Kia Soul EV Review

Price: £34,995

Electrifying.com score

7/10

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It's a marmite car, but we love it, even if it is starting to feel dated in places

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  • Battery size: 39.2-64kWh
  • Miles per kWh: 4.38
  • E-Rating™: A

    Click here to find out more about our electric car Efficiency Rating.​

  • Max charge rate: 80 kW
  • Range: 171-280 miles
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  • Battery size: 39.2-64kWh
  • Miles per kWh: 4.38
  • E-Rating™: A

    Click here to find out more about our electric car Efficiency Rating.​

  • Max charge rate: 80 kW
  • Range: 171-280 miles
  • Kia Soul EV
  • Kia Soul EV
  • Electrifying.com E-Rating A

Ginny Says

“The original Soul EV was the first all-electric car I drove and it won me over with its functional, but cool boxy looks. This is the second version and just like the first it’s a capable, easy to drive, and practical car you’ll enjoy living with.”

Nicki Says

“Its quirky design divides opinion, but there’s a reason boxes are so useful. They’re very practical! The Soul EV can deal with five people and luggage with casual ease, and has a great driving range of around 280 miles so it works on longer journeys as well as in town.”

Don’t be fooled by the boxy looks – the Soul EV is almost unnecessarily powerful in Explore trim. It’s not really a sportscar though.

  • 0-60mph:7.9 - 9.9 seconds
  • Top speed:97 -104 mph
Kia Soul EV

Performance

The Soul Explore might not look like a sports car, but its power has the potential to take the driver - and people in expensive petrol cars – by surprise. Its' figures of 201bhp and 7.9 seconds to 60 mph aren’t going to be a winning card in Top Trumps, but they don’t reflect the way a Soul EV can get away from a standstill up to 30mph. The surge is available as soon as you press the accelerator pedal because of the way electric motors work, and if you are not careful it will chirp the tyres, even in the dry. 

Luckily you can select drive modes which do rein in these antics slightly. Sport mode gives you the full beans, while Normal and Eco change the response of the throttle pedal so it doesn’t feel quite as urgent. The Eco setting limits the power too, extending the battery life. If you press the pedal all the way to the floor in an emergency situation such as an overtake or when pulling onto a motorway, the car will give you full power even if you’ve selected Eco.

The Urban version is more sedate, powered by a 100kW (134bhp) electric motor, producing a maximum torque of 395Nm. It can achieve a top speed of 97mph, with a 0-62mph acceleration figure of 9.9 seconds.

Drive

Kia has chosen to give the Soul EV a more sporting set up than the Niro EV, so in some ways it feels similar to a performance hatchback like a GTi. The suspension is on the firm side and the steering is very direct, so small inputs give a bigger response. 

In some ways this is successful, and the Soul is certainly a bit more fun to drive than most of its rivals. However, it is still taller and heavier than a petrol-powered hatchback and it occasionally feels as though it is pretending to be a car it isn’t. 

One particular bright spot of the driving experience are the brakes though. Like most electric cars it uses regeneration, so the braking energy is recycled back into the battery when you lift off the accelerator or touch the brake. With the Soul you can change modes to give more or less braking effect, but it can also do it automatically using the car’s built-in radar cruise control sensors, so it chooses the best mode to save energy. Clever stuff.

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