The Kia e-Soul is the latest generation of the boxy but charming compact from the Korean carmaker. It is only being sold as a battery electric car in Europe, which means that the brand now offers two fully electric and one plug-in hybrid here.
The style includes bright and cheerful dual colour combinations, so apart from its very identifiable shape you’re going to see it coming anyhow. But it’s also very practical, the upright driving position offering good visibility, and room in the back which rivals cars two segments above.
I appreciated the tallness. It is one of the few cars I've driven lately where I didn’t have to scrape my head through while entering.
A pair of paddles behind the steering wheel are for selecting how much charge regeneration occurs on coasting or braking. The strongest one proves very useful in city and medium density traffic with a lot of stop and start. After a short time, you adapt a driving style that means you rarely use the brakes at all. The level of recharge thus is very interesting, as shorter local trips seem to use significantly less charge than might be expected.
Kia claim some 440kms as the car's typical range. My experience seemed to bear that out, which meant I didn't much concern myself with what range was left after the 100kms or so — it included a detour to another town — that it took me to get the car home.
Over the next few days I used the car as I normally would. A couple of trips to neighbouring towns and back, some driving in my own wider locality. I don't drive in my own town because everywhere is walkable. We took an afternoon down the country to visit some gardens, with a side trip on the way home.
Finally on a Saturday evening the battery level was down to around 20pc. For curiosity I plugged it into my ordinary home mains, and saw that it would take 27 hours to 'fill up'. I unplugged it then, not going to bother with that.
Early on the Sunday morning I drove up to my local Kia dealership, plugged it in and walked home. The forecourt charger was a relatively low capacity one, but when I came back four hours later the car was charged up to 78pc. Much more than I was going to need either for that day, or for leaving it back to Dublin the next day with a still reasonable 60pc charge.
Bottom line, range or range anxiety just wasn't in my thinking during my week with the e-Soul. Once these things have reached a threshold of 400kms, they are just as practical as any other car.
Here's the thing. If I owned the car I'd have a proper wallbox charger in my driveway. Every time I'd come back home I'd just plug in without even thinking about it. So every time I drove away I'd be starting with a full battery. And when was the last time anyone's normal driving day was 400kms or more?
Sure, a petrol or diesel car's tank will give a range of between 600-800kms, which means you may not have to visit the fuel station more than once a week. But with the e-Soul and its like, you likely NEVER have to, unless you're on a trip down the country for a few days.
There are concerns about electric cars, about their real costs to the environment, and more. But beyond these, there's no reason why they shouldn't suit most people's needs.
The cost is still considerable in the context of standard cars in this size. But it can be argued for. Especially if the buyer decides to hold on to the e-Soul for longer than the average.
COST: €35,995 including SEAI grant.
