The 2019 Kia Soul EV has been snapped during testing, with pictures of the interior revealing its likely range.
Although the body is just as camouflaged as last time we saw the car, the latest batch of spy pictures includes a few pictures of the interior. The central touchscreen shows the battery on 92 per cent and a range of 437km, which suggests the car will do around 500km on a full charge.
That would suggest it draws on the 64kWh battery from the Hyundai Kona Electric, or a lithium-ion battery of similar capacity, in top-spec guise.
Power is expected to come from a variation of the 150kW/395Nm motor from the Kona Electric and Kia Niro EV, revealed earlier this year at the Busan motor show.
The entire Soul range is expected to gain the latest semi-autonomous safety systems from the Kia line-up, with tech like autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and rear cross-traffic alert all likely to feature.
There's no firm word on when the new Soul will launch but, given the current model's love affair with the United States, a Los Angeles motor show reveal would make sense. Whether the EV is shown alongside the wider range remains to be seen.
On the outside, the new car maintains its predecessor's boxy shape and helmet-like window line, but gains more stylised tail-lights and a slimmer headlight arrangement up front. Although it's tough to tell, prototypes appear to have a clamshell bonnet too. Don't expect Kia to mess too much with the formula made popular on the current Soul.
Australia
Although the Soul has been a slow seller Down Under, the EV looks likely to make the trip when it's launched. Kia has promised to bring two pure electric cars by 2021, and the Soul would make sense alongside the Niro EV, given the pair compete in the popular small SUV and small passenger segments.
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