We've heard a lot about Kia's first ever mass-market EV from European and American press desks. Here's something they… avoided to show us. It's a commercial from the model's domestic market of Korea and it's a little embarrassing.
The ad tries to highlight the revolutionary new powertrain by showing a family that has an electric dog for a pet instead of an "outdated" fur and puppy food organic model. It reminded us of those $1,000 pet robot dogs that never really caught on.
Kia Korea have even made robodog look like the Soul EV by giving him a charging port and pear white finish with teal accents, just like the car.
The car they're promoting is based on the second generation 2014MY Soul crossover 5-door hatch which replaces the successful first-gen. Styling is bespoke, with a covered up grille that now acts as a cover for the charging port. The wheels are 16-inch and specific to this model, with a flat design that reduces drag. The electric motor on this car makes 109 horsepower and draws its juice from a batter that can charge in about 5 hours with a special wallbox.
In America, the Soul EV will be sold only in a few states. Production actually takes place in Korea, so this ad is actually showing this funky Chevy Volt rival in its natural element, as its automaker actually envisioned it.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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