Hyundai and Kia make electric cars in a lot of shapes and sizes. However, the Soul EV is a second-generation model, and a lot is expected of it.
Some of its sister cars are based on dedicated green car platforms, but that's not going to slow the e-Soul down. Its 64 kWh battery is big, and the drivetrain makes efficient use of this.
Official range ratings differ around the world. In America, the EPA says it will do 243 miles per charge, which is equivalent to 391 kilometers. Meanwhile, the WLTP system suggests it will do about 15% more.
Bjørn Nyland took the all-new EV for a test in Norway and achieved 430 kilometers or 267 miles per charge while driving at a near-constant 90 km/h (56 mph) in 4 hours and 39 minutes. In some markets where the weather is better, the range could even be higher than that.
It's worth knowing that in some markets, there's also a standard battery version with 39.2 kWh with a WLTP range of 277 km or 172 miles. This offers a slightly better energy consumption of 145 vs 157 Wh/km, but is also down on power, going from 204 HP to just 136. As a result, the 0 to 100 km/h takes longer too.
Bjørn reveals an easy trick to tell them apart: the 64 kWh version has a red "Soul" badge and the base model has a Silver one. In Europe, Kia doesn't offer any internal combustion engines. Either way, it's way better than the first Soul EV.
Both versions share some eco features, such as paddles behind the steering wheel to "throttle" the regenerative braking for one-pedal driving. The new Soul will be covered by a seven-year, 150,000-kilometer (93,200-mile). Pricing is slightly higher than the Niro, but we think it's a better-looking crossover. Demand is very high right now, so you're unlikely to find any discounts, but most governments will give some money back.
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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