Kia is hailing the Soul EV, which has now entered series production, as "a landmark" in the manufacturer's history – for a variety of reasons.
It's the latest in a not-so-long line of conventional cars to spawn an electric-powered variant. Renault's Fluence ZE and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV were both developed from mainstream internal-combustion models, just like the Soul EV. The advantage of producing an EV (electric vehicle) on the same assembly line as a petrol or diesel-powered version is the favourably economic scale of production, reducing costs across the board.
In the Soul EV's case, however, savings may have been eroded by the 24kg of bio-plastic materials used in each car's construction, to say nothing of the other biologically-derived materials used – foam, fabric and felt – in the Soul's interior.
The Soul EV has been developed from the second-generation of Kia's radically-styled hatch, but has a battery pack under the floor and an electric motor driving the front-wheels through a single reduction gear.
Recharging the battery requires a standard domestic power outlet only and takes five hours with the 'slow charger'. There's a fast charger to provide 80 per cent of the full charge within 25 minutes.
With a motor developing 81kW and 285Nm, acceleration to 100km/h from a standing start takes 11.2 seconds, which is leisurely. But the Soul EV boasts a range of 212km thanks to its 27kWh lithium-ion polymer battery and on-board energy saving devices. Those devices include a high-efficiency heat pump, a smart air intake control system and an individual ventilation system. The range is claimed by Kia to be "class leading" as a consequence of all this careful focus on conserving battery power (and augmenting it with regenerative braking).
The Soul EV is certified for sale in Europe. Exports of the zero-emissions vehicle will commence later this year, but so far those export markets are select destinations in Europe alone. That leaves Australia out of consideration. "Now that production of export models has begun, the new Soul EV is truly at the forefront of Kia's 'Clean Mobility' program, providing environmentally-friendly transport to our customers around the world," said Thomas Oh, Executive Vice-President and COO of Kia Motors Corporation.
"Although it is Kia's first globally-sold all-electric vehicle, the Soul EV is our second-generation battery electric vehicle and benefits significantly from our in-depth experience gained from development of the Ray EV and proven daily operations of the Ray EV fleet in Korea for the past three years."