Kia Soul EV

Presented very much as I like my meat; barbeque black on the outside and red in the middle, with blood oozing forth hither and thither, the first Kia Soul I drove back in 2009 was dubbed the Burner edition – ostensibly random, silver go-bonkers decals not constituting some gay, cabbalistic symbol but rather, if you peered hard enough, two whole dragons.

On board, Kia had answered my long-espoused view that car interiors should be more lively by the simple expedient of lobbing in a red paint grenade and retiring to a safe distance. Even the front door loudspeakers throbbed red to the music on demand. The only snag being that the lights seemed to be tuned to respond to mid-range sound frequencies rather than bass, the after-dark effect thus proving somewhat more piccicato than truly pumpin’.

Ostensibly, this first Soul EV continues the model’s efforts to present itself as something of a challenge to the norms of couture with a front end blatantly styled on the face of a Star Wars stormtrooper, and a rump representing God Knows What with added boomerang…

Alas, not so on board, however. Less Nial Rogers and more Rogers and Hammerstein, there’s absolutely nothing funky about the interior. Despite the presence of a 10.25-inch infotainment touch screen, conventional buttons and knobs predominate amidst a tsunami of black plastic. Assuming they make it past the exterior design, there’s nothing here to scare off the old folks contemplating a first all-electric foray.

There’s nothing wrong with build quality, and the standard equipment list incorporates plenty of toys. That touchscreen boasts Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, there’s  a head-up display, a reversing camera, wireless phone charging, leather upholstery, heated front seats and wheel rim, LED lights everywhere and a non-flashing, 10-speaker Harmon Kardon sound system.

The driving position gives no cause for complaint and rear accommodation passes muster for the younger, though at 315 litres, the loadspace is hardly voluminous, and 136 litres shy of that offered by the Soul’s brand sibling, the far less stylistically in-yer-face e-Niro.

Speaking of which, the Soul shares the e-Niro’s powertrain – a 201 bhp electric motor mated to a 64 kWh battery, delivering 291 lb ft of torque to the front wheels. Thus armed, the Soul will reach 62 mph in 7.6 seconds and has a maximum speed of 103 mph.

In fact, the Kia feels a deal quicker than that off the line, and I understand the a whiff of lag has actually been introduced into the throttle to make the car a tad less eager in traffic. Automatic regenerative braking makes driving in congestion even more relaxing – radar monitoring the vehicle ahead and allowing the Soul to ghost up to it before stopping. You can also use steering wheel-mounted paddles to manually adjust the retardation offered by the system, even -with a little learning- unto the point of obviating the need for deployment of the brakes at all.

The Soul EV’s a pleasant, straightforward drive. The ‘Go’ command is issued via a rotary knob stolen from an Ian Callum-designed Jaguar, its circumference sufficient to be graspable by even the most arthritic hand. There’s good heft to the steering, the brakes are well modulated, and the thing is pretty nippy. You can, however, tell that the suspension is doing its best to deal with a weight of batteries, the ride being rather firm over the poorer road surface.

Charging’s a doddle, because with the port at the front it doesn’t matter so much how you approach our diminutive drive. No buttons to press, just plug in, switch on, and off it goes. With a friendly blue strip light at the base of the windscreen to show you, en passant, that the car is charging.

That having been said, the charging process is as slow as any other when you’re
having to rely on a domestic, three-pin supply; as the guy who delivered the car
pointed out, there appears to be something of a dearth of charging facilities in this
part of Mudforshire.

Nonetheless, this is the only EV I’ve driven so far that has added over 100 miles to
its range with an overnight charge from a humble three-pin household plug.
In all, then, there’s something innately matey, fuss-free and reassuring about this
little EV. It’s incredibly easy to live with, and a quoted range of some 280 miles is
more than enough to suggest that some will happily consider it as an only car
without too much fear of range anxiety rearing its ugly head.