New Kia Soul EV review - most underrated electric car? | What Car?

[@mikebuntting6716]

I’ve had my Kia soul first edition for two years now. I mainly drive on A and B roads here in Dorset and regularly achieve 5+ miles per kWh. My last full charge on Sunday was showing a range of 320 miles. Overall a brilliant car

[@davidknollman4222]

We have the 27kw model and it is stunning to drive. Easily gets 4.5 miles per kWh and is super quiet and comfortable. So under rated.

[@toyotaprius79]

Lucky

[@kabysummit5801]

What happens if you take it on a road trip and have to charge it at a charger that is 250 Kw ? Is it safe to charge?

[@ulogy]

@@kabysummit5801 EV chargers all just direct input into the battery's charging system, so it should be fine because it'll downgrade the power delivery to whatever is appropriate (probably around 80kW)

[@justtwofish]

Same here, and it looks like a Smurf if you have it in blue with a white roof.😁

[@XENONEZZ2]

I bought the top spec 200hp version for my partner a couple of years ago, and she loves it. It's a great drive....and quite entertaining too in sport mode. Something to bear in mind not mentioned in the review is that all EVs suffer from diminished range in cold weather, which is something worth considering regarding the Urban model with its smaller battery. If finances allow, I'd recommend the Explore because that extra £6k buys you a really well rounded car that does nothing badly and a lot of things very well indeed..!!.

[@trevorberridge6079]

Correction: All CARS suffer range reduction in cold weather including ICE vehicles.

[@XENONEZZ2]

@trevorberridge6079 Yes, very true, but the effects of cold weather and reduced range are far more noticeable with EV's.

[@loufadoros20]

I am driving it in a daily basis as a food delivery car, I have to say I pretty like it. One of the things that lets me down is the huge turning circle which doesn't help in maneuvers

[@pmotown]

Love my Soul bought when they came out in 2021. I love it except for one thing. The back seats don’t fold all the way down so no flat space in the back for large items. Great mileage and it is actually a BIG car

[@brianallan9035]

Very informative review. No histrionics like one of the competing reviewers.

[@patrickh7368]

Well the 1st Soul EV was the 1st EV I drove and I knew an EV was to be my next car… then a 1 year old Soul EV at a Kia dealer was between £15 and £16K with around 8000 miles on…. When the second version came out the first edition was £33K so I can’t help thinking the urban as adopted that price and the explore has the 39K pricing 🤔(explore being similar kevala to first edition)

[@stevenjonesnmcc]

Couldn't agree with you more, this EV is very under rated. I too have the 2015 27kwh Kia Soul EV and it's a great first place to start with electric cars. Yes it's more money but it's so much better equipped than the first Nissan Leaf with the 6kwh onboard charger and 50kwh rapid chademo charger which the Renault Zoe doesn't have

[@garethhall4941]

I've just bought a pre registered march 2024 plate urban with 15 miles on the clock for £17,000. I think it was a good deal for what it is

[@ravisharma9683]

Hi congrats on your new car. I was thinking about getting a similar deal.. Any idea on the motorway range please? I was hoping to squeeze out 160-180 driving at 60mph?

[@garethhall4941]

​@@ravisharma9683I've had mine now for nearly a week but not been on the motorway yet so cant help you at the moment sorry

[@ravisharma9683]

@@garethhall4941 thanks for replying.

[@InBodWeTrust]

£32k for the base new Soul with small battery puts it into competition with the MG4 Trophy with a 64kWh battery ... the Soul needs to be £5k cheaper as even the MG4 SE SR matches or beats the specs of the base Soul model.

[@timsmith5339]

I have the 30kWhr Mk2 Soul, the unmentioned one from 2018 until the newer, Kia/Hyundai one you tested. It is possibly the perfect intermediate, I can get 130-140 miles in summer. It drives nicely and has all the good things you mentioned. Downsides? The Chademo charging is beginning to get difficult. No problems for at home, but on long trips, Chademo is the 'poor relation' and isn't quite as well catered for as CCS. It does get 100kW charging though, which I believe is better than the newer model and is certainly better than the 27kW model. It is very good to have. There is little to distinguish the 30 from the 27, the 10th digit in the VIN number is a 'J' for the 30. One area where I prefer my Soul over the newer one is the interior. It doesn't look that dissimilar to the newer car but is in a much nicer light grey/gloss white. Infinitely superior to acres of black. What would I change? I'd have CCS if I could and I hate the old style auto gear lever and different wheels would make it less 'hot wheels' toy car. That's about it.

[@marksilva1]

When will you guys test the MG HS with petrol engine? It was the most sold car in January!

[@MarthaMansbridge]

I was finding this review interesting until we got to the price ! I just paid £41,500 for the Tesla Model Y - brand new, metallic RWD. This Kia isn’t even in the same universe

[@bernardphaneuf6818]

Kia his better

[@Kavafy]

Until the Tesla goes wrong

[@justtwofish]

It may not be cool to consider disabled access but as a disabled person I have to say that my first edition electric Soul (appropriate car name for a Christian) is easy to get into, comfortable, and has great equipment as standard.This is my 4th electric car and all I'm missing for £7k bought with 96% battery and 56,000 miles on it, are brake paddles and an app to pre-heat it. It will still do 80+ miles real world range, which is good enough for me, and being blue with a white roof looks like a Smurf! Brilliant. 😍

[@richardshiggins704]

Always liked this car though I would opt for the 64kWH model .

[@vap57]

I frigging love the look of this thing!

[@williama-d6]

that looks like west London the area your driving around in?

[@pulpopelirojo68]

It's not an SUV!!!!It's a good, boxy, 5-dr hatchback... nothing more ... and all the better for it..

[@pmotown]

Have they got rid of the HUD?

[@tumbleweed1976]

USA no longer selling. Kia EV lineup only Niro, EV6 and coming 2024 EV9. Thank you for this video. Will miss Kia Soul EV.

[@rogerhanbury677]

Is it correct house insurance is going up if you have an EV charger installed due to increased fire risk

[@adrianguggisberg3656]

I guess that would depend on where you live. In my country the standard of electric installations is fairly high, so EVs tend to set fewer homes ablaze than ICE cars. In some other countries electric home installations are substandard like in the US and people tend to tamper with things tho they dont know what they do, so every additional appliance, like a home charger, is a potential risk, there I could imagine insurance going up.

[@adrieljr]

Probably not more than having an attached garage with an ICE car. I just renewed my home insurance and the only related question was if the garage is attached.

[@blakeclark8262]

The Niro is cheaper and the mg4 is 12k cheaper lol

[@asimiqbal7421]

The Niro is an excellent car. Never had a Kia before but they have upped their game massively. Ive had cars from the big top 3 previously and coming into this car I am very impressed getting 70mpg.

[@thespectrumguy2408]

At minute 6:55 the Niro was checking to see if all ok lol😂

[@protagonist9716]

BYD Dolphin with fire proof Blade battery, V2L and large rotation screen for £26,000 is far better

[@blue-tz7lg]

cheap chinese cars

[@jackdaniels2905]

I wish Canada got this one.

[@itzkrakenzz7536]

We do I drive it lol same colour

[@TheVintageApplianceEmporium]

"It's perfect for cities" - Really? If you live in a flat or a terraced house like 90% of city dwellers do, where the hell do you charge the thing??

[@trevorberridge6079]

I've had an EV for seven years. I have no off street parking and never charge at home. It has never been a problem. In fact, it's actually cheaper for me to charge at the local supermarket because it's totally FREE. I've never had to abandon a journey anywhere in the UK because I couldn't rely on being able to charge. Even with my car now at less than 80% of it's original battery capacity I could still drive anywhere in the UK. The country is absolutely blanketted with chargers. By 2030 there'll be at least five times as many. Driving around the UK gets easier every year. You don't need to live on the ground floor with a driveway to have an EV. This is massively outdated thinking. Especially for someone who works with electrical equipment.

[@Brian-om2hh]

Where do you fill a petrol car up if you live in a flat or terraced house? Is there a petrol pump outside? Or do you have to *drive* to the nearest petrol station?

[@derrick021]

I do admire this guy a lot but could anybody please let him know that those tights are 2017 ? )))

[@AbdoJouma]

How is this a good value especially compared to something like the MG4 which is pretty much better in every way at a waaaaaay cheaper price

[@Nomanspie]

Damn that higher trim is pretty much £40k...thats a lot of money for a car thats a little behind on the interior tech.

[@desirodriver6651]

Yea, considering 3 years ago I bought my First Edition from new at 33.5k with the govt grant back then. With the bigger battery, more powerful motor, all the luxuries and gizmos it was a good deal. It is a good car, but for 39k now, there are more competitive offerings from manufacturers now.

[@savedfaves]

The prior KIA badge was nicer looking.

[@calibreman]

I wish Kia would do a self charging hybrid version of the Soul.

[@trevorberridge6079]

There's no such thing as a self charging hybrid. Solar powered cars are self charging. A hybrid still needs you to put liquid fuel in it. When the fuel runs out and the battery is used up the car will stop moving and it won't go another inch unless you plug it in or fill it up.

[@calibreman]

@@trevorberridge6079 What type of hybrid is my Honda Jazz Mk4 then?

[@Brian-om2hh]

@@calibreman A mild hybrid. It charges the battery only when the engine is running. And is only capable of very short range on it's tiny battery.

[@calibreman]

@@Brian-om2hh Thank you.

[@aye3678]

Really like the front end of this car. Looks great. However, I can't say the same about the rear design. Too odd for my liking.

[@CBLmater]

People choose the Soul for its shape. It’s the only ev that looks a bit different, and the square back is very practical for loading - large suitcases on end for eg😊

[@arekfpv3631]

No thank you. Over £32k for a small battery. MG4 long range is cheaper.

[@thezanzibarbarian5729]

For some odd reason, this Kia reminds me of a Mini 8-\\...

[@MartinSonderby]

If it had 10-80% in around 15-20 min i would buy it. But 45 min is to long.

[@trevorberridge6079]

You aren't legally required to fill up to 80%. You can charge for 20 minutes if you want to. That will easily get you 54 miles of range and that is twice as far as most people ever drive in a normal day. And if you charge smart you'll never need to run your car down to 10% anyway. But this is typical trolling. Whatever an EV is capable of someone will say it has to be better. However far it goes someone will say it needs to go further. However fast it charges will be too slow. However much money it saves you to run one against a petrol car it will still be too expensive. Blah, blah, blah.

[@MartinSonderby]

@@trevorberridge6079 that is not the point. The point is that you have to set aside 45 min for charging. E.g. When on vacation. And if everyone else charge at the same 5 chargers you may need to a couple of hours. And that leads to another issues: the numbers of fast chargers. Here in Denmark you have to be lucky to find a fast charger if you are not at a motorway.

[@trevorberridge6079]

@@MartinSonderby If this... If that. You're just coming up with excuses. You don't HAVE to charge for 45 minutes unless you absolutely must have 120-140 miles of range for that particular journey and CANNOT charge anywhere at any point during the 3 hours of driving that it would take to cover that distance. YOU are missing the point.

[@MartinSonderby]

@@trevorberridge6079 that is precisely the point. It is too complicated. I would love to have an ev but I do not want to spend my life charging every 100 km. My secretary had an ev but had to charged in copenhagen regularly and they switched to a petrol car because it was to complicated. At more then one occation they had to spend more then 2 hours because so many had to charge. When there is no other station to charge at then it is a No brainer. That is the real reason why many people are not buying the evs. Infrastructur is a problem if you have to spend several hours at a charging station. Compared to a few minuts at a regular petrol/diesel station. If the car can go more than 450 km, chargetime around 20 minuts and is below 30.000 euros i would buy one now but sad there is none at the moment.

[@trevorberridge6079]

Why didn't you tell us the seats down capacity of the Kia Soul EV? Also your maths is terrible. You claim at the 10 minute mark that the Soul on 80% wouldn't do 100 miles. In fact an 80% charge should get you no less than 120 miles of range. Why do you so called journalists get so much wrong when you report on EVs? You've only had 13 years to get used to the new wave of electric transport.

[@001razz]

Every time a reviewer talks about 0-60 in an everyday car I cringe. Know your audience and I can tell you no one owner of this car will care

[@Brian-om2hh]

It's mentioned purely as a reference point. A measure of how brisk the acceleration of the car is, or isn't.

[@francisdoran971]

​@@Brian-om2hhThen car testers should give more relevant info for real time use, like 30-50mph, or 50-70mph acceleration times when overtaking.

[@and1111000]

Be great if What Car could do a story on the risk of battery fires - there's a lot of hype around that at the moment. Also, what are the risks around buying Chinese cars, given that they are aiding and abetting Ruzzia in Ukraine. The Chinese have pretty well-priced cars but can't help thinking that we'd be helping clean the air but also helping kill Ukrainians and Taiwanese [that war will be in the future.]

[@trevorberridge6079]

The risk of battery fires is very low. I just watched a battery refurb video where the battery pack from a Tesla Model S was being repaired. The car had been hit by another car and the battery pack front end was totally smashed. Not a single flame. No fire. I've seen people hit EV batteries with hammers, puncture them with nails and even cover them with gasoline and set them on fire. Nothing happens. It's really hard to set a battery on fire. ICE vehicles are 16 times more likely to catch fire. After all, they are filled with combustible liquids that can also explode. As for the moral stance on China: China will march the world forward into a future we are all supposed to want. If you boycotted everything from a dubious country you'd be unable to do anything. And historically speaking the UK and the US are far more dubious than China. The UK stole land from around the globe and committed genocide on about every continent. The US are the only country to use nuclear weapons in anger and the victims were mostly innocent citizens. And it actually did NOT stop the war. Sorry my American friends, but the war started before you got involved and didn't end just because you wanted revenge on Japan rather than nuking Germany. So it's a case of pots calling kettles black. And let's not engage in the habit of labelling a whole country after the worst of it's behaviour. Most governments act without the majority consent of their people whether it's for good or bad.

[@Brian-om2hh]

The fire risk with an EV is around 60 times lower than an ICE car.

[@adrieljr]

The fire risk is 20+ times lower than an ice car, and besides, it usually gives you more time to leave the car.

[@king4b1]

dashboard looks dated already it now 2023

[@oo5581]

From the front it does look like a Range Rover sport

[@hellcat1988]

We need to stop calling these things SUV and start calling them what they are. Box wagons.

[@jamespaul2587]

It's a hatchback

[@hellcat1988]

@@jamespaul2587 Most wagons were hatchbacks as well.

[@jamespaul2587]

@hellcat1988 true, wagons are just extended hatchbacks before they were raised and renamed SUVs

[@hellcat1988]

@@jamespaul2587 There were genuine american SUV back in the 80's. Things like the Bronco and the Tahoe and the Blazer. These things though, they're just an embarrassment to the idea of SUV. AND they're less practical than a wagon or SUV because of those stupid huge rear pillars they stuff oversized tail light assemblies into, killing the size of the rear opening. My caravan can haul sheets of 4x8 foot plywood without issue. Most of these modern "SUV" would struggle with something as long as a living room rug.

[@jamespaul2587]

@hellcat1988 agreed, most so called modern SUVs have less passenger and cargo room than a much smaller and lighter hatchback or compact wagon. Minivans are much more comfortable and practical for carrying passengers and cargo, yet car manufacturers have convinced most people they should buy oversized SUVs, which are far more profitable

[@minniesaab7255]

💙💙💙

[@wazza888]

They need to redesign it to make it more appealing, the side profile and the rear end just looks ugly

[@XENONEZZ2]

Haha......that's what I and a lot of Soul lovers call ''character''....it differentiates it from other cars that quite frankly look the same and extremely boring. Also, look at the shape of Kia's brand new EV9 and the upcoming EV4 and 5.....then ask yourself what they remind you of......yes the Kia Soul...!!.

[@Davem69]

Still looks like a 1990s dash

[@UltraJaff]

Box car go brrrrr

[@areehussien7330]

But this soul is hybrid

[@Stekie-08]

Do you do all the electric car review cause ur name has volt ⚡️ in it 🤷🏻‍♂️😂

[@michaeledwards8079]

read the problems transport evolved have had, kia do not want to know

[@Lando-kx6so]

Kia soul isn't an suv

[@tomooo2637]

Just remember that if a pair of shoes were called the SUV version they can add $5000 to the price and people will pay.

[@charmass-01]

한국엔 안파는 신형 쏘울 EV... 한국에 좀 팔아주라

[@chasf3433]

Very dated styling and interior plus way overpriced. Why don't Kia give it a Niro 2 makeover it could then do well if they price it right.

[@stum8374]

As a main car channel people would be interested in WHY ev's explode,the main tv channels aren't covering the subject here is a challenge if you do a WHOLE EPISODE THAN I WILL SUBSCRIBE !!! IS THAT FAIR BUT I DOUBT YOU WILL,ARE EV'S FOREVER-NO. 😡 like everything is only for the well off,well I'm not.

[@guyotting2615]

Outdated.

[@_bav]

Since when did 280 miles become "a huge range"? Talk about redefining your terms in order to justify the large backwards step that EVs represent. To all the EV evangelists, I say you must have more money than sense.

[@jamespaul2587]

Huge range for a city or commuter car when many people drive well under 50 miles daily

[@_bav]

@@jamespaul2587 Maybe, but for those occasions when you need to make a long[er] journey you'd need a second car and that approach is neither green nor financially astute.

[@jamespaul2587]

@_bav agreed, but if this vehicle can replace a gas vehicle for 99% of the time, a rental vehicle for occasional longer trips is a cheaper and more sustainable option to a full time gas car

[@trevorberridge6079]

It's trolls like you that used to bleat that EVs needed to do 150 miles. When they could you upped it to 200 miles, then 300, then 500 and some absolute morons even demand 1000 miles. There's nowhere in the UK that's 1000 miles from anywhere else in the UK. But, just so you know, there ARE 1000 mile EVS. Not experimental shoe boxes on spindly wheels, but actual cars. Also I have never had much spare cash but I've not only had an EV for eight years but it has saved me more money that it cost to buy. You don't have to be rich to have an EV, but you do have to be stupid to think that you do.

[@_bav]

@@jamespaul2587 Presumably you've calculated the lifetime cost of ownership for electric vs ICE? Significantly higher purchase prices, savage depreciation, withdrawal of government incentives, introduction of VED for EVs, vastly increased prices of public charging points, eyewatering costs for a replacement battery - the pendulum is swinging.

[@The-Salty-Bager]

It’s just a shame it looks so weird and the interior looks so dated

[@paulhorscroft1471]

It will be even more stunning when goes up in a ball of flames

[@trevorberridge6079]

You're surname should be Horseshit. I have a Nissan Leaf. There is no recorded incident of a Nissan Leaf battery bursting into flame. Mine hasn't produced so much as a puff of smoke in eight years. EV batteries are statistically 16 times safer than an ICE vehicle with a tank full of combustible liquid.

[@Brian-om2hh]

Statistically, your ICE car is around 60 times more likely to go up in flames.

[@Kavafy]

... something that happens less with EVs than ICEs.