Kia Soul EV joins electric car ranks

Kia converts its Soul model to an electric.

(Credit: Kia)

Kia chose the Chicago auto show, beginning this week, as the debut venue for the Soul EV, the electric version of Kia’s boxy little hatchback SUV thing. The standard Soul model received a major update for the 2014 model year. The Soul EV will be Kia’s first electric car.

As one of Kia’s more distinctive models, the Soul seems a good choice on which to base an electric vehicle. It will go up against cars such as the Chevy Spark EV, Fiat 500e, and the veteran Nissan Leaf.

In that crucial measure of EV performance, range, the Soul EV offers no surprises. Kia cites figures of 80 to 100 miles on a full battery, fairly standard in the current market.

Two charging ports hide under the front of the Soul EV.

(Credit: Kia)

The Soul EV’s charging ports live under a … [Read more]