We love the new Kia Soul, as you can see in our review. Zippy, roomy, tech-friendly, and seriously handsome now with its refined exterior. We've been chompin' at the bit to try the upcoming 2020 Kia Soul EV, but there's been some bad news on the automotive front that translates to a serious delay. That's right. It's now a 2021 model because of delays in production. Those who have been waiting to get one to capitalize on the new Soul EV's better range and increased power will be pretty disappointed to hear this.
Green Car Reports reported on it after getting news that Kia disclosed the reason as delays in supplies, specifically electric motors and battery-pack-related components. Even worse, it seems Europe has already received some of the new EVs, so we're kinda getting hosed in the States. EVs are super-hot right now with models from Tesla, Chevy, Nissan, Hyundai, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, and Jaguar, so this delay isn't exactly good for the Kia. At least they still have the excellent Niro EV, which gets 239 miles of range.
The Soul EV will get a few more miles of range than the Niro EV, to the tune of 243 miles. That's HUGE jump from the previous model's meager 111 miles of all-electric range. The new Soul EV will have the same 64-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack as the excellent Hyundai Kona Electric, and power will be 201 horses, giving the Soul EV a 0-60 time of around seven seconds. That's nowhere near close to the face-ripping power of a Tesla Model S P100D, but consider the fact that the Soul EV will cost less than $40K, about half the price of a base Model S.
We're not sure why the last Kia Soul was only available in a handful of states (13), but there's rumor now that the new one will sell in more locations, which is great news for consumers. The 243-mile range means it'll have more widespread appeal for those looking to make the transition from gas. Even in cold weather, with a 30% drop in range (for most lithium-ion EVs, which is pretty much all of them), your range would be 170 miles. That's not bad if your weekly commute is less than 15 miles each way for the weekdays. The bad news is the wait is now much longer to get your hands on one.