Kia, a sub-brand of South Korean automaker Hyundai, is coming to India next year. They will be launching their SP concept SUV later next year and then they’ll be launching more cars after that. Kia Soul is a popular car among US consumers. One out of six cars that Kia sold in the US last year, was a Soul EV. With the Indian government trying to replace one-third of all consumers vehicles in India with electric vehicles, Kia Soul EV could come to India late next year or in 2020.
Design-
Kia Soul EV has a boxy design with a redesigned front and rear bumpers. On the front, it gets a pair of slim LED headlamps which are sleek and beautifully integrated on the upper brow of the bonnet. On the rear, it gets a single unit of tail lamps that go all the way up to the roof, looking like a boomerang. Overall, the design will be a little refresh to the boxy design of electric vehicles that we all love or hate.
Interior-
Kia Soul EV comes with an updated dashboard. It gets a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system unit in the center of the dash with air controls just below the system. Drive selector shift is now replaced with a new shift-by-wire rotary dial. It will also offer a whole host of smart electric car features like lane-keeping assist, blind spot collision warning, and many more such features.
Performance-
Kia Soul Ev gets a new liquid-cooled lithium-ion polymer 64kWH battery, which is similar to that of Hyundai Kona Electric. The new electric motor produces 201PS of power and 395Nm of peak torque. It could potentially have an impressive range of about 240 miles or 386 kilometers. The Indian variant of Kia Soul EV might get a smaller battery capped in at 39.2kWH which might make it more affordable for potential Indian consumers.
With Hyundai Kona Electric slated to launch in India in the second half of 2019, there is a probability that Kia’s Soul Evo might get assembled locally just like Hyundai’s Kona Electric.
