Kia e-Soul (2020) – EVRevolution overview [video]

YouTuber from the EVRevolution channel has published a review of the Kia e-Soul, an interesting electrician in the B-SUV segment. The car scares off many potential buyers with its looks, but tempts with its 64 kWh battery and 204 hp engine. / 395 Nm, making him a lively long distance runner with a fairly large luggage compartment.

The car is equipped with exactly the same battery drive used in the Hyundai Kona Electric (B-SUV segment) and Kia e-Niro (C-SUV), but it is known that in Poland the car should be slightly cheaper than both. models. It is expected that the car will appear on our market this year, that is, before the e-Niro, which will debut only after a while:

> Kia e-Soul in Poland before e-Niro. e-Soul in the second half of 2019, e-Niro in 2020

The tested version is equipped with a heat pump, which is especially true in colder climates - it consumes less energy to heat the cabin and battery. The car also featured an in-pit display (HUD) mechanism, a feature that the Kona Electric was equipped with but not available from the e-Niro.

The car reported a range of about 461 kilometers, and with a 73 percent discharged battery - 331 kilometers, which is 453 km per charge in economical driving mode. With sensible driving Kii e-Soul Power Consumption was about 13 kWh / 100 km (130 Wh / km), which was slightly higher than the Hyundai Kona Electric, where the reviewer was able to reduce to 12 kWh / 100 km (120 Wh / km).

The driving modes (Eco, Normal, Sport) are configurable, but their current versions are sensibly arranged - they did not have to be modified.

After driving several hundred kilometers, the reviewer found the car more ergonomic than the Hyundai Kona Electric, and even admitted that he was able to guess the function of each button after just a few minutes of communicating with the car's cabin. He really liked the layout of the information screen, which was divided into three parts: 1) navigation, 2) multimedia, 3) information:

The interior of the Kia e-Soul was larger and more comfortable than the Konie Electric, both in legroom and in height for rear passengers:

Driving experience

The YouTuber found the car's suspension softer (comfortable) than the Konie Electric's - it reminded him of his own Nissan Leaf. The engine power turned out to be so great that when starting off on a wet road, it was enough to press the accelerator pedal a little harder to make the wheels spin.

It was an interesting fact the noise level in the cabin of the Kii e-Soul: Despite the angular shapes that seem to offer a lot of resistance and therefore make noise, the electric Kia turned out to be quieter inside than the Nissan Leaf and Hyundai Kona. The decibelmeter showed 77 dB at 100 km / h, and in the Leaf it was about 80 dB.

The car was loaded with a maximum power of 77/78 kW, which is in line with the data provided by the manufacturer. A 46-minute stop on a 100 kW charger resulted in an additional 47,5 kWh of energy consumption and a range of 380 kilometers - however, we add that there are only a few such devices in Poland today.

Defects? Lane Keeping Assist was slightly guided between the lines, meaning it was approaching the left and right edges of the lane. Kia e-soul also seemed expensive to him for this level of equipment. However, if he had to choose the e-Soul, Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia e-Niro, he would choose the Kia e-Soul.

Here is the full video. We especially recommend around 13:30 when you hear the pedestrian warning signal:

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