Kia Soul EV

A tall boy, done right

- Sirish Chandran

DO NOT LIKE TALL BOY CARS. They look awkward, their proportions lead to dreadful dynamics and what really is the point of all that head room? Have you ever seen anybody drive standing up?

Except, I find myself being quite smitten by the Kia Soul. If you have to do a tall boy you might as well make it funky; make it turn heads for reasons other than inducing a barf. The Soul does that. It looks like fun. The early Soul was quite divisive in its styling but this third-generation car smooths offthe edges; it is longer, wider, sleeker and the slim LED lights and wraparound rear taillamp looks properly futuristic, just as it should be for an electric car. That’s always been my grouse with EVs, if you are going to drive the future of automotive propulsion, the car should look like it has come from the future. The Soul EV ticks offthat box. It also looks expensive with satin chrome detailing and big 17-inch wheels. And with government subsidies for EVs not linked to the length of the car or motor size, its 4195mm length isn’t going to create a hurdle on the pricing front. The big pricing headache will be the fact that, if at all it comes, it will be as a CBU import. And that will mean a price tag upwards of 20 lakh.