This is the new Kia Soul EV

Say hello to yet another EV revealed at this week’s LA Motor Show. It’s the new Kia Soul, and it’s coming to the UK sometime next year. And no, you don’t have to have one in the brightest and most lurid shade of green we’ve ever seen a car painted. 

The liquid-cooled, 64 kWh lithium-ion battery pack comes from the bigger e-Niro crossover. It’s DC fast-charge compatible and gives a total of 201bhp and 295lb ft. Kia says it’s still testing to see how far the new Soul can go on a single charge, but it ought to be close to the Niro’s claimed 301-mile range. Either way, the Soul will go much further than the old Soul EV, which had a 155-mile range on the less realistic NEDC cycle thanks to a much smaller 30kWh battery. 

Naturally you get Comfort, Sport, Eco and Eco + modes, plus different levels of regenerative braking you can cycle between with paddles on the back of the steering wheel. Underneath there’s new fully-independent rear-suspension, which Kia claims make the new Soul more fun than its predecessor. 

Meanwhile, there’s nothing particularly revolutionary inside. A new 10.25-inch touchscreen has all the features you’d expect – CarPlay, Android Auto and so-on – there’s a rotary gear lever and lots of active and passive safety systems. The exterior gets different bumpers to the petrol car, which will be revealed later this year. 

The US and Europe get the Soul EV next year, with the rest of the world to follow. Prefer the look of this to a Hyundai Kona or Nissan Leaf?