Following its European debut in Geneva this past
March, the all-electric and all-new Kia Soul EV is ready to end up in the hands
of UK buyers with order books officially open. The Soul EV is available in a
single high-spec grade dubbed ‘First Edition’ and costs £ 37,295, or
£ 33,795 with the Plug-In Car Grand subsidy deducted. The first units
are expected to arrive at UK dealers during the first quarter of next year.
Power comes from a 64kWh lithium-ion battery pack
that offers a range of 450 km on a single charge. Speaking of
which, the all-new Soul EV features a Type 2 charging inlet giving you a 100%
charge in 9 hours and 35 minutes. If you use a 50kW DC Rapid Charging Station,
you can achieve up to 80% charge in just 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Kia wanted to make sure that UK buyers had just
about everything they needed if they opted for the new Soul EV. The First
Edition thus comes with dual full-LED headlights flanked by LED DRLs, LED taillights,
privacy glass, and unique five-spoke 17-inch wheels. Inside, there is black leather
upholstery, while the driver’s seat boasts eight-way electric adjustment,
including sliding, reclining, height and lumbar support. There’s also an
electric parking brake on the center console, while climate control and
Adaptive Smart Control Function (SSC) are both standard.
Other convenience features include the head-up
display, 7-inch OLED color gauge cluster, 10.25-inch touchscreen sat-nav
system, wireless phone charging, reversing camera, rear parking sensors and a
10-speaker Harman/Kardon premium sound system with a 640-watt subwoofer.
As for safety, the new Soul EV gets Forward
Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA), Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS), Lane Follow
Assist (LFA), High Beam Assist (HBA), Blind Spot Detection (BSD) with
Rear-Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), Hill-Start Assist Control (HAC) and Tyre
Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), all standard. Buyers will be able to choose
between the following color options: Neptune Blue with Black roof (like in the
images below), Clear White with Red roof or Quartz Black with Red roof.
