The Kia Soul EV has been updated for 2023 with a new, more affordable battery option joining the electric car line-up. The 39.2kWh medium range Kia Soul EV Urban takes prices down to £32,795; the existing 64kWh long range battery in the Kia Soul EV Explore costs from £38,995.
The Kia Soul EV is a boxy, SUV-style family-sized crossover. It offers a distinctive alternative to rivals such as the Vauxhall Mokka-e, Peugeot e-2008 and recently-revised DS 3 E-Tense – with its newly-competitive pricing adding to the appeal. Ordering is open now and first deliveries of the 2023 Kia Soul EV are due in Q4 2022. The new medium-range battery in the Kia Soul EV Urban has a 171-mile range, which can be stretched to more than 250 miles if you drive mainly in the city. It is paired with a 134PS electric motor and single-speed automatic gearbox, delivering 0-62mph in 9.9 seconds. The Kia Soul EV Explore has a 280-mile driving range, which can edge over 400 miles if you keep it in the city. It has a more powerful 201PS electric motor, which improves the 0-62mph acceleration time to just 7.9 seconds – the family will love such exciting acceleration. Instead of using the brake pedal, 2023 Kia Soul EV drivers can slow down using the flexible regenerative braking system, which is controlled by paddles behind the steering wheel. This has the added benefit of recovering energy to top up the battery as you slow down. Both Kia Soul EV have 80kW rapid-charge functionality. It means they can be charged from 0-80% in just 54 minutes. Via a home wall box, the Kia Soul EV Urban will fully charge in six hours, while the Kia Soul EV Explore takes nine and a half hours. The 2023 Kia Soul EV comes as standard in bright Mars Orange paint. Urban models have a choice of four metallic options, costing £595: Inferno Red, Neptune Blue, Snow White Pearl and Fusion Black. The Kia Soul EV Explore offers premium two-tone colours for £745. Inferno Red and Neptune Blue can be combined with a Fusion Black roof; Snow White Pearl and Fusion Black can be combined with an Inferno Red roof. All Kia Soul EV have touchscreen infotainment with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The Urban model has an 8.0-inch screen while the Explore has a larger 10.25-inch screen. It also features standard sat nav and seven years’ free Kia Connect connected services. Other standard features on the 2023 Kia Soul EV include 17-inch alloy wheels, climate control, reversing camera, engine start-stop button with smart entry, all-round electric windows, auto headlights and electric folding door mirrors. The 2023 Kia Soul EV Explore adds heated leather seats and steering wheel, an electric driver’s seat, rear parking sensors and an auto-dim rear-view mirror. One of the more distinctive small family crossovers, the square profile and straight lines of the Kia Soul EV are certainly distinctive. A super-slim grille and dual LED headlights give it a modern appearance at the front, complemented by rear LED lights that wrap around the rear screen. Explore models have an SUV styling kit, which includes roof rails, silver front and rear skid plates, plus lower body cladding. Rear privacy glass gives a sophisticated look on the outside, as do satin chrome interior door handles on the inside. Every new Kia Soul EV also gets the firm’s excellent seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty – which, given prices from £32,795, makes it look better value and more appealing than ever.
