At launch, the EV3 will come in a single-motor, front-wheel drive layout with a power output of 150kW and 283Nm of torque. A standard-range 58.3kWh and a long-range 81.4kWh version will make up two battery choices, but later an all-wheel drive GT-Line variant is set to show up with more power. Power outputs for future variants remain unconfirmed by Kia, so we’ll wait until a local confirmation comes along in regards to Australian line-up and outputs. Efficiency Tesla claims a range of 547km between charges and that even when towing something of “reasonable size” (a smaller Tesla perhaps) it will still get 400km. I, for one, very much doubt that. Tesla also claims you can recover up to 235km of range with just 15 minutes of Tesla Supercharging, while a charge from 10 to 80 per cent on that same Supercharger would take 44 minutes. On a 110V American plug it would take 110 hours, or 4.5 days, to fully charge from zero to 100 per cent. Efficiency While Kia says the maximum driving range under WLTP testing should be about 600km, its standard range 58.3kWh battery doesn’t yet have a confirmed claim. A proper power consumption figure also hasn’t been confirmed, but during the launch the EV3’s anticipated range even after quite some driving suggested a 600km run on one charge is reasonable. Kia Australia hasn’t confirmed charging speeds, but specs from the UK suggest the smaller battery can charge up to 102kW on DC charging, while the long-range battery maxes out at 128kW. The EV3 uses a 400V architecture instead of the 800-volt used by larger Kia EV models, thus its slower charge rate. Both should charge in around 31 minutes from 10-80 per cent, Kia says. Driving It’s fair to say the Tesla Cybertruck is an intimidating prospect in the metal. It towers over you and seems to stretch into forever, because it does, at 5.68m long (too long to fit in a standard Australian parking space). It’s also a full 2.0m wide, 1.8m tall and weighs 3.1 tonnes, but along with its size comes the fact that it just doesn’t look… right. There’s not a round surface on it but there are plenty you could cut yourself with, or lose a finger in. It’s no less weird inside, as the giant A-pillars, vast dash, crazy yoke steering device and graphically lovely screen confront you, making it feel like you might be on the Starship Troopers ride at Universal Studios rather than in an LA car park. Then, while you’re getting used to this and having a good laugh at the Easter egg on the touch screen (smash the windows on the graphic of the car with your finger and you hear the sound of Elon freaking out at the infamous failure demonstration of its unbreakable glass), you’re warned that it is going to be almost as weird to drive as it looks. This is, in part, due to the Cybertruck’s unique drive-by-wire steering - a technology previously popular only with jet fighters and other planes - which allows it to have a yoke instead of a steering wheel without being annoying, because your hands will never cross over and be left grasping air. Yes, the Infiniti Q50 debuted with 'steer-by-wire' a decade ago, but featured a full mechanical system as a fail-safe back-up. No mechanical safety net here. The Cybertruck has less than one full turn lock-to-lock, and it has not just passive but aggressive rear wheel steering, allowing the back wheels to turn the opposite direction to the front ones at parking speeds, quite radically, which, once you’re used to it, makes it much easier to park than seems possible. It also makes this Tesla incredibly sharp and direct and means that, for the first few minutes of driving it you will turn the wheel, sorry, yoke, far more than necessary. Once you get used to it, however, it is fabulous, as long as you don’t think about what would happen if the software that’s the only thing connecting you to the wheels - rather than actual moving parts - failed. The steering makes the Cybertruck shrink around you to the point where you forget, at times, just how big it is. Combined with the low centre of gravity and the bank vault solidity of the chassis, it also makes it turn-in and handle like a much smaller sports car (and it has a turning circle that defies belief, one that’s sharper than some sedans). Speaking of sports cars, most of them won’t keep up with the Cybertruck if there’s someone brave in its driving seat. Indeed, you’d need a proper hypercar to match its constant, surging torque (no, I don’t believe it can really have 13,000-plus Newtons, but it’s a lot), and its purely outrageous, surging speed. Tesla has a habit of calculating torque at the wheels, not the motor(s) and gearing reductions increase torque markedly. Yes, I do believe it would do 0 to 100km/h in three seconds, maybe slightly less, but I’m also equally sure it’s not a great idea to try (I'm also very grateful I didn't experience the problems with the throttle sticking open on some examples that recently saw every Cybertruck recalled). The problem is that 3.0-tonne weight figure, and all that mass. It feels beyond weird to move something this big, that fast, and it quickly makes you pause for a chilling thought about whether it’s all going to be able to stop again. It does, or it did for me, but boy, it puts the wind up you every time you try. Overall, though, it’s hard to overstate just how surprisingly good, and yes, at times even fun, the Cybertruck is to drive. Oh, and for the trainspotters out there, claimed efficiency is 22.4kWh per 100km, but we actually saw 27kWh during our two days of test drives. Our second Cybertruck was also making some distinctly weird metallic clanking noises from underneath, particularly when we switched between forward and reverse. It might be worth waiting for the second generation of this thing before buying one, but that won’t be an issue for Australian fans, anyway. As far as its off-road abilities, we managed to find a bit of beach in a car park and pointed the Cybertruck at it. After an initial fearful moment of being sure we were going to sink, we just put the foot down and let all that torque power us out of trouble. It felt effortless. Driving This is where the Kia’s home advantage really comes in. The little EV3 feels like it was designed especially for Seoul, and while that means it should fit in just fine in city and metro areas in Australia, a day driving the car in its domestic habitat doesn’t give us the full picture. But going on what was learned behind the wheel in South Korea, the small SUV is a pretty impressive thing. Its 150kW, front-drive motor feels like the sweet spot for city driving - it’s never lacking power but can be easily applied smoothly. Kia’s new 'i-Pedal 3.0' should feel relatively familiar to experienced EV drivers, too, with the paddles on the wheel able to adjust regenerative braking or enable one-pedal driving. This seemingly helped plenty with maintaining a decent available driving range. Kia’s claim of 600km on a single charge in the long-range variant seems realistic. In terms of steering and manoeuvrability, the EV3 managed some tight underground parking, narrow laneways and busy car parks on test. While steering feels light and manageable, it's also well weighted for smooth inputs at highway speeds. Its ride and suspension in both urban and highway environments is comfortable and compliant, though Seoul’s smooth roads and the lack of fast cornering on the test route mean a proper dynamic assessment will have to come later when the car lands in Australia. By that point, Kia Australia’s Ride and Handling Chief Engineer Graeme Gambold will have been able to adjust the car to suit local conditions, so some small issues with tyre noise at highway speeds may no longer be the case by then. The EV3’s active safety and automatic cruise control tuning kept the little SUV well on-track and managed other cars, braking and lane-keeping smoothly - especially for a city with the hectic traffic we saw on test. Never did the EV3’s systems do anything unexpected when in use, which gets a big tick at a time when some brands are still struggling to properly calibrate even the right braking distance and intensity for semi-autonomous driving. Safety Some unkind experts have referred to the Cybertruck as a “death machine” and a “guideless missile”, pointing out that putting a stainless steel body on top of a big old battery is inherently problematic. As is the lack of crumple zones. Making all this very pointy metal move as fast as a McLaren supercar has also raised some questions about sanity. Then there was the recent recall of every Cybertruck built so far: "Cybertruck owners reported that their vehicles were at risk of getting stuck driving at full speed due to a loose accelerator pedal. Video showed the pedal itself falling off and the piece beneath wedging itself into the car’s interior, which would force the vehicle into maximum acceleration. One driver was able to save himself from a crash by holding down the brake pedal." Elon Musk, has claimed, however, that the Cybertruck, is “much safer per mile” than its competitors. Australia has different pedestrian safety regulations to the US and while some have posited that the Cybertruck will pass, pointing to the fact that you can buy an even bigger Ram truck here, others are not so sure. The Tesla Cybertruck does have six airbags, and a suite of active safety features as part of its 'Autopilot' system, but it does not yet have 'Full Self Driving'. Safety No independent safety testing has been carried out for the EV3 yet, but a five-star rating from the likes of ANCAP is crucial for an SUV from a high-volume brand like Kia. The EV3 does come with plenty of safety kit, including an advanced driving assistance suite with an electric dynamic torque vectoring system, forward and reverse collision avoidance assist, lane keep assist and a pretty well-sorted smart cruise control that, in Korea at least, can automatically let you know your average speed over a stretch of road to avoid getting pinged by point-to-point cameras. Interested in a Tesla Cybertruck? Insurance Quote