HHhmmmm , hesitate to weight in on this one. It will tend to get some folks knickers in a knot. Nowadays I mostly carry Sigs but still carry a 1911 from time to time and was rather a 1911 nut for many years , currently still own a Les Baer , 2 Springfields , a Gold Cup ,one Sig 1911 , the worlds only working Llama 1911 ( worn out and retired) and 3 Ed Brown offerings , an S.F, an Executive Carry and a Kobra Carry ( the two latter are of course Commander size)...........notice there are NO Kimbers , though at one point I had four at once. The only thing I ever had more trouble with than Kimbers offerings all came from Taurus.
And in the general scheme of things there are a great many 3 inch 1911s that don't run real well , I have observed this at a variety of schools and courses including Front Sight and others. Quite frankly there are very good reasons why certain of the high end 1911 houses don't offer much below Commander size 1911s.
Equally generally speaking , 1911s aren't a pistol that I recommend to pure novices , they are more of an *enthusiasts* weapon for those with some knowledge and ability as far as working on and tuning the specific unit.
Folks who wish to own a " shoot it and forget it " sidearm should actually look elsewhere from 1911s , Glocks aren't my cup of tea personally but they work quite well for that purpose , as do Sigs , M and Ps and a number of other offerings.
I've worked on quite a number of 3 inch 1911s for folks , from a number of makers , overall I'd say ( and this is only *my* opinion based on *my* experience....YMMV) the best units have been from Colt ( New Agent and Defender) and Springfield (Emp) and I'd have to advise avoidance of both Kimber and Para's 3 inch offerings , I will say that perhaps the S and W Pro offering is worth a close look , note that there HAS been some record of some feeding problems with the EMP. On the high end STI does off a 3 inch , one of the few high end makers that does but I have zero feedback on that unit as I have no direct experience with one. You will note that even the units I have cited as the best offerings ( in my experience) have some record of problems.
I don't own a 1911 less than Commander length for a reason , I *require* reliability in a sidearm that I might carry , even if it will only be carried once in a blue moon. For those who have had good luck with their Kimbers , I'm glad that it turned out well for you , myself well I avoid them and feel that Kimber is a quite over-rated manufacturer. Again YMMV as may your opinion and I take no issue with that.