Kia Soul EV First Edition

As our quirky electric SUV leaves the station, it has us thinking that the passing of petrol won't hurt too much

- Chris Haining

PARTING WITH MY Kia Soul EV got me thinking about the last days of steam. It's known that grown men wept, fearing that train travel would no longer arouse the senses in quite the same way. The shriek of the whistle, the aroma of burning coal, the rhythmic left-right, the left-right pulsing of the pistons... all would be consigned to sepia-tinted memory, living on only in protective reserves such as the wonderful East Anglian Railway Museum.

But, of course, the early diesel and electric trains that replaced them weren't just more efficient and infinitely cleaner; they went on to attract a nostalgic following of their own. And similarly, the Soul EV has me reassured that moving on from petrol to electric power in our cars is far from a heartbreaking prospect.

Indeed, I'll look back on my time with the Soul very fondly. For one thing, I love how Kia hasn't tried to reinvent the wheel, in the way that Volkswagen did with the ID.3's irksome, button-free dashboard. Instead, the Soul EV has a refreshingly normal control layout. And while it would be even better with a BMW-style rotary dial for the infotainment system, the Soul's on-screen menus are clear and easy to use. Plus, I found myself able to adjust the interior temperature by feel, without my eyes leaving the road, thanks to the well-placed, physical climate control buttons.