Don’t forget your camera bag!

Still in love with my Kia Soul EV after 105'000km and over 4 years driving it.

I test drove the 64 Kwh Soul on the 15th January here in Ireland, really impressed, wheel spin not as bad as in the Kona, with 200 Hp I was expecting at least the same acceleration as in my 170 Hp 2017 i3 Rex 33 Kwh but sadly it's noticeably slower, the extra weight is probably making the difference but the Kona has a higher top speed and it's quite poky still above 100 km/hr and has nice pull all the way to 140 Km/hr. The Lane keep assist was amazing, I was very impressed, with no hands on the wheel it kept in lane perfectly with no ping ponging, I just kept my arm on the window and finger on the steering at 120 km/hr. Weather was 5 deg C setting off and after 1 hr around 8 deg C for the rest of the trip, it was Sunny, dry and breezy. I drove 194 Kms and had 39% when I got back, I started the trip at 98%. 20 Kwh/100 kms reported by the trip computer but say 21 Kwh/100 Kms on the Motorway at 120 Km/hr , this would suggest a max of 320 Kms range at 120 Km/hr compared to around 120 Kms in the i3 which has 29 Kwh available but the Rex version can't use the last 6.5% as it's kept as a buffer for extra power to the motor when needed. 100 Km/hr might suggest around 380 kms and in Warmer weather one might expect to get over 400 Kms at 100 Km/hr and around 330-350 Kms at 120 Km/hr. What I found amazing was the 144 Kw Regen I saw when I pressed the brake pedal coming off the motorway, I thought I was imagining it until I build up speed and braked again ! Just shows what the battery is capable of if the CCS 1 Standard could provide more current at the chargers, this limits charging to 75 Kw on a 100+ Kw charger which is a real shame. 400 volts x 360 amps = 144 Kw so the chargers would have to provide this current but CCS 1 maxes out at 200 Amps which would be 80 Kw if the battery voltage is 400 volts, the E-soul maxes out at 75 Kw but the electric motor is capable of providing the 360 amps. The E-soul was also a lot quieter inside than the Kona which had deafening road noise, different tyres perhaps ? I really liked the E-soul 64 Kwh, it's an excellent car.

Just gotta love Bjorn's reviews. Straight from someone who's been there and knows what they're talking about.

Watching your reviews are very refreshing to me. They seem very honest and s bit funny at times. Keep it up

Thx Bjorn for a good and large coverage review. Didnt know about the lights in the speakers and I have watch many other reviews =). You're the best, keep up the good work!

Very nice hands-on review! Thank you Bjørn. 🙏

Very good car. I have diesel Soul and I love it. EV Soul is completely my best choice for EV.

Just checked the pricing in Ireland (including government grants, etc.) Tesla Model 3 SR+ = €48,900 Kona 64kwh = €38,130 (€38,730 with two tone roof) e-niro 64kwh = €37,495 e-soul 64kwh = €37,495 (there is also a k2 spec with cloth, non heated seat, etc. for €35,995) I'm thinking the e-soul looks like a pretty good deal!?

Those lights connected to the sounds systems are hilarious.

Good review Bjorn, I'd like to add a few things - there is a big wide range speaker in the middle of the front panel. The floor panel in the trunk can be installed 10 cm lower for more space(it's a design feature). Driver's seat can be raised a little for more rear passenger leg room. Rear seat is a bit low, but you get the best head room in the back comparing to Kona, Niro, Bolt and Tesla M3. Ground clearance is 6" or 15 cm, which is similar to Kona 6.2" and Niro 6.1", but bigger than Soul EV 2019 5.9" and Tesla M3 5.5" I've been driving Soul EV 2016 for almost 4 years and never had problem with ground clearance. Mood lighting can be always on at max brightness, regardless of music volume. Different color profiles are available.

I‘ve got it since March and I love it, never regretted it

Thanks for a great review l have been looking to replace my Mk1 Leaf & the new Kia Soul was a serious contender. I live in the UK countryside with branches & rocks often on the road, not to mention the potholes! Was very surprised how little ground clearance there was, it really would only be a matter of time for me before there would be a very expensive bang. Thanks again.

As a bass player, this looks appealing to haul music gear around.

8:21 "it's not the biggest one I've seen, but fairly big one" - that's what she said... 😂

I would love to buy one, just not possible in DK. Same with the Niro. 12-18 months waiting time. As any tech, in a year, the tech is getting outdated. And you got your self last year model. Come on, manufacturers. I am starting to get a little pissed, with them.

That ground clearance is a big concern and has put me off this car, we enjoy our trips round Wales and ground clearance is important in many places we visit! I can see people being beached on some of the bolders we see in car parks around Wales.

I love this new Soul and I’m a Tesla fanboy. This would complement my Model 3 nicely in my garage. KIA for the win!

It's a really nice car. I'm glad the new Kia has CCS and the front design is much better, but I don't like the tail design, the brake light is so horrible, but the rest is perfect. Also, I like the interior design and space, I think is enough for any family who loves SUV to trying to find more space. You said the 39kWh Soul has lower voltage and probably charges slower, but you have to reconsider that the battery is smaller too, so maybe the charge speed is enough good too. I think you have to make a comparison between e-Soul 39kWh and 64kWh during a charging session 0 to 100% and see the times.

It is SO similar to the Ioniq in the interior/electronics-department. I had no idea those cars were that similar.

This car is perfect for Uber & Lyft

Another great review by Bjorn. 👍 Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Bjorn! Great review. Reassures me that we are making the right choice buying it. I appreciate that you answered all my questions.

The music lightning is amazing! Nice review

Put a shallow plastic tray in the front for charging cables.

Bjorn is the only man in the world that turns a 4 letter word into a 19 letter word.

So, That is mounted on 4 post. Maybe someone like Weathertech could make a self to replace that cover. Only concern for me would be heat and water though. But you could store tools for when you are helping ICE owners, like me. OH, You could put your charging cable up there.

I think this is the best price/range model for sale today. The looks are just subjective!

That light-show was hilarious. The ground clearance was - it is significantly worse than a non-perf model 3? A really good kit from the Koreans again.

pretty damn good review thanks e-Soul looks great large size is good for me 6'4" inches

Really like the e-soul, I think these will sell by the bucketload, only annoying thing for me is a lack of a spare wheel, can't stand those sealant packs

I love my Kia Soul, the best!

I'm test driving the new E-soul soon but one think that really bugs me with FWD electrics with power is the wheel spin. I drove the 150 Hp Leaf and 200 Hp Kona and even on dry roads the wheel spin was bad on the Kona, in the leaf on wet roads the wheel spin was ridiculous so I'd hate to drive the E-soul and Kona on wet roads and here in Ireland the roads are wet far too often. VW are doing it right with the ID.3, RWD makes a huge difference, I currently drive the brilliant i3 Rex and the RWD is amazing, in FWD electrics with power the quoted 0-100 Km/hr times will be far higher on damp roads because traction is so poor. This is why I would find it difficult to give up the i3. My i3 is the 2017 94 Ah ( 33 Kwh ) and the battery life is amazing, after nearly 3 years ( in March 2020 ) and almost 80,000 Kms ti's showing around 29-29.2 Kwh from 29.6 Kwh when new ! amazing, if anyone is looking for a 2nd hand EV that's a lot of fun to drive and wants long battery life I think the i3 94 Ah would be the car to get. The Rex is just amazing too, it can go anywhere any time and is completely independent of the charging network, 140-220 Kms range on battery alone then Rex for the rest.

I believe the drag coefficient might be terrible otherwise is very difficult to explain such a big delta between 90km/h and 120km/h

very cool this new e-Soul it looks much better now

I'm seriously thinking of replacing my Kona EV with an E-soul when I hit 30,000km. Basically the same car but with more rear legroom.

the best kia soul review.

I prefer the looks of the e-Soul to the e-Niro.. Talking to a Kia dealer you won't be able to buy an e-Niro in the UK until late 2020 early 2021, so the e-Soul could be later

Love your stuff - you always remind me of Norsemen though :-) Keep up the good work! Thanks & BR Martin

I agree that motorcycle drivers drive way too fast. It's very common to see them wiped out on the highway and even in built-up areas. The trouble is innocent people can get injured or killed as a result. Years ago, however, I witnessed an accident that illustrates the other side of the story: a motorcyclist was driving down a secondary suburban road (one lane in each direction) and collided with a car turning into this road directly in front of him from a side street. After the initial impact (which sounded like a bomb going off), he flew over the hood of the car and landed face first in the road. There was a lot of blood, but amazingly he wasn't killed and sustained only relatively minor injuries (in that he was able to stand up - but I'm not certain whether he had other injuries that kicked in later). The point is that this accident wasn't the motor cyclist's fault technically, but the car driver's. Nevertheless he was travelling, I would estimate, about 90 k in a 60 zone, which meant he had zero chance of stopping and possibly that the other driver hadn't actually seen him. So, in fact, while he had right-of-way, his excessive speed was actually illegal and contributed to the accident. No amount of swearing on his part (and there was a lot of this) altered the fact of his recklessness.

I'd buy it just for the lights lol. I did that once in my own car with neons hooked up to the amplifier. until I blew up the neons lol

The speakers are fckn epic, really love this little feature

I am not sure that would go over a lot of the severe speed bumps we have in the UK.

I wasn't sure if I prefered e-Niro or e-Soul... but then I saw the light show! I want this car xD

Great review Bjørn!

2:01 Im sure wifey is very happy!

Party in the front, business in the back?? I shall call it the "reverse mullet". Great review as always, Uncle Bjørn!

A few years ago, anyone ever think a Kia and a Tesla would be in price competition?

Speaker lights! Take my money. I like the look of the soul and I’d buy it over a Niro but I’d be very concerned over that ground clearance in the winter - it wouldn’t take a lot of snow to get stuck. Too buttons though.

I love my 2020 soul ev 64kwh!

I will definitely adapt to fist as a official measurement for headroom

For sure this over e-Niro. This has some character, and usability is not that different.

The New Soul is very good looking! Don't you agree?

I like it. I'd recommend it for people wanting a ICE looking car but still want some the EV tech. Same for Kona.

I wonder how much snow I will haul around when the winter arrives. I bet that on the worst days at least 5% of the battery will be used just for carrying that snow with me on my way home : D

Bjorn, Great review.

I agree, the nose looks much better without the fake grill. I wish more makers would get that.

Tesla Model 3 or KIA e-Soul? Hmm… being a traditionalist, I would opt for KIA - the instrument cluster, the buttons, … I didn't like the look of Soul EV, but e-Soul is a different story. But what got me totally were the lights when playing the music... I mean, I find it pretty useless and probably disturbing during the night driving, but I just love it the more I consider it irrational. But let's get serious - my next car will certainly be e-Niro, thanks to its inner space and overall conservative look. Had hybrid Niro for a weekend and I loved the space, production quality, trim features etc. Bjorn, great video, thank you!

Hi Bjorn So I wanna know that what can we except on Tesla cars and as soon in South Africa will be launch them this year later so what can we except on those cars? And very excited to have those EV's. And I always follow you on these videos I love them!!

I'm surprised that although having the same battery and motor and being smaller, the e-soul weights the same as the e-niro.

I just wanna see a Kia Stinger EV announced :)

forget about offroading, i don't think it'll pass the HUGE potholes and road bumps here in my country LOL! but i really like this car i hope i'll come here soon i want to see it in person first..

Bjorn thanks again!

I love this guy

Wish it had come to the US. I had the 2017 Soul EV, only 93 mile range. Had to replace it with the Niro EV, wish we got the new Soul.

I was surprised at how filthy the motor compartment was after only 6800 km. That shouldn't be.

Here in Bergen (Norway) and probably other places it is bumps in the middle of the road, that you can either drive on the left og right or have the bump in the midle, and the wheels on each side. I would be scared to bump the batteries when it hangs that low?

I believe you added 9cm (tape measure) instead of the 7cm, you mentioned when you started measuring, to the ground clearance measurement. So the total is only 13cm, not 15cm.

Good video, shows how hugely different Tesla is compared to other cars. The number of buttons in the Soul seems ridiculous, these days. But it might be good for people that are conservative and don't like too much change. Something for everyone, this is good.

Looking forward to this coming to the US.

This will be car of the year if they can get them in the USA ...

But i don't know why there are manually adjustable LED Headlights? Why aren't they like the Xenon automatically?

älskar verkligen dina videos , har fastnat lite för e-soul men den är mycket dyrare i sverige tyvärr , så det är svårt å bestämma sig om man ska gå helt el eller inte

And best of all, Kia won't do an OTA software update to reduce the usable area of that screen when a newer, more economical model comes out.

That thing is a dance floor on wheels

I think they should do a hot hatch version of this car and call it the R Soul. .......oh...wait.........maybe not..

I wonder if you could design a small aftermarket plastic frunk to put in place instead of that motor cover. Would it influence motor ventilation or other thnigs inside there...

The speed bumps where I live would be a serious concern. Wrecks people's exuast pipes as it is and they are higher than that battery pack.

great review as always was very tempted to buy this until you showed how they fixed the battery pack. Ooof!

12V socket in the back would be great for air mattress pump.

Wow, disco lights! :)

❤❤❤

I agree about the hood. When going long trips, it must be annoying to unload the luggage, to get the cables. Load it again, and back again for charging. Why not use all the space in front to the cables, (or camera bags, or other stuff you need often when driving) where you need them, for charging. og make something like af drawer in the back for cable and tyre repayr storrage... ish..

Wonder if they’ll do a performance version? Maybe call it the R-Soul?🤣🤣

I'm just driving a Tesla Model 3 AWD around Norway. I'd rather drive my Kona TBH

Another great review ! Thanks again Bjorn 👍. I love your videos , they are fun , entertaining and you really are a master when it comes to electric cars ! By the way this new E-Niro is a great car. Korean carmakers are really good in manufacturing these electric models. French automakers are a way behind !

The Teslas are cool as heck.... no doubt about it... but he is right... some of us would like more traditional e-cars with buttons and dials instead of just one screen... I know tesla saves a lot of money on just one screen and software instead of a layout of dials and controls, but maybe there could be a special more traditional version... I'm sure there is a market for it... me for one, if I had tesla money, I would buy the traditional version... cheers!

I will try to make this video shorter. ½ hour later...

Bjorn are you going to review the infotainment system too please?

The Korean car companies seem to still make better EVs than the others, but others quickly caught up. Of course all manufacturers still have have a long way to go to catch up to a 7 year old Tesla, and possibly no chance to catch up to present Tesla.

Does the Kia plan its routes taking into account the available chargers along the route? Or do you have to look out for chargers yourself all the time? I think that's a very important USP for Tesla...

I drive a Kia Niro plug-in hybrid as my taxi in Oslo. I am considering buying the E-soul 64 to use as my taxi, but don't have access to home charging. I would like to know if it would be a better investment to switch to ev using solely fast charging. I drive approximately 4-5000 km/month (3-4000 kr) ish.

It is nice to know you have the same motorcycle ass holes in Finland as we do in California. We have noise laws but they are not enforced. That light show will definitely sell the car??

Im bying on from 2021 used. Did also consider a aiways u5 new with 11 watt charge. What would you buy of the 2

Can you create more depth in the boot by moving the storage tray? I need to carry a paramotor upright! It fits in my leaf ok!

Not sure if you talked about it, how do the rear seat room and storage compare between the Soul and Model 3? I'm trying to decide between the two right now.

When is the r-Soul coming out?

Brilliant review, I’ve a Kona but would prefer the soul perhaps next time !

Thanks for the review. Do the mood lights work only in the front or in the back doors too?

The light show is a pretty neat, even if it’s a bit gimmicky!