electric car – it’ll take something quite special to beat it next year.