Paul Philpott (left), president and CEO, Kia UK, is presented with the UK Car of the Year 2025 trophy by John Challen (right), director, UK Car of the Year Awards
Kia has done the double by winning the UK Car of the Year Awards two years in a row as its EV3 is crowned overall victor in 2025. Following the Kia EV9’s triumph in 2024, it’s also the fourth year in succession the top prize has gone to an electric vehicle.
The EV3 won its Small Crossover category and then beat the winners of the six other categories. There was stiff competition from the Suzuki Swift in Small Car, the Skoda Superb that won Family Car, and the Medium Crossover pick with the MINI Countryman. In Large Crossover, the Hyundai Santa Fe won, with the Polestar 4 taking Executive Car, and the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N lifted the Performance Car title.
“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,” said John Challen, co-chairman, UK Car of the Year Awards. “Kia has successfully grown its EV portfolio and the specification, driving range, and distinctive styling are all EV3 elements that impressed our panel of experts.”
Receiving the winner’s trophy, Paul Philpott, president and CEO, 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,” added Philpott.
David Ross, senior editor of heycar, added: “The Kia EV3 is a great looking car with a long warranty, impressive technology and a premium interior feel, yet it still offers excellent value for money. We’re sure it will prove to be a big hit with heycar buyers and congratulations are due to Kia for winning this prestigious award.”
The Kia EV3 won the UK Car of the Year Awards 2025 by a clear margin and was praised by many of the judges, who represent the whole spectrum of the automotive world. Matt de Prez of Fleet News said: “While it competes with small crossovers on price, the EV3 is as big as models in the segment above. Combined with its long range and decent spec, it’s a great all-rounder.”
Gareth Herincx, who writes for Yahoo and Hello, said: “Distinctive, spacious, safe, competitively-priced and easy to drive, the Kia EV3 is one of the best all-round, family-friendly EVs on the market – and it comes with a seven-year warranty.”
Adding to that, EV expert Alex Grant noted: “The EV3 takes all of the best bits of the EV9 and distills them into a product targeting one of the UK’s biggest-volume segments. It’s futuristic to look at but intuitive to use, rides and handles UK roads brilliantly and offers a usefully long range of almost 400 miles. A very easy way for families to go electric.”
Paul Philpott (centre), president and CEO, Kia UK, receives the UK Car of the Year 2025 trophy from Matt Robinson (left), car reviews editor at heycar UK and John Challen (right), director, UK Car of the Year Awards
UK Car of the Year Awards 2025 category winners
Small Car – Suzuki Swift
Family Car – Skoda Superb
Small Crossover – Kia EV3
Medium Crossover – MINI Countryman
Large Crossover – Hyundai Santa Fe
Executive Car – Polestar 4
Performance Car – Hyundai IONIQ 5 N