Kia Soul EV price & specs – costs £29,995

The Kia Soul EV – Kia’s electric Soul – will cost £29,995 in the UK (less £5k government EV grant), have a range of 132 miles and 7 year warranty.

[nggallery id=1981 template=customlinks]

The Kia Soul EV was revealed at the Chicago Motor Show at the beginning of the year and started in production for the UK and Europe in the summer. And now it’s arriving in the UK.

The Kia Soul is a decent family car, and the Soul EV looks set to offer all the space and practicality of an ICE powered Soul but with low running costs for those who use their Soul as a local area kiddie carrier.

With a range of 132 miles from its 27kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack, regenerative braking, clever HVAC and super-low-rolling-resistance tyres that cut energy use by up to 10 per cent over regular low-rolling-resistance tyres, the Soul EV looks a good offering.

Even the price – £24,995 after the taxpayer chips in a £5k bribe – is not too horrible, although it is twice the price of the Soul entry-point so you’ll struggle to see your motoring costs lowered overall however many miles you do.

Compromises to accommodate the electric motor, batteries and associated paraphernalia are modest, with s reduction of 80mm in rear seat legroom (mitigated, to a degree, by redesigned seats, and less room in the boot – down by 31 litres.

Inside, the Soul EV gets trimmed in ‘green’ materials (on the whole) with bio-degradable plastic, bio-foam and bio-fabric all present, but despite the green badge the Soul EV gets decent equipment levels.

That includes a choice of two colour schemes – Caribbean Blue metallic with a Clear White roof, or Titanium Silver metallic – with an interior in Grey Eco Cloth (sounds appealing) with blue stitching and high-gloss white dashboard.

Standard equipment includes 8″ touchscreen with European mapping, Traffic Messaging, Reversing Camera, Climate, heated front seats, Keyless, projection lights with LED running lights, Privacy Glass, 16″ alloys, Charger and even Virtual Engine Sound.

The comprehensive spec list continues with Cruise, electric windows, folding door mirrors, Auto lights, heated steering wheel, parking sensors, LED tail lights, DAB, Bluetooth, Hill Start and Tyre Pressure Monitoring.

Kia aren’t expecting stellar sales for the Soul EV in the UK – they expect to sell between 100-200 on the first year – but if you want a practical, well-equipped electric family runaround for town, you could do a lot worse, especially with Kia’s 7 year warranty in place.