Kia Soul 39kWh Urban 2023 UK first drive

Does what it says on the tin, this one. In swapping the 64kWh battery of the standard Kia Soul EV for a more modest 39.2kWh item, the logically named Urban edition provides a shorter-range, more affordable entry point into the quickly expanding Kia EV line-up - one aimed at metropolitan-minded city folk with lower-speed, shorter-distance driving habits. 

In introducing a more affordable Soul at a hair under £33,000, Kia expands the market footprint of its line-up further still, with the all-new, seven-seat EV9 at the other end of the range set to flirt with the £80,000 mark when it launches later this year. It also means Kia can defend its hard-fought position as a leader in the affordable EV market, with the latest Kia Niro EV having put on a few pounds (economically speaking) and some years to wait until the Picanto is replaced – directly or not – by a diddy city EV. 

The Urban is a pretty enticing prospect in raw specification terms, representing a whopping £6200 saving compared with the standard car (now loftily renamed the Explore and nudging towards £40,000) and offering performance and usability credentials that stand it in good stead in this increasingly competitive segment. Of course, since the electric Soul launched, we’ve welcomed an array of highly competitive and generally likeable compact EVs at this price point - and some for quite a bit less money. 

But subtly refreshed at the front with slick LED headlights and the new KN… *ahem* Kia emblem, the 2023 Soul remains one of the more cheerful and charismatic of the affordable EVs on the market and cuts an especially jovial figure next to Kia’s much more serious-looking bespoke electric cars, the EV6, EV9 and EV5. So too is the latest Niro a much more characterful proposition than its relatively staid predecessor, but staying true to the chunky proportions and cheeky stance of the original, the Soul remains the more extroverted of Kia’s smallest electric cars. 

But there’s no getting away from the fact that this is now Kia’s oldest electric car and it is starting to feel as much inside. The cockpit’s scratchy plastics and dated switchgear are a far cry from the lavish Kias to which we’ve become accustomed (exacerbated on this entry car by an array of blanked-off buttons). Meanwhile, the infotainment, while undeniably functional and sensibly mapped out, is pretty rudimentary and the entry-level car inexplicably does away with the ability to deactivate certain driver assist functions - most irritatingly, the speed limit warning siren. An incentive to drive slower and maximise range, perhaps. Still, marks should be given for the standard fitment of wireless Apple CarPlay and the clarity of its display interfaces.