Kia Soul EV

FIRST DRIVE Urban set to give city drivers EV motoring at a cheaper price point

- Tom Jervis

THE Kia Soul has been a bit of an oddball since its inception, even over the three years that the more polished third-generation model has been on sale in the UK. It remains an electric-only offering for customers here but now, thanks to a range reshuffle, Kia has introduced a new Urban model that costs a whopping 6,000 less than the regular Soul EV, which has since been renamed the Explore.

Key to the Urban model’s lower price point is its smaller 39kWh battery Explore cars get a 64kWh pack), which reduces the range from 280 miles WLTP) down to only 171. While this may not seem like a lot, the Urban, as its name suggests, is designed primarily for town driving; Kia says the model will do just over 250 miles on a charge if you stay within the confines of city streets.

Another way Kia has cut costs is by stripping away some of the luxuries from the Soul EV’s well finished cabin. The touchscreen, for example, is downgraded from a 10-inch display in the Explore to a relatively low-res seven-inch unit in the Urban, and instead of a leather steering wheel, the Urban’s rim gets a rubberised plastic finish which, unfortunately, rather resembles a swimming-pool noodle in both appearance and texture.