How Much Range the VinFast VF3 May Get, and Will It Be Long Enough?

• VinFast opens orders for its subcompact VF3 battery-electric crossover, powered by a single 43-hp motor out back.

• The VF3 is rated at 130 miles range in the optimistic NEDC cycle, but its EPA range is expected to be much lower.

• The VF3 could be headed stateside in 2025, after launching in Vietnam with a starting price of $12,400, battery included.

There is seemingly no shortage of pocket-sized EVs across the Pacific, priced the same as decade-old Nissan Leafs. Some of them have long alphanumeric names that resemble those of inkjet printers, while others are named for cute animals. And some of them, like Mitsubishi's Minicab EV, are unapologetically dated on the outside.

But the VinFast VF3 is different in one important way. It could arrive stateside as early as next year.

VinFast has just opened pre-orders for its smallest electric offering, which is expected to debut in its home market with a price just below $13,000.

If one opts for a subscription plan for the battery, which is one of the options in Vietnam, then the price drops to $9,300 for the vehicle alone. However, with the battery included the starting price is about $12,400. This includes an 8-year unlimited-mileage warranty for the battery.

That's right: It will cost about as much as the feared BYD Seal, whose various siblings are sometimes credited with making the Tesla Model 2 moot.

VinFast claims that it has racked up just under 30,000 pre-orders in under three days, with deliveries set to start later this summer in its home country.

What does the VF3 promise?

A single motor out back producing 43 hp and 81 lb-ft of torque, drawing juice from an 18.6-kWh battery.

"This is an ideal price point that makes it feasible for more consumers to own a vehicle and improve their quality of life at a reasonable cost," VinFast says, and we can't disagree.

Of course, there is no guarantee that the same pricing scheme will carry over to the US, and we wouldn't seriously bet on identical numbers. But the car should still land well below the $20,000 mark when (and if) it gets here.

VinFast expects to produce at least 20,000 units in its first year.

The VF3's range is a separate and nuanced discussion, as in the very generous NEDC cycle it's rated at a very optimistic 130 miles. The official EPA figures, which we won't know for a while, could be quite a bit lower, much closer to the 100-mile mark or (more likely) slightly below it.

That's not a lot of range, but then again Mazda has sold some MX-30 crossovers in the US with an EPA range of 92 miles mere months ago with a starting price of around $35,000, before pulling the plug.

The Fiat 500e is here this year with a range of 149 miles, and a $34,095 starting price

So there is some market for lower-range EVs even at almost three times the price, even if it's not a very large one market.

The VF3 will be much smaller than the MX-30 with an overall length of 125.6 inches, or over a foot shorter than the 500e, while still offering seating for four and some usable cargo space (19.42 cubic feet) with those back seats folded down.

The VF3 could arrive stateside as a 2026 model, though we won't know the US specs and pricing for a while. And this timing remains a bit fluid, giving VinFast some time to tinker with specs and interior options.

But as the old Yugo ads said "Everybody needs a Yugo sometime." And the prospect of an EV with about a hundred mile of range for less than $20,000 could be a pretty tempting one if you don't want a used Mini Cooper SE with about the same range but some serious mileage.

Will the VF3 find a large enough audience stateside with a range of around 100 miles, and a price below $20,000? Let us know in the comments below.