New Hyundai Ioniq 3 breaks cover with stunning sci-fi-like looks
Despite sharing the same underpinnings as the Kia EV2, the Hyundai Ioniq 3 looks radically different
Hyundai has taken the wraps off its new Ioniq 3, launching the brand into the all-electric compact hatchback segment for the first time.
The South Korean brand displayed the Concept Three at the 2025 Munich Motor Show last September and while there have been plenty of changes to make the Hyundai Ioniq 3, this new model is the realisation of that rather wacky concept.
The Ioniq 3 sits below the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Ioniq 9 as the smallest Ioniq-branded Hyundai. However, at 4.1m long, it’s not the smallest Hyundai electric car – that honour goes to the Inster supermini. The Ioniq 3’s size means there are a fair amount of fresh rivals for it to contend with, such as the Renault 5 and upcoming Cupra Raval and VW ID. Polo. There’s also the Kia EV2, with which the Ioniq 3 not only shares its platform with, but battery choices and electric motors, too.
Pricing for the Ioniq 3 hasn’t been announced yet, but we expect it to arrive in the UK later this summer. The Kia EV2, which is already available on the Auto Express Find A Car service, has recently been made eligible for the Government’s £1,500 Electric Car Grant. Given it’s the Ioniq 3’s sister model, we should expect the same from the Hyundai. With the grant in place, the newcomer could start from around the £25,000 mark.
What does the new Hyundai Ioniq 3 look like?
Both the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 have pretty distinctive designs, so it’s no surprise the Ioniq 3 looks set to turn a few heads, too. Hyundai describes the model as an ‘aero hatch’ and while it sits higher than the Concept Three, the overall profile is familiar, with a low front end, swept-back windscreen and tapered windowline.
The overall surfacing of the Ioniq 3 comes from Hyundai’s ‘Art of Steel’ design philosophy, which is most evident in the creases down the side that point up towards the rear spoiler. Colour-contrasting wheelarches help give the Ioniq 3 a squat-looking stance (although not quite as extreme as the show car’s) and to the rear the upright form and narrow light bar have a whiff of the Alfa Romeo SZ.
As with the Alfa, Hyundai’s design is purposefully bold, with one designer telling us “the best thing for us is people not immediately loving it, we want a polarising design”. An element of the Concept Three that hasn’t made its way to the Ioniq 3 is the fake exhaust, which provided exterior sound on the concept. However, we were told that this feature might be something we’ll see on future Ioniq 3 models, such as a hot Ioniq 3 N.
The car shown to us was in sporty N Line trim and had 19-inch wheels, a larger rear spoiler, a functional diffuser, red accents and a unique front bumper with gloss-black trim. Lesser versions of the Ioniq 3 – which we’ve spied already – will do without these bits for a simpler look.
Inside, the N Line version has more red accents, red stitching and an N-badged steering wheel, although it’s different to the one found on the Ioniq 5 N, with a new design and plenty of buttons. Physical switchgear as a whole is an important point in the Ioniq 3, because during the Concept Three’s reveal Hyundai told us it was questioning the need for screens in cars.
With a choice of 12.9-inch or 14.6-inch displays, Hyundai obviously hasn’t quite come up with an answer to its own question, but there are still toggles for functions such as climate control, driving modes, seat heaters and wing-mirror adjustment; these all have a satisfying, tactile feel to them, too, even in this early production model.
As for the big central touchscreen, the Ioniq 3 is the first Hyundai to use a new Android-based infotainment system called ‘Pleos’, and while it wasn’t quite ready during our reveal, it looks smart enough and easy to understand.
Hyundai Ioniq 3: range and powertrains
Sitting on a shrunken version of the E-GMP architecture (shared with Hyundai’s Ioniq 5, but more closely Kia’s new EV2), there’s a 400-volt system on board. There’s also a choice of a ‘Standard Range’ 42.2kWh battery or a ‘Long Range’ 61kWh unit – just as you get in the Kia.
The smaller battery will return more than 208 miles, which is up on the EV2’s 194-mile range, while the Ioniq 3 Long Range is rated in excess of 304 miles, way above the maximum 281 miles in the EV2. Part of the reason behind the efficiency gap is down to aerodynamics, the Hyundai has a drag coefficient of 0.26, while the Kia’s figure is 0.29.
As with Kia, Hyundai hasn’t provided a maximum charging-speed figure for the Ioniq 3 just yet, but it says the standard-range model will take 29 minutes to top up from 10 to 80 per cent of its battery capacity; the long-range car takes a minute longer. The Ioniq 3 supports 11kW charging and there’s the option to have a 22kW charging cable as well.
Given the shared EV technology between the Ioniq 3 and EV2, it’s no surprise that the Hyundai features the same choice of electric motors, too. The Standard Range has a nine-second 0-62mph time with a 144bhp motor, while the Long Range with its 134bhp electric motor takes 9.6 seconds – both slightly slower than the equivalent EV2.
How practical is the new Hyundai Ioniq 3?
The Ioniq 3 might look like the sleeker cousin to the EV2, but it’s got the bigger boot, at 440 litres, once you remove the load-bay floor. We found the interior isn’t quite as spacious as the EV2, particularly for rear headroom, but with a flat floor and slightly sunken rear seats it’s not uncomfortable back there.
The front features a big space under the centre console which can extend into a large flask storage area by removing one of the cup-holders entirely – a pretty nifty solution.
Trim levels haven’t been announced yet, but certain versions will get the same ‘relaxation seats’ as the ones we enjoyed in the N Line car, plus heated and ventilated seats, a Bose sound system, dual-zone automatic climate control, ambient LED lighting and several interior clips (in a similar vein to Dacia’s YouClip option) for items such as torches or cup-holders. Customers may even be able to make their own 3D attachments in future, according to Hyundai.
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