From Guest Blogger Jordan Perch: Kia Soul EV Coming To America in 2014

The electric vehicle market has been growing at a pretty high rate in the past couple of years, which has encouraged more and more car makers to start developing cars that are powered by electricity. Today, almost all major manufacturers offer hybrid and electric vehicles, but there are still a few companies that are yet to launch an alternative fuel vehicle. One of them is Kia, South Korea’s second-largest car maker, next to Hyundai. Kia has been making some pretty fuel-efficient cars, but they have all been conventional vehicles, powered by gasoline. Now, they are planning to join the green vehicle game, with an electric car that they plan to introduce to the market in 2014.

Although they are definitely late to the party, Kia have announced that they have been working on developing an electric car, which is ready to go into production in the months to follow. They have chosen one of their most popular vehicles, the Kia Soul, as a car that their first electric model will be based on. It will be called Kia Soul EV, which will use the 2014 Soul’s platform. The company hasn’t released any details about the car’s performances, but it will definitely be a fully-electric vehicle, and we can expect to learn more on the specifics during some of the major car shows in the United States that are going to be held next year.

Another thing that is for sure is that the Soul EV will be available in select markets, and that the North American market is one of them, which was expected, since consumers in the U.S. and Canada have become quite fond of electric cars lately and green vehicles sales have been steadily increasing in recent years.

The 2014 Kia Soul is quite fuel-efficient and eco-friendly itself, with a 24 mpg/city and 29 mpg/highway fuel economy, and 85 percent of its materials eligible for recycling, and it is great for driving in urban areas, which is what most electric cars are used for nowadays. It is small, compact, practical, and easy to maneuver, but it’s not ideal for driving long distances.

One issue that Kia will have to work on is the poor aerodynamic ability of the Soul, due to its box-like shape, similar to the Scion iQ and the Honda EV, which are expected to be its main competitors, along with the Chevrolet Spark EV and the Fiat 500e.

There are some speculations regarding the car’s range, which is supposed to be somewhere around 100 miles per one charge, and you should be able to recharge it in less than two hours. As far as speed is concerned, the guess is that it will achieve a top speed of 87 mph, while the 0 – 60 mph acceleration time is expected to be a little over 11 seconds. If they turn out to be true, these numbers will put the Soul EV right there among the best electric cars in the world, at least when it comes to range and acceleration.

Jordan Perch is an automotive fanatic and “green cars” specialist. He is a writer for DMV.com, which is a collaborative community designed to help ease the stress and annoyance of “dealing with the DMV”.