Kia Soul 39kWh Urban 2023 UK first drive

Does what it says connected the tin, this one. In swapping the 64kWh artillery of the modular Kia Soul EV for a much humble 39.2kWh item, the logically named Urban variation provides a shorter-range, much affordable introduction constituent into the rapidly expanding Kia EV line-up - 1 aimed astatine metropolitan-minded metropolis people with lower-speed, shorter-distance driving habits. 

In introducing a much affordable Soul astatine a hairsbreadth nether £33,000, Kia expands the marketplace footprint of its line-up further still, with the all-new, seven-seat EV9 astatine the different extremity of the scope acceptable to flirt with the £80,000 people erstwhile it launches aboriginal this year. It besides means Kia tin support its hard-fought presumption arsenic a person successful the affordable EV market, with the latest Kia Niro EV having enactment connected a fewer pounds (economically speaking) and immoderate years to hold until the Picanto is replaced – straight oregon not – by a diddy metropolis EV. 

The Urban is simply a beauteous enticing imaginable successful earthy specification terms, representing a whopping £6200 redeeming compared with the modular car (now loftily renamed the Explore and nudging towards £40,000) and offering show and usability credentials that basal it successful bully stead successful this progressively competitory segment. Of course, since the electrical Soul launched, we’ve welcomed an array of highly competitory and mostly likeable compact EVs astatine this terms constituent - and immoderate for rather a spot little money. 

But subtly refreshed astatine the beforehand with slick LED headlights and the caller KN… *ahem* Kia emblem, the 2023 Soul remains 1 of the much cheerful and charismatic of the affordable EVs connected the market and cuts an particularly jovial fig adjacent to Kia’s overmuch much serious-looking bespoke electrical cars, the EV6, EV9 and EV5. So too is the latest Niro a overmuch much characterful proposition than its comparatively staid predecessor, but staying existent to the chunky proportions and cheeky stance of the original, the Soul remains the much extroverted of Kia’s smallest electrical cars. 

But there’s nary getting distant from the information that this is present Kia’s oldest electrical car and it is starting to consciousness arsenic overmuch inside. The cockpit’s scratchy plastics and dated switchgear are a acold outcry from the lavish Kias to which we’ve go accustomed (exacerbated connected this introduction car by an array of blanked-off buttons). Meanwhile, the infotainment, portion undeniably functional and sensibly mapped out, is pretty rudimentary and the entry-level car inexplicably does distant with the quality to deactivate definite operator assistance functions - astir irritatingly, the velocity bounds informing siren. An inducement to thrust slower and maximise range, perhaps. Still, marks should beryllium fixed for the modular fitment of wireless Apple CarPlay and the clarity of its show interfaces. 

On a functionality level, though, the cabin’s inferior credentials and the country afforded to occupants belie the Soul’s compact footprint, benefiting from a Peugeot 2008-matching 2600mm betwixt the axles (30mm up connected the erstwhile Soul EV) and a straight-backed silhouette that maximises caput country and footwear abstraction - a utile 315 litres, since you ask.  

Easy to spot retired of, a cinch to parkland and pleasantly manoeuvrable astir municipality - it mightiness beryllium a townie astatine heart, but there’s thing to suggest the Soul Urban couldn’t besides find favour with buyers successful agrarian areas with longer slogs to screen connected a regular basis: the seats are comfortable, the limb country generous and the thrust (while somewhat fussy connected truly unsmooth patches astatine debased speeds) remarkably composed.

Plus, we drove exuberantly – predominantly connected fast, winding roads – for 60 miles and averaged 4.1kWh, translating to a scope of 161 miles, which means much judicious applications of the throttle could nett you 200 miles reasonably easily. And if you deliberation that’s inactive not enough, the quality to accelerated complaint astatine 100kW means top-ups needn’t beryllium an arduous and painstakingly planned affair. 

Not that you’d beryllium peculiarly minded to bare the artillery arsenic rapidly arsenic imaginable each the time: the Soul remains an agreeable steer with predictable and nicely weighted steering, unneurotic with minimal assemblage rotation and decent response, but there’s not a batch of feedback done the instrumentality and putting the powerfulness connected mid-bend tin nonstop the beforehand tyres scrabbling for grip. The Urban is the much agile of the Soul duo, mind, with the smaller artillery accounting for a important 140kg saving.