Kia Soul EV (2020-2024) review | A bargain long-range used EV

What is the Kia Soul EV?

This is the third generation of the Kia Soul and, although it’s not the first to be sold with an electric powertrain, it is the first one without the option of a petrol or a diesel engine.

That decision was a bold move from Kia, given the second-generation Soul was quite a popular little car in both petrol and diesel forms. But at the time, the new Niro and its sister car, the Hyundai Kona, were both competing on the patch the Soul had previously made its own – and Kia wasn’t sure it could squeeze another small crossover into that market.

So the Soul was aimed at young buyers for whom the Niro and Kona simply weren’t fashionable enough – hence the extrovert styling – and who would be interested in making the switch to electric power, something that rivals like the Nissan Juke, Renault Captur and Toyota C-HR didn’t offer.

How practical is it?

There’s plenty of space in the back seats, including an extraordinary amount of headroom – enough for passengers and their top hats, should you be ferrying people to a wedding or the 18th century.

The boot is disappointing, though. It’s deep, and good enough for a light buggy or the average weekly shop, but it’s also short, which may be a deal breaker for those after proper family practicality. There are 315 litres available with the rear seats upright, which is smaller than the Volkswagen Golf’s 381 litres – and that’s about average for a family hatchback.

Still, there is a variable-height boot floor that creates a useful hidden area to store the charging cables, and the 60/40 split rear seats fold easily. However, rival electric crossovers such as the Peugeot e-2008, the Nissan Leaf, and the MG ZS EV have bigger boots.

What’s it like to drive?

The Kia Soul EV is lovely to drive. It’s no hot hatch, despite both batteries offering an enthusiastic leap off the line from a standstill (as evinced by the 0-62mph acceleration time of just 7.5 seconds), but the smooth, progressive steering and neutral chassis instil confidence, so it’s satisfying whether you’re trawling through town or driving along a country road.

It's quite happy at higher speeds too, where some electric cars feel short of puff. An adjustable regenerative braking system means you can toggle the speed at which it comes to a halt without needing to prod the brake pedal, while the four driving modes – Normal, Sport, Eco, and Eco+ – allow you to tweak its characteristics. The last one of those is a bit heavy-handed, because it blunts the power and deactivates the air conditioning, so it’s best reserved for eking out range rather than permanent use.

When it was launched in 2020, the Soul EV was only offered with a 64kWh battery pack and 201bhp electric motor (which drives the front wheels), and a smaller battery option was added in 2023. This Soul EV Urban model uses a 39.2kWh battery and 134bhp motor for a WLTP range of 171 miles. At the same time the 64kWh model was renamed as the Soul EV Explore. It was discontinued as a new car in 2024.

The success of the highly desirable Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia e-Niro, has afforded the Korean brands a reputation for delivering long range electric cars at sensible prices, and the Soul EV doesn’t disappoint.

Its range figures aren’t far off what you can get in real-world driving, either. We’ve spent quite a bit of time in the Soul EV and found that it’ll do 4.0miles/kWh easily, which means that 250 miles of range is quite achievable from the big battery model. A big motorway journey could see the range dip to more like 220 miles, which still isn’t bad. Charging takes less than 11 hours from a 7.4kW home wallbox charger (six hours for the Urban model), while plugging into a rapid DC charger will get you an 80% charge in as little as 45 minutes.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

The Soul EV's interior is a little bland and there are cheap panels and tacky finishes here and there, but it’s smart enough on the whole and logically laid out. The excellent 10.25-inch (8-inch in Urban models) touchscreen infotainment systems are the central focus of the cabin, and they are among the best in the class. The graphics are sharp, the screen responds quickly, and everything is easy to find and adjust. Satnav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth audio streaming, hands-free controls, and a DAB digital radio are all included.

That’s not where the equipment list ends, either. The Soul EV was initially offered with just one trim level, known as First Edition; this was later replaced by another solitary trim level known as Maxx, and this by Urban and Explore. The Urban gets the least equipment, including unheated cloth seats and a plastic steering wheel. But other models have heaps of kit, including heated leather seats, a head-up display, 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, semi-autonomous drive mode, LED headlights, keyless entry, and a reversing camera.

Kia Soul EV running costs

The Soul EV will be very cheap to run, and for what you get, it’s an affordable used buy, too. There are cheaper second-hand EVs, of course, like the Nissan Leaf and MG ZS EV – but few, if any, can match the Soul’s range and equipment level for the money.

The Kia is very efficient and goes further per kWh of energy than most rivals. You could further reduce charging costs by using off-peak tariffs, which is easy to do courtesy of the timed charging facility on the free app, or on the car's screen.

Servicing is required every 10,000 miles or 12 months, which is a much shorter interval than you get with some electric vehicles, including the Volkswagen ID.3. You can, at least, spread servicing costs into fixed monthly payments via Kia's Care scheme.

The Soul EV falls into insurance group 34, which is a little higher than for most conventional family SUVs.

Kia Soul EV reliability

The Kia Soul EV wasn’t sold in high enough numbers for us to have garnered any concrete reliability data. But the signs are good; for starters, it does have a comprehensive seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty (paint is covered for five years against corrosion), and all but the earliest used Soul EVs will still be covered by the balance of this warranty.

The lithium-ion battery is covered for the same duration, but there’s no performance guarantee, as you get with Renault, Nissan, and BMW among others, who will all refurbish the battery if it drops below 70% of its as-new performance. Also, many other manufacturers cover electric car battery components for eight years, albeit separately from their typically shorter, conventional warranties.

Kia as brand is rated highly for reliability. It came 8th out of 30 manufacturers tested in the 2025 What Car? reliability survey, and it generally performs well in such assessments. Its dealers have a good reputation for customer service, too.