Photos of the 2020 Kia Soul EV

The Kia Soul has always been a quirky, wagonish crossover with a lot of character; it's impossible to mistake it for any other vehicle. And that is still very much the case with the third-generation Soul, which provides the basis for this new EV variant.

Every Soul has become slightly bigger, and the moderately revised appearance is thoroughly uncluttered, carrying the emblematic Soul design into the next decade.

The EV version, which we took for an extended drive on its Korean home turf, is more differentiated from the gasoline-powered version than before, set apart visually from the regular Soul by a painted plastic insert instead of a front grille, its own lower set of LED lighting units, and restyled fascias at both ends.

As before, the EV sports distinct aero-style wheels, now 17 inches in diameter, up one inch from 2019.

It does so with such urgency that it takes real practice not to squeal the tires every time you accelerate out of a corner or drive away from a stop sign.

Even with the interior feeling eerily quiet and well isolated, we expect the sprint to 60 mph to happen in 7.0 seconds.

That's a big improvement over the 9.7 seconds the previous model recorded in our tests. The Soul EV hits the speed governor quite noticeably. It feels as if it wants to keep going, but in the interest of range, it makes sense to stop the rush right there.

What might keep you from pushing too hard is the suspension, which emphasizes comfort over agility while expanding the car's overall abilities with its newly independent multilink rear suspension replacing the former beam axle.

Compared to the ultraclean exterior, the interior falls somewhat flat. We would like to see some of the funkiness of the exterior, or at least of the first-gen Soul, which had a quirky yet ergonomic dashboard that set it apart from most other cars.

This new Soul EV goes a long way to please EV enthusiasts-quite literally. It is rated at 243 miles of range in the official EPA cycle, but we found it was not difficult to better that estimate. That's a huge improvement over the 2019 Soul EV, with its mere 109 horsepower and 111 miles of EPA-estimated range.

The new model's 64.0-kWh battery pack with DC fast-charge capability has enough reserve for any around- and near-town tasks, and we can imagine doing some long-distance travel along routes where the charging infrastructure allows.

The EV gets its own version of Kia's Uvo infotainment system and a 10.3-inch touchscreen. It combines a plethora of important functions and information pertaining to the charging and battery status, charging station updates, scheduled charging functions, and the ability to plan a trip outside the car and send the information, including waypoints, to the car's navigation system.

Practicality is another strong suit of the new Soul EV. Its spacious interior has comfortable room for four adults, and the variable trunk is big enough to hold luggage and groceries for most trips.

The new Kia Soul EV specifically targets the Chevrolet Bolt EV. Not only has the Kia entirely caught up with the specs of GM's offering, it also exceeds them in elements such as build quality.

Like its Niro stablemate, however, the Soul EV will be offered only in the 13 states where California emissions standards apply, while the Bolt EV is available nationwide. In those markets, however, it's good enough to serve as an alternative for those who can't be bothered to wait for the entry-level versions of the Tesla Models 3 and Y.

There will be two trim levels, as before, but the upscale one drops the previous EV+ badge for a new Designer Collection designation. We expect to see the Soul EV on the market before the end of the year.