Kia demonstrates tech prowess behind EV3

A Kia EV3 compact electric SUV / Courtesy of Kia

Kia has demonstrated its advanced pedal and braking systems for its most strategic electric vehicle (EV) — the EV3 — letting drivers enjoy more affordable and comfortable driving with the two key upsides of the vehicle, the company said Tuesday.

The carmaker equipped the compact electric SUV with its Smart Regeneration System 3.0. The system features a combination of autonomous driving technology and regenerative braking. When drivers take their foot off the accelerator pedal, sensors automatically detect the distance from the vehicle ahead and operates the regenerative braking function, thereby decelerating the car to a safer speed, the carmaker said.

Navigation information is also utilized during the process, so the vehicle reduces its speed to avoid speeding violations on the road, according to Kia, which added that this promotes economical driving in most urban environments.

The vehicle also decelerates in other various circumstances, such as curves, right or left turns and intersections. The deceleration intensity can be set by each driver.

Drivers can simply activate the system by pressing a paddle shift on the right side of the vehicle’s steering wheel for about a second.

Shim Kyoo-bin, an engineer at Hyundai Motor Group’s vehicle drive control development team, explains the carmaker's smart regeneration system during the EV3 Tech Day in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Lee Min-hyung

Previously, the automatic deceleration did not work when the speed drops below 9 kilometers per hour, but the latest version is capable of decelerating the vehicle to a complete stop, Kia said.

“Drivers can feel at ease with our newest regeneration system, as it gives them an impression of semi-autonomous driving,” Shim Kyoo-bin, an engineer at Hyundai Motor Group’s vehicle drive control development team, said during the EV3 Tech Day in Seoul.

“The system helps the vehicle maximize its energy consumption in city drives,” he said.

Kia also equipped the EV3 with the i-Pedal 3.0 — characterized by a multilateral function of the accelerator pedal which accelerates, decelerates and even stops the vehicle. The i-Pedal function can be operated across all regenerative braking stages, according to the carmaker.

Drivers can set the regenerative braking intensity from level zero to three by pulling the paddle shift on the left side of the steering wheel for more than a second, the company said. This drastically reduces the frequency of stepping on a brake pedal, which will alleviate drivers’ fatigue.

Kia expects the EV3 to drive the popularization of EVs, as customers can purchase the vehicle at less than 40 million won ($28,800). Few other imported EVs in the same segment offer such reasonable price options to customers.

The vehicle can drive up to 501 kilometers on a single charge, according to a certification by Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.