When General Motors' hands-free Super Cruise came out, it debuted on the $70,000 Cadillac CT6 sedan. When Ford released its future software interface that will live in a new generation of gasoline and electric vehicles, it did so on the Lincoln Nautilus. And Tesla chose the $90,000 Cybertruck to show off its 800-volt architecture and drive-by-wire steering.
You get the idea. Flashy new game-changer technology in cars tends to show up first on the expensive stuff before it trickles down to the models that everyone can afford. That's part of what makes the 2025 Kia EV3 so notable: it's expected to start around $30,000 to $35,000, if not less, but it moves the ball forward for Hyundai Motor Group's technology game in ways that are usually reserved for high-end luxury cars.
At the heart of those advancements is Kia's new i-Pedal 3.0 system. It's an evolution of the adjustable regenerative braking found on the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EVs. And it not only fixes their problems but adds autonomous driving assistance technology that redefines how one-pedal driving works—all in an affordable EV that's aimed at everyone.
At the EV3's launch drive in Seoul, I made sure to put the new i-Pedal setup through its paces. Here's what I learned.
How It Works Right Now
In the event that you aren't intimately familiar with how a Kia or Hyundai EV drives right now, I'll start with how i-Pedal works on those current models.
With one-pedal driving, where most of the car's speed and deceleration are controlled by respectively pressing or lifting off the accelerator pedal. It's a unique aspect of EV (and some hybrid) driving that minimizes the use of the brake pedal and maximizes efficiency by recapturing some of the kinetic energy usually lost while coasting and braking. Generally, with true one-pedal driving, the car can come to a complete stop without the use of the brake pedal at all.
Automakers have many different ways of approaching this feature. Tesla used to let you adjust the level of "creep" but no longer does, though it currently allows you to toggle between low and standard regenerative braking. Ford lets you toggle it on and off. The Volkswagen ID.4 lets you dial up the regenerative braking but stops short of full one-pedal driving. Porsche doesn't offer it at all. Some people love this feature; some don't care for it. Finding Figuring out if this feature fits your personal preference is an important part of deciding which EV to buy.
The Hyundai Motor Group EVs offer some of the most flexibility out there. On cars like my own Kia EV6, you get steering wheel paddles (pretty identical to the gear-change paddles on an automatic or DCT gas-powered car) that dial regenerative braking up or down between pretty much nothing and three levels of regenerative strength—but you still have to use the brake pedal at times and to stop.
That is until you hold down the left paddle to activate i-Pedal, which engages true one-pedal driving. On my EV6, I tend to drive around town with Level 2 or Level 3 regenerative braking and i-Pedal on the highway. I'm not saying that's right or wrong, just what I tend to prefer.
But i-Pedal has its limits. One frequent point of criticism is that the car forgets it's in i-Pedal mode when you turn it off, and some drivers would prefer it stay on all the time. It also deactivates when you shift into reverse. That can throw you off if you weren't expecting it during a parallel parking move. Still, I like Kia's fully adjustable approach because of the flexibility it offers, including during different types of driving. My wife likes to drive the EV6 with totally different settings as well.
Kia was keen to keep up that level of customization here, but i-Pedal 3.0 takes things to a different level. Maybe even three or four of them.
How I-Pedal 3.0 Works On The Kia EV3
On the EV3, you can still switch from no regenerative braking to three different levels of strength using the paddle shifters. But now, all settings offer true one-pedal driving to where the car can stop on its own without the brake pedal.
Now, you find the setting you want with the paddles, then pull the left one until it activates. You can also toggle it on and off for reverse via the system settings menu. Oh, and it also remembers to stay on when you get back in the car later after turning it off. Finally.
"The most substantial Level 3 braking [is] ideal for driving in heavy start-stop traffic, where drivers may need to slow the car quickly," Kia explained in a news release. "This has also been optimized with a more linear calibration for smoother results. On a long motorway journey, drivers might prefer Level 1 or even Level 0, which allows the EV3 to glide when lifting off the accelerator. These regenerative braking levels provide more comfort-focused deceleration."
You can now even activate i-Pedal with regenerative braking entirely off. Kia said this "allows the EV3 to coast fully while bringing a similar deceleration rate to Level 1 at lower speeds."
It was a lot to try out in the few hours we had the cars in Seoul's heavy traffic, but as with my own EV6, I was able to find a few settings I liked for different situations better than others. The flexibility is still here but now there's more of it.
That's a great upgrade. But it's amateur hour compared to how the i-Pedal now integrates semi-automated driving assistance systems (ADAS) into regenerative braking.
The Real Party Trick: Smart Regenerative System 3.0
On current models like my EV6, you pull the right paddle to activate an "auto" mode that uses GPS and sensor data to give you what it thinks is the optimal regenerative braking based on conditions like the grade in the road or traffic ahead of you.
The system is activated the same way on the EV3, but now it's much smarter.
It incorporates navigation data as well as the standard sensors and GPS to engage what Kia calls "a digital co-pilot that can scan the road ahead," adjusting acceleration—and the level of regenerative braking involved—based on various conditions. This Smart Regenerative System 3.0 can now also bring the car to a complete stop, whereas past versions only got you down to about 3 mph. And if you approach a bend in the road or a car cuts in front of you, the EV3 should use regenerative braking to slow you down efficiently.
It's great in traffic because it can pull you through pretty much automatically (though you still have to steer, of course) by following the vehicle ahead of you and slowing down or even stopping with regen braking as needed. On the 25-mile drive between Seoul and Kia's R&D center in Namyang, I barely used the accelerator pedal at all. I kept the Smart Regenerative System in auto mode, set my cruising speed and steered as the EV3 modulated acceleration based on conditions.
Basically, think radar-guided cruise control with regen braking mixed in and you're pretty much there. This can be combined with the EV3's other ADAS features like Highway Driving Assist and Lane Keeping Assist. Note that this isn't an entirely hands-off system like GM's Super Cruise is, but the steering wheel is capacitive, so you need only touch it to remind the car's computer that you're paying attention—you don't need to gently tug on the wheel or anything.
Does it have its limitations? Like any ADAS setup right now, absolutely. There were a few times when the EV3 came into a turn or an interchange a bit hotter than I wanted or when I felt it braked too late—regen or otherwise—when another car cut in front of me. Trust but verify, as I say about these things.
But the early verdict is that i-Pedal 3.0 is very, very good. It not only fixes all of the past grievances with adjustable regenerative braking on these cars, it adds in ADAS tech in a way that makes around-town and highway driving much more pleasant.
This was especially useful in a city like Seoul, where highway traffic can go from all systems green to a lengthy jam-up in the blink of an eye. Having the latest Smart Regenerative System in automatic mode means that you won't end up as frustrated by these constant changes in acceleration; the EV3 has you covered.
And once again, it's truly remarkable that this system debuts on all versions of a car that should cost around $30,000 or $35,000 in the U.S. (if not potentially less) and not some new six-figure Genesis EV. A bunch of new affordable EVs are coming to market in the next few years now; they had better not skimp on their technology, because this is what they're up against.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
