2015 Kia Soul EV drive review

Gallery: 2015 Kia Soul EV

Kia could've called this vehicle the "Electric Soul." Instead, it gave it the equally factual moniker "Soul EV."

What Is It?

Kia technically calls its first electric vehicle in America the Soul EV -- but "Electric Soul" really rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? And with the spirit of hamsters, youthfulness, puns and cubism behind it, the Electric Soul seems like it should be destined for urbanite hipness, based as it is on the Soul -- a vehicle Kia already calls "iconic."

Already? Is Blake Griffin's hair also iconic? How about those hamsters, now aggressively sexual?

Either way, the Kia Soul EV deserves to be successful on its own, if not an outright icon itself. The Soul EV promises 93 miles of range, nearly the most of any electric vehicle, bested only by the Tesla Model S. With a Level 2 fast charger, it'll take five hours to fill the 260-volt lithium-ion polymer battery pack. With a 480v CHAdeMO fast charger, of which 215 will soon exist in California (according to Kia, whose 17 EV-equipped dealers will add to the figure), the Soul's battery can be 80 percent full in just 30 minutes.

You charge the Soul EV from the front of the car: now that the pesky engine and radiator have been eliminated, you unlatch the plastic grille cover from the inside. It bounces open with a whirrbrrbrrbrr. Inside are the SAE J1772 (Levels 1 and 2) and CHAdeMO ports, surrounded by naked black plastic, looking like Terminator's eyeball.

These batteries hardly intrude on rear-seat room, eating up a mere 3.1 inches in height, while rear cargo space is the same as the gas Soul. Be careful how you say that around polite company.

But the brag-worthy point, for Kia, is the EPA-estimated 93 miles of range. Kia cited that a Nissan Leaf gets 84 miles, by comparison.

Kia

But the brag-worthy point, for Kia, is the EPA-estimated 93 miles of range. Kia cited that a Nissan Leaf gets 84 miles, by comparison.

What's It Like To Drive?

The Kia Soul, when we drove it last, was "light and agile," a charmer to drive. This Soul EV feels like a gasoline Soul loaded down with a couple of kegs.

Laden with 624 pounds of battery, the Soul EV attempts to make up for the weight penalty with 210 lb-ft of instantaneous torque, which almost does it. On the other side of the equation, the brake-regenerating "B" mode is very aggressive, and letting off the throttle nearly brings the Soul EV to a standstill. There's an Active Eco button, which might seem redundant; paired with B, it's a slow Soul. Fortunately, driving in "D" is adequate for most traffic. The regenerative brakes can recover 12 percent of the Soul EV's kinetic energy. They also feel great: no crushing milk carton underfoot, no Flintstones stomping on a rock-solid pedal.

But where the Soul EV impresses the most is in its quietness: under acceleration, there is practically none of the motor whirring or Star Trek hum that makes electric cars so unique to drive. Instead, if it weren't for the road noise of the "extra-low-resistance" tires, it'd truly be a Silent Soul. The drivetrain is so quiet that any whoosh, whirr or hum you hear is probably coming from another electric vehicle, like the Brammo Empulse R that whisked past us in Palo Alto, somewhere past Steve Jobs' house -- in our Soul, with the windows up, all we could hear was the ghostly, futuristic thrum of the powerful electric motorcycle as it accelerated past us.

Inside, you can charge either SAE Level 1 or 2, or the new CHAdeMO DC fast charger, which can fill the Soul EV's batteries to 80% in just half an hour.

Kia

Inside, you can charge either SAE Level 1 or 2, or the new CHAdeMO DC fast charger, which can fill the Soul EV's batteries to 80% in just half an hour.

Do I Want One?

When the Soul EV goes on sale this October, Kia expects most of its buyers to lease the EV for a reasonable $249 a month. But if you're paying cash, expect to pony up $33,750 -- after a $7,500 federal tax rebate, the Soul EV will cost $26,250, or about the same as our last loaded gasoline Soul cost, and there's very little penalty in interior room. If you can make the numbers work, it's a heck of a proposition.

The more electric vehicles become mainstream, the more we're gonna have to look at them like actual cars: i.e, they better be fun to drive. So far, it's been pretty good. The Honda Fit EV is "sort of a thrill." The BMW i3 is "legitimately quick." The "nonstop thrust" in the Chevrolet Spark EV is "like takeoff roll in a Learjet." Electric cars are small and relatively fun, with torque in abundance and the golf-cart feeling in spades: the Soul EV fits right into that equation.