Sales kick off next year
Kia Motors has officially unveiled the new Soul EV at the 2018 La Auto Show, where the green car shared stands with the new ICE-powered Soul.
With the new Soul EV, Kia wants lovers of the Soul to never visit another filling station ever again. For that to happen, the carmaker fitted the Soul EV with a liquid-cooled 64 kWh battery pack.
This solution is said to offer “vastly improved range over the outgoing model” but Kia doesn’t mention the exact value, as the Soul EV is currently tested in this regard.
The electric motor powering the new Soul EV makes 204 PS (201 hp) and 395 Nm of torque. The way it provides resources can be tweaked through four driving modes – Eco, Comfort, Sport and Eco+.
Smart regenerative braking is also on the menu for the new Soul EV – on four levels, says Kia (0, 1, 2, 3) – with drivers also getting the option of bringing the car to a full stop by simultaneously pulling both paddle shifters found on the steering wheel.
Visually-speaking, the new Soul EV gets unique 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlamps integrated into the upper brow of the car and a solid insert replacing the traditional front grille.
On the inside, the new Kia Soul EV features a shift-by-wire rotary shifter and a 10.25-inch touchscreen that serves as platform for the infotainment setup which is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth and voice recognition.
SEE MORE: Check out the new Kia Ceed GT Line