Kia Soul EV

The battery, motor and tech from our Car of the Year make their way into Kia’s new, third-generation boxy small SUV On sale Now Price from £34,000 (est)

- John Howell

SOUL. IT’S A word that conjures up some big names, such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and God. But while God said you have one, it was James Carr, a man some laud as the greatest soul singer of all, who sang ‘You Gotta Have Soul’. Just to be sure you’re covered, then, Kia is happy to sell you one. Of the automotive kind.

So, say ‘hi’ and ‘hallelujah’ to the new Soul EV, a small SUV that, despite having the trademark boxy looks of its predecessors, is all-new and far advanced. For a start, the Soul is now an electric-only model; gone are the petrol or diesel options of yesteryear. And there are two versions in the pipeline: one with a 39kWh battery that will officially do up to 172 miles and one with a 64kWh pack that’s capable of 281 miles. Both are a massive step forward from the previous Soul EV’s official limit of 132 miles (and that was recorded on the optimistic old NEDC test), and while the 64kWh model still isn’t Tesla-beating, it matches the range of the mechanically similar Kia e-Niro – our 2019 Car of the Year – and Hyundai Kona Electric.

What the Soul EV doesn’t match is their cost – in a good way. Kia is yet to announce prices and specifications (or indeed say whether it will offer both batteries in the UK), but we did some digging and it seems the Soul will undercut those slightly bigger SUVs by costing around £30,500 after the Government’s £3500 grant.

Expect just one trim level, which will come with bells and whistles such as electrically adjustable, heated and cooled front seats, adaptive cruise control, climate control, LED headlights and a fully kitted-out infotainment system. That means sat-nav, smartphone mirroring and online connectivity. There will also be plenty of safety kit: blindspot monitoring, lane-keeping assistance, automatic emergency braking and rear cross-traffic alert.