Double score. Not only is this a sneak peek of the next-generation Kia Soul, but a drive in Kia’s first electric vehicle to be sold outside of South Korea.
The new Soul range has been on sale in Europe since July and will make its SA debut next month. The CAR team always felt the first-gen. vehicle, with its peppy performance and practical interior space, never quite got the recognition or sales it deserved in our market. As is often the case with trendsetters, this affordable compact SUV crossover was ahead of the curve when it was launched here five years ago. Today, of course, this is one of the fastest growing niches and the Ford EcoSport, Nissan Juke, and Renault Duster are selling very well, with the likes of the Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500X about to join them.
Evolutionary design
The original Soul made something of a statement with its boxy design and the new car is a more rounded version of the same silhouette. It’s grown up and visually it looks a little bigger too. It’s gained a few centimetres in length, width and height and its grilel headlamps and rear light cluster have all expanded accordingly. The Soul remains a striking looking vehicle.
Inside the perceived quality has definitely gone up a notch with not only softer plastics and rubber but it has more sophisticated air – certainly something the often-garish nature of the previous gen. car did not have.
Distinctive look
The two-tone floating roof and a larger, solid “tiger nose” immediately distinguish the EV from its internal combustion siblings. That nose includes a flap for a charging port. The EV also has a unique 16-inch alloy wheel design, LED taillamps, as well as a new “eco electric” badge on the wing at the base of the A-pillar.
It has a unique interior too, made with recycled materials that includes bio plastic, bio foam, bio fabric and bio felt, together with low volatile organic compounds and newly developed antibacterial materials and paint.
The EV tech
It’s an 81 kW electric motor producing 285 N.m of torque that get its juice from a 27 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack located beneath the cabin. As opposed to regular lithium-ion batteries, these lithium-ion polymer versions are supposed to have fewer parts and a simpler cell structure, making them cheaper to produce. Kia also claims a class-leading battery cell energy density, meaning the battery can store greater amounts of electric energy relative to its weight
Kia claims a driving range of around 200 km. That’s similar to the 195 km claimed by the Nissan Leaf – a vehicle that’s currently part of our long-term fleet. In our experience, getting close to that claimed figure is not possible without very careful driving. Like the Leaf, the Soul EV also has a regenerative braking and coasting ability that recoups energy when you’re not accelerating.
Speedy charging is another claim and the on-board charger is said to fully charge the car within five hours, while an 80% charge will take a mere 25 minutes (with a 100 kW DC charger, 33 minutes at 50 kW).
Behind the wheel
Drive is through the front wheels and a single speed reduction gear set. And, as with all electric cars, the torque arrives immediately upon flexing one’s right ankle. Acceleration feels brisk right through to its claimed top speed of 145 km/h. One can choose between two different driving modes – Drive and Brakes – and they do feel distinctly different. Brakes mode means more energy recuperation through the regenerative braking system and the deceleration when you lift of the throttle is noticeable.
There’s also a special Eco-mode in each of these Drive and Brakes modes that will extend the Soul EV’s driving range. Like it does on the Leaf, Eco mode means a sharp drop in performance and whereas in the other modes the car feel quite peppy, in Eco it is sluggish. We’re not talking getting-left-behind-by-the-traffic kind of sluggish, but it’s very noticeable.
Thanks to the flexibility in packaging allowed by the lithium-ion polymer battery, the battery pack is beneath the cabin floor, which lowers the centre of gravity and should help handling. And it does. Not that that handles better than any other petrol or diesel car of its type, but it just feels pretty normal. Which is impressive given the mass of the battery pack.
Yay or nay?
On the most part a yay for me. I’ve always liked the Soul’s post-modern retro looks and this new, more-rounded look and two-tone EV paint scheme make it an even funkier design.
The interior is a vast improvement – especially with these avantgarde recyclable materials used in the EV – and the batteries-beneath-the-floor configuration mean interior space is not compromised.
It’s a very relaxing vehicle to drive, too. With improved NVH characteristics you hear very little outside noise and virtually no whine from the electric motor. Like all the EVs we have driven, with it’s range and low running costs (roughly a 25% of an internal combustion vehicle) the Kia Soul EV is an excellent commuter car.
The downsides of all EVs though, is the price tag. They are pricey for what you get in terms of size, spec, and performance. The Nissan Leaf costs R450 600 and we estimate BMW’s i3 will sell for R480 000 when it arrives here early next year. We’d expect the Kia Soul EV to be in the same ballpark should it be launched in SA.
And I say “should it” because Kia SA is still thinking about it. And if it’s a “yes”, we won’t see it before sometime in 2016.