Kia Soul EV 2018 Review, Specs, Price

Kia Soul EV 2018 Review, Specs, Price - The funky Soul EV appeals to the eco-friendly, keeps the application of the gasoline-powered Soul, and provides a bunch of tech capabilities to delight even the geekiest hamsters. The 109-hp motor, lithium-ion battery, and regenerative braking yielded ninety one miles of range and ninety one MPGe in our trying out. Charging time on a 240-volt machine is less than five hours. Upscale features including heated and cooled leather-based front seats are non-compulsory. currently the Soul EV is offered in a complete of ten states, so check availability.

The 2018 Kia Soul EV is a flip telephone in a telephone age: Its relatively limited capability is justified handiest with the aid of its especially low asking charge. function, of direction, is relative. within the software sense, Kia’s electric hatchback is an electron-powered % mule. but as a shape of mobility, the Soul EV nonetheless has a functional deficit. Its 27-kWh battery p.c. is right for an EPA-rated driving variety of just 93 miles, two miles better than the common we saw throughout our checking out. Kia Soul EV 2018 Review, Specs, Price.

That stated, ninety three miles on a unmarried charge is enough for maximum americans, considering that the common commuter here drives much less than 30 miles every day, in keeping with the U.S. branch of Transportation. but, in a market that’s soon to welcome the $37,495 Chevrolet Bolt and its EPA-rated 238-mile variety, the $36,800 Soul EV+ is most effective months far from being woefully outclassed. (word that the ones prices do now not aspect in any possible federal, state, or municipal tax incentives.)

Even without the possibility of the Bolt, although, the Soul EV is an irrelevant electric-car alternative for maximum americans. That’s due to the fact Kia limits sales of the version to just 10 U.S. states: California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, big apple, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. bizarre as this may seem, any such sales approach is nothing new within the global of electrical cars, and a number of producers take a similar approach. this is commonly accomplished to comply with person kingdom standards regarding the distribution of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).

Kia Soul EV 2018 Review, Specs, Price

not like a number of the ones different so-called “compliance vehicles,” the Kia Soul EV doesn’t sense as though it has been converted to run on strength simply for the sake of jumping via a regulatory hoop. wherein a few competitors, along with the Ford focus electric, sport large area-eating humps within the shipment bay to accommodate a battery percent, the Soul EV’s shipment location loses no software compared with its gasoline-powered counterpart. As such, the Soul EV can thankfully swallow as lots as 50 cubic feet of shipment with its 60/40-cut up rear bench folded down and 19 cubic feet with all seats in place. like any Souls, the Soul EV also has storage space underneath its shipment floor.

outdoor, there are few differences among the EV and the usual Soul. eager eyes will note wonderful headlights and rear lights, a distinctive set of sixteen-inch wheels, and an available -tone outdoors paint scheme. A revised front cease consists of a larger “tiger nostril” grille that folds out of the way to show  rate ports—one for AC charging, the alternative for DC fast charging. the former port can absolutely charge a Soul EV in less than 5 hours on a 240-volt circuit however should take as long as 24 hours on a 120-volt outlet. in the meantime, a 50-kW DC connection can rate a Soul EV’s depleted battery to 80 percent in less than 35 mins. Kia Soul EV 2018 Review, Specs, Price.

Electrifying the Soul doesn’t come with out outcomes, although; the ground-mounted battery p.c. consumes a terrific bite of the car’s rear footwell. With more than three inches of rear legroom lost, the Soul EV’s rear seats are much less lengthy-haul pleasant than those in the general vehicle. on the plus facet, the rear bench remains cozy, even as the Soul EV’s constrained range approach the likelihood of settling into the rear seat for particularly long periods is slim to none. luckily, front-seat space is uncompromised.

For the maximum part, the cabin mirrors that of the regular Soul, a automobile we love a lot. best switchgear abounds, and our excessive-cease EV+ take a look at vehicle blanketed luxuries which includes heated and cooled leather front seats, a touchscreen navigation gadget, and a keyless-access gadget with push-button start. variations among the EV and wellknown Soul interiors include a digitized gauge cluster (it suggests electric-vehicle-specific facts along with last battery price and electricity usage), white indoors trim, an electric powered parking brake, center cupholders with a sliding cover, and driver-selectable modes for regenerative braking thru the gearshift lever and a middle-console-mounted lively Eco button. 4 regenerative-braking settings are available, with the most intense setting essentially rendering the brake pedal all but redundant.

Kia Soul EV 2018 Review, Specs, Price

ultimately, much less reliance at the Soul EV’s friction brakes may be for the fine, as the electric hatchback required 186 ft of tarmac to return to a halt from 70 mph—19 feet longer than the remaining fuel-powered Soul we examined. Thank our test automobile’s low-rolling-resistance Nexen N’blue EV tires as well as its 3427-pound scale down weight—342 pounds extra than its gasoline-sipping sibling.

The Soul’s electric motor makes 109 hp and 210 lb-ft of torque, figures less-impressive than the ones of many competitors, but enough to transport the auto with adequate alacrity. Kia located a way to package deal the Soul EV in order that its battery p.c. doesn’t intrude on cabin or shipment area, so riding variety apart, that is simply as sensible a car as its gas-powered sibling.

Kia’s problems are the Chevrolet Bolt and 2d-era Nissan Leaf, EVs which might be both more technically advanced and might pass an awful lot in addition on a price in their battery packs. Kia Soul EV 2018 Review, Specs, Price.

For its base charge of simply below $36,000 (earlier than any authorities incentives available wherein you're) Kia suits the Soul EV with 16-inch alloy wheels, heated facet mirrors, backup digital camera, air con, heated steerage wheel and navigation. A luxurious trim adds parking sensors, a greater state-of-the-art climate control device that enables improve riding variety, ventilated front seats and leather-like door trim.

the ones introduced kilos don’t help immediately-line acceleration, both. With a modest 109 horsepower on tap, the the front-motor, the front-wheel-force Soul EV sauntered from 0 to 60 mph in 9.7 seconds, crossing the region-mile in 17.4 seconds at 79 mph. brief, the Soul EV isn't. nevertheless, it fares better than some electrics: A Nissan Leaf we recently examined required 10.4 seconds to hit 60 mph and took 17.nine seconds to go through the zone-mile at seventy seven mph.

regardless of the Soul EV’s cozy acceleration, the electrical hatchback proved to be a nice accomplice on city streets. the electric motor’s beneficiant 210 lb-ft of torque made it easy to snake through visitors and turn away from stops. similarly adding to the Soul EV’s low-velocity likability is the auto’s noticeably tossable nature and composed experience exceptional. It packs that introduced battery weight low and toward the rear, offsetting the consequences of the high roof and the nose-heavy bias located within the widespread model. severely, we could want all Souls dealt with this nicely. Kia Soul EV 2018 Review, Specs, Price.

For 2016, Kia introduced the brand new, low-fee, California-handiest Soul EV-e. This model forgoes features which include a navigation system and a rearview digicam to bring the Soul EV’s fee of access right down to $32,800—$2000 below that of the EV trim that serves because the access-level version in the other nine states. On the other quit of the spectrum, the among the finest Soul EV+ adds a new solar & fun package to its options listing. As located on our test vehicle, the $1100 package consists of LED indoors lights, a big panoramic sunroof, and lighting across the audio device’s audio system. ground mats delivered some other $125 to our example’s backside line, bringing its as-tested price to $38,half, or $530 extra than a base Chevrolet Bolt.

sure, a loaded Kia Soul EV+ includes luxuries that the bottom Chevrolet Bolt in reality won’t provide, and, as noted, each cars are eligible for federal and country tax credit which could convey the actual cost of access down significantly. nonetheless, choosing the feature-laden Soul EV+ over the similarly priced Bolt and its 145 miles of additional riding variety is like choosing to go with a flip phone virtually because it comes preloaded with the sport “Snake.”

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