Used Kia Soul EV 2020-2025 review

Is the hit 1967 single “Soul Man” by Sam & Dave really about one man’s ownership of a Kia Soul? Well, of course it isn’t – the original model didn’t arrive until 2009. That being said, it might have been the focal point of the song if it were recorded today. Especially in this electric (EV) form, the car has many endearing features, such as impressive range, good equipment levels, reasonable used prices and funky styling. Be prepared to sing its praises – perhaps literally.

Motors and batteries: Following on from its all-electric predecessor, the latest Soul EV gets a much bigger battery – a 64kWh one – and a lot more power. With 201bhp and a 0-62mph time of 7.6sec, it’s brisk. The model feels urgent from the moment you put your foot down and continues to pull consistently up to motorway speeds.

The 64kWh model has an impressive official range of 280 miles, which is around the same distance that the Kia e-Niro can manage between charges. A smaller 39kWh version, called the Urban, has a much smaller official range of 171 miles.

Ride and handling: On the road, the Soul EV controls its body movements well over undulating B roads and takes the sting out of potholes. That said, it’s still choppier than some more premium rivals, like the Audi Q4 e-tron. It fidgets slightly at all times, even on smooth roads.

Naturally, being electric, its punchy performance is cloaked in serenity. Its motor emits nothing more than a faint murmur when pushed and the Soul EV is a far more tranquil travelling companion than any equivalent diesel SUV. You’ll notice some road and wind noise at 70mph, but the suspension thudding noticeably over bumps is the most prevalent audible intrusion around town.

Interior and practicality: The Soul EV is a good example of how designers can make a car easy to use. The model has a supportive driver’s seat that feels high enough, without leaving you feeling unnaturally perched. The seat isn’t heavily bolstered, but still holds you in place well enough around corners and is electrically adjustable as standard, including for height and lumbar adjustment. There’s a fully rake and reach-adjustable steering wheel with plenty of range.

The standard 7.0in digital instrument screen doesn’t offer any greater functionality over a set of regular analogue dials. You unfortunately cannot configure the screen to show a full-screen navigation map, for instance, but it’s easy to read, with clear graphics.

The Soul EV’s sharply defined 10.3in touchscreen is mounted high for easy viewing, and its graphics are ace, especially the 3D sat-nav maps, which render cityscapes accurately. It’s also responsive and most of the menus are intuitive enough that you won’t need to break out the manual every time you use it.

Interior-quality-wise, there are some hard plastics dotted around, but because the whole is spruced up by enough soft-finish surfaces in the places that you will be pawing regularly, you won’t be left feeling short changed.

In the front that means more than enough leg and head room even for those well over six feet tall, and there’s enough width to prevent you or your passenger feeling squished. Rear space is better than you’ll find in the e-Niro; there’s marginally more leg room and much more head room — two six-footers can sit happily behind two more in the front seats without struggling for space, but the seating position is more upright than the e-Niro’s.

The boot is one area of weakness for the Soul EV. At 315 litres, it’s not much bigger than a Ford Fiesta boot, let alone rivals like the Kia EV6 or Tesla Model Y. That said, it’s a tall and usable shape, and big enough to easily accommodate a week’s worth of shopping.

Trims and equipment: Unlike some electric cars, there's no sparsely equipped entry-level Soul EV. In fact, they're all groaning with standard kit. On top of must-haves such as sat-nav, DAB radio, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, early cars, which went by the name of First Edition, gave you a Harman Kardon premium sound system, a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with online connectivity for up-to-date traffic and parking information, plus leather trim with heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, and automatic air conditioning.

You also got LED headlights, electrically folding and adjustable heated door mirrors and automatic wipers. And the great news is that, when First Edition trim was replaced with Maxx, that long standard kit list was unchanged.

If you're interested in finding a used Kia Soul, or any of the other cars mentioned here, head over to the Used Car Buying pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

The Soul EV wasn't a big-seller so there aren't a huge number of cars available on forecourts. With this in mind, prices aren't as cheap as some rivals, like the VW ID 3, but they're still reasonable.

For a 2020 First Edition example, expect to pay around £10,000 for a 64kWh car with high miles. Low mileage 2020 and 2021 cars can be had for upwards of £12,000, while 2022 cars start from around £13,000. Newer 2023 cars cost upwards of £15,000, while 2024 cars jump up to around £20,000.

The Urban version with the smaller battery was introduced in late 2022, so these aren't particularly cheap yet. Prices for these start from around £15,000 and rise up to £20,000 for 2024 examples. They typically have low mileage.

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Efficiency

With a 7.2kW home wall box, a full charge will take around nine hours and 30 minutes . You can also charge from 0-80% in 54 minutes at a service station equipped with a 100kW DCC fast charger, or in an hour and 15 minutes if it’s a 50kW unit.

Road tax

As of 1 April 2025, used EV owners have to pay Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). Zero emission cars first registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 have to pay the standard annual rate, which is currently £195 a year.

Insurance and servicing

In terms of insurance groups, the Soul EV sits in the middle, meaning it shouldn't be overly pricy to insure. It won't be particularly cheap either, though.

Warranty

From new, the Soul EV comes with a seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty. It's one of the best-in-class, beating the cover from Tesla and Volkswagen.

Safety

The Soul EV hasn’t been appraised for safety by Euro NCAP but it comes with plenty of safety features, including automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist recognition, lane-keeping assist and a system that monitors the driver’s attention. Upgrading to Explore adds blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

Reliability

The Soul EV didn’t get enough responses to rank in the electric SUV reliability section of our most recent What Car? Reliability Survey. That said, Kia as a brand performed fairly well overall, ranking 11th out of 31 manufacturers. This puts it ahead of Skoda (13th) and Volkswagen (18th), but just below Hyundai (10th).

Motor and battery

We'd choose the 64kWh version, as opposed to the 39kWh Urban model, because it has a much longer range and used prices are lower. There are more bigger battery models available on the used market, too.

Specification

With First Edition and Maxx being essentially the same, it doesn't really matter which version you pick. They get the most amount of kit as standard, so we'd happily recommend either.

Our favourite Kia Soul EV: 64kWh First Edition

The Kia e-Niro is more common on the used market than the Soul EV and prices are similar. The e-Niro also has more boot space, so it's the way to go if you're not swayed by the Soul EV's funky looks.

The Hyundai Kona Electric is similar in price to the Soul EV, too. It uses the same 201bhp 64kWh battery but has an even longer official electric range – 300 miles, to be exact. It's not exactly generous on rear passenger space or boot capacity, though.

If you're interested in finding a used Kia Soul, or any of the other cars mentioned here, head over to the Used Car Buying pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

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