Kia Soul EV long-term test: report 6

The car Kia Soul EV Run by Chris Haining, sub-editor

Why it’s here To find out whether electricity really can replace petrol when it comes to flexibility, cost and convenience

Needs to Cope with country lanes and motorways alike, accommodate an active lifestyle and be easy to live with day to day

Mileage 5224 List price £34,995 Target Price £34,995 Price as tested £34,995 Official range 280 miles Test range 276 miles

12 January 2022 – Big where it matters

My Kia Soul EV is getting me into trouble. I’ve mentioned before that I also own a big old Rover, which I’m sentimentally attached to. It lives a coddled existence, covering very few miles in an average year. Part of my justification for hanging on to it is the fact that its huge hatchback boot comes in handy on those occasions when something bulky or oddly long needs shifting.

Something like a garden swing seat. My wife and I are in the throes of packing to move house, and upon dismantling said outdoor furniture I found it to be so rusty and tired that the tip, rather than our new address, featured in its future. Visualising the Soul EV’s boot, which seems better suited to shopping trips than heavy lifting, I assumed it was time to reactivate the Rover.

But no. After a bit of mechanical origami, reclining the front passenger seat right back and folding the rear seat forwards, the disassembled swing seat slid right in. The Soul EV’s perpendicular form made light work of handling the awkward tangle of metal, including a six-foot main spar. My excuse for not slimming down my car fleet just got thinner.

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