Soul EV extends the range frontier

Specially formulated NCM battery cells are key in giving the vehicle class-leading EV range while enabling engineers to fit a high-energy-density battery pack underfloor with little sacrifice of passenger cabin space.

Kia believes it has developed a menu of winning attributes to create separation between its brand new Soul EV and other all-electric vehicles. Vehicle range, acceleration, NVH, comfort, convenience, and other attributes-only the marketplace will be able to confirm whether the Korean automaker has engineered those and other attributes into a total product proposition (MSRP $33,700) that delivers a return on the investment.

A Sept. 25 Soul EV media event in Dana Point, CA, offered little evidence that it got the proposition wrong, starting with a 93-mi (150-km) vehicle range that, Kia says, is better than all other EVs except that of the much more expensive and up-class Tesla Model S. Soul EV fuel economy is 105 mpge (120 city, 92 highway).