Hyundai Ioniq 3 opens UK orders at £18,495 with full £3,750 grant
Hyundai's small electric hatch gets the full £3,750 grant on every trim. That buys up to 308 miles of claimed range for £21,995, less than a longer-range Renault 5 or Kia EV2.
Quick answers
- UK orders for the Hyundai Ioniq 3 are open, and every version qualifies for the full £3,750 Band 1 Electric Car Grant.
- After the grant, prices run from £18,495 for the 42kWh Advance (up to 213 miles WLTP) to £28,195 for the N Line Evo.
- The 61kWh Advance costs £21,995 after the grant with up to 308 miles WLTP: £2,250 less than a Kia EV2 Air 61kWh, with 27 more claimed miles.
- The 42kWh Kia EV2 First Edition gets only £1,500 of grant and costs £26,995, which is £8,500 more than the 42kWh Ioniq 3.
- Hyundai Finance quotes £355 a month for the Advance 61kWh, with a £355 deposit over 48 months at 8.9% APR representative.
Hyundai has opened UK orders for the Ioniq 3, and every version qualifies for the full £3,750 Band 1 Electric Car Grant. That cuts the entry price to £18,495 on the road for the 42kWh Advance, while the 61kWh Advance, rated at up to 308 miles WLTP, costs £21,995 after the grant. For UK buyers it means more claimed range than a longer-range Renault 5 or Kia EV2, for less money. The Ioniq 3 leads a wider group, covered in our report on new EVs opening UK order books in October.
Hyundai first priced the Ioniq 3 in August at £22,245 before any grant (Hyundai UK). The grant confirmation, reported by electrive on 5 October, takes £3,750 off every trim. Customers who had already reserved a car can now convert it into a full order and receive the grant instead of the £1,500 Hyundai Reservation Saving they were offered before (Hyundai UK), which leaves them £2,250 better off.
How much does the Hyundai Ioniq 3 cost in the UK?
There are four trims and two batteries. The 42kWh battery is offered only on the entry Advance trim; the 61kWh battery is standard on everything else and optional on Advance. All prices below are on the road and already include the £3,750 grant, according to Hyundai UK and AM Online.
| Trim | Battery | Claimed WLTP range | Price after £3,750 grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advance | 42kWh | Up to 213 miles | £18,495 |
| Advance | 61kWh | Up to 308 miles | £21,995 |
| Premium | 61kWh | Up to 308 miles, trim dependent | £23,695 |
| Ultimate | 61kWh | Up to 308 miles, trim dependent | £26,195 |
| N Line Evo | 61kWh | Up to 308 miles, trim dependent | £28,195 |
List prices before the grant are £3,750 higher, starting at the £22,245 Hyundai announced in August. Hyundai’s August figures quoted the 61kWh range as up to 308 miles depending on trim, so not every 61kWh version will match the headline number.
On finance, Hyundai quotes £355 a month for the Advance 61kWh with a £355 customer deposit over 48 months at 8.9% APR representative.
What about technology, practicality and charging?
The Ioniq 3 is the first Hyundai model in Europe to get Pleos Connect, Hyundai’s new infotainment system based on Android Automotive (Hyundai UK).
On practicality and charging, Hyundai’s August specification gives a 441-litre boot and a 10 to 80% DC rapid charge in about 29 minutes for the 42kWh car and about 30 minutes for the 61kWh car. Peak DC charging power is 119kW for the smaller battery and 110kW for the larger one, according to electrive.
How does the Ioniq 3 compare with the Renault 5, Kia EV2 and VW ID.Polo?
The table compares entry prices for the versions closest to each Ioniq 3 battery. All prices are on the road and include whatever grant each car qualifies for.
| Model | Battery | Claimed WLTP range | UK price | Grant applied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Ioniq 3 Advance | 42kWh | Up to 213 miles | £18,495 | £3,750 |
| Renault 5 E-Tech Urban Range | 40kWh | Up to 196 miles | £21,495 | Included |
| Hyundai Ioniq 3 Advance | 61kWh | Up to 308 miles | £21,995 | £3,750 |
| Renault 5 E-Tech Comfort Range | 52kWh | Up to 267 miles | £23,945 | Included |
| VW ID.Polo Life | 37kWh | Up to 281 miles (52kWh versions) | £23,945 | None |
| Kia EV2 Air | 61kWh | Up to 275 miles | £24,245 | £3,750 |
Sources: electrive for the updated Renault 5, Electric Cars Report for the Kia EV2 and Which EV for the VW ID.Polo.
The 61kWh Ioniq 3 offers the best value here. It costs £1,950 less than a Renault 5 Comfort Range and claims 41 more miles. Against the Kia EV2 Air, which uses the same 61kWh battery size, it is £2,250 cheaper and claims 27 more miles. It also undercuts the entry VW ID.Polo by £1,950, and that Polo uses the smaller 37kWh battery and gets no grant: only 52kWh, 211PS versions qualify, and for £1,500 rather than £3,750.
At the bottom of the range the gap is just as clear. The 42kWh Ioniq 3 is £3,000 cheaper than the 40kWh Renault 5 and claims 17 more miles. The Kia EV2 First Edition, with a 42.2kWh battery, only qualifies for £1,500 of grant and costs £26,995, which is £8,500 more than the equivalent Hyundai. Our Ioniq 3 vs Kia EV2 comparison goes into the two cars in more detail.
42kWh or 61kWh: which Ioniq 3 should you choose?
The bigger battery costs £3,500 more on the Advance trim and adds 95 miles of claimed range. Hyundai’s charging figures show almost no penalty for the extra capacity: a 10 to 80% stop takes about 30 minutes rather than about 29.
The 42kWh car makes sense if you have a driveway charger, mostly drive in and around town and rarely cover more than 100 miles in a day. At £18,495 it is one of the cheapest new electric cars you can order; see our list of the cheapest new EVs you can buy for how it ranks.
For everyone else, we would pick the 61kWh Advance. The extra range means fewer charging stops on long trips and fewer top-ups if you rely on public chargers, and £21,995 is still less than the entry price of most rivals here. Moving up to Premium adds £1,700 and Ultimate £4,200 without adding claimed range, so the higher trims are a want rather than a need. The N Line Evo, at £28,195, costs £6,200 more than the Advance 61kWh and is hard to justify on value alone.
Why does the grant matter so much here?
The Electric Car Grant pays £3,750 to cars in Band 1 and £1,500 to cars in Band 2, and that difference now decides which small EV looks cheapest. The Ioniq 3 gets the higher rate across the range, while the 42kWh Kia EV2 and the 52kWh, 211PS VW ID.Polo get the lower one, and the 37kWh ID.Polo gets nothing. Our guide to Electric Car Grant eligible models covers the full list of qualifying cars.
We have also looked at how long the Electric Car Grant money might last.
What this means for you
If you want a small, new electric car with a claimed range above 300 miles, the Ioniq 3 Advance 61kWh at £21,995 is the price to beat. Nothing in the comparison above matches its claimed range for less money, and the full grant on every trim removes the trap of picking a version that only gets £1,500.
If you reserved an Ioniq 3, convert it now: the £3,750 grant beats the £1,500 reservation saving by £2,250. If you are still deciding between this, the Renault 5 and the Kia EV2, the Hyundai has the price and range advantage on paper. We would still read a few independent road tests before signing, because a claimed range figure is a starting point rather than a promise.
How we test and where our numbers come from
Range figures are official WLTP combined values taken from manufacturer UK specification pages, with real-world estimates drawn from independent comparative testing. Prices are UK list prices at the time of the latest update. Tax, grant and charging-scheme figures come from GOV.UK and HMRC publications. We re-check every guide when pricing, specification or policy changes. Last checked 6 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Hyundai Ioniq 3 in the UK?
The Ioniq 3 starts at £18,495 on the road for the Advance 42kWh once the £3,750 Electric Car Grant is applied. The list price before the grant starts at £22,245, and the range-topping N Line Evo costs £28,195 after the grant.
Does every Hyundai Ioniq 3 qualify for the Electric Car Grant?
Yes. Hyundai says every version of the Ioniq 3 qualifies for Band 1 of the Electric Car Grant, which is worth the full £3,750 and is taken off the on-the-road price.
What is the Hyundai Ioniq 3's range?
The 42kWh battery is rated at up to 213 miles and the 61kWh battery at up to 308 miles WLTP, depending on trim. Hyundai quotes a 10 to 80% DC charge in about 29 minutes for the 42kWh car and about 30 minutes for the 61kWh car.
I reserved an Ioniq 3 before the grant was confirmed. What happens now?
Hyundai says reservation holders can convert their reservation into a full order and receive the £3,750 grant instead of the £1,500 Hyundai Reservation Saving they were offered before, which leaves them £2,250 better off.
Is the Hyundai Ioniq 3 cheaper than the Kia EV2?
Yes. The Ioniq 3 Advance 61kWh costs £21,995 after the grant, against £24,245 for the Kia EV2 Air 61kWh. The gap is wider with the smaller battery: £18,495 for the Ioniq 3 against £26,995 for the EV2 First Edition.
Sources and further reading
- hyundai.newsHyundai UKPrimary source referenced in this article.
- hyundai.newsHyundai Motor UK announces New IONIQ 3 electric hatchback pricingAugust list price from £22,245, battery ranges, charging times and 441-litre boot.
- am-online.comHyundai Ioniq 3 gets Electric Car grant eligibilityTrim walk after the grant: Premium £23,695, Ultimate £26,195 and N Line Evo £28,195.
- electrive.comHyundai Ioniq 3 now available to order in the UKIndependent report of the UK order opening on 5 October 2026.
- electrive.comHyundai prices Ioniq 3 from £22,245 in the UKBattery sizes, WLTP ranges, 10 to 80% charging times and peak DC charging power.
- electriccarsreport.comKia EV2 Long Range Now Eligible for UK's £3,750 Electric Car GrantKia EV2 prices after the grant, 275-mile range and the £1,500 grant on the 42kWh First Edition.
- electrive.comUK orders open for updated Renault 5 E-TechRenault 5 prices including the grant and updated WLTP ranges for the 40kWh and 52kWh versions.
- whichev.netVolkswagen ID. Polo opens for UK orders from 30 July with prices from £23,945VW ID.Polo starting price, 281-mile maximum range and £1,500 grant on 52kWh 211PS versions only.
EV Compared
The EV Compared editorial team tracks the UK electric vehicle market full time: new model launches, list prices, WLTP and real-world range, public charging tariffs and the tax rules that decide what an EV actually costs to run. Every guide is checked against manufacturer specifications and official GOV.UK figures, and updated whenever the numbers move.
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