Kia pushes energy-density frontier with Soul EV battery [VIDEO]

Kia Motors is using a 360-V lithium-ion battery pack of “class-leading” energy density (200 W·h/kg) in the 2015 Soul EV to give it range of about 200 km (125 mi) on the European Driving Cycle, and “real-world” range of 80-100 mi (129-161 km) in the U.S. The cells and the battery are the same in all regions.

The battery in the 2015 Kia Soul EV is the result of a three-year development program with lithium-ion cell maker SK Innovation. The 192 cells are packaged into eight modules and deliver a total battery capacity of 27 kW·h. The cell cathode is of nickel-rich NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) chemistry, with the raw materials for that and other components optimized for energy density, durability, and safety.

Kia says high-performance anode and gel electrolyte additive materials were developed. The new electrolyte additive allows for better range by more effectively dealing with low and high temperatures. A “special” ceramic separator with improved thermal resistance properties is used.

The cell casings are of polymer pouch type (as opposed to metal), and the battery pack is air-cooled. Standard equipment on the Soul EV includes receptacles for SAE J1772 Level 1 and Level 2 ac charging, as well as CHAdeMO dc fast charging (480 V).

The car goes on sale in the U.S. in third quarter 2014.

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All-electric Kia Soul EV test drive in Seoul

Kia have released another promo video for the Soul EV.

The Soul EV is propelled by a liquid-cooled AC synchronous permanent magnet electric motor rated for 109 horsepower and 210 lb-ft of torque. Like most electrics, the motor sends power to the front wheels via a single-speed constant-ratio transmission.

A 96-cell, 27-kWh lithium-ion polymer battery feeds the motor. It lives under the Soul’s floor, and takes a small bite out of rear seat legroom, which shrinks from 39.1 to 36.0 inches. The standard 120-volt charger, which stows under the cargo floor, takes a bigger bite out of luggage capacity, down 5.1 cubic feet to 19.1.

The Soul EV can be charged to 80% in as little as 33 minutes using a 50-kW system, and the Soul EV is fitted with three charging ports. Two of the ports are for conventional AC charging, per SAE standard J1772, and the third for CHAdeMo public stations.

Deliveries began in South Korea in May 2014 with EU and US to follow in the second half of the year. With 200 km range and a price in the $30k range it looks like a solid addition to the EV market.

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Advanced battery pack for Kia Soul EV [VIDEO]

The Kia Soul EV is equipped with an advanced power pack featuring lithium-ion polymer battery cells supplied by SK Innovation. The pack, which has a class-leading energy density of 200 Wh/kg, is the result of a three-year joint development program between Kia Motors Corporation and SK Innovation in Korea.

Engineers from Kia have developed the outstanding power pack featuring 192 lithium-ion polimer battery cells in eight modules, delivering a total power output of 27 kWh. The pack incorporates state-of-the-art thermal control technology to maintain individual cells at optimum temperature and structural design to enhance crash worthiness.

Nickel-rich NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) cathode material is used in the mass production of the battery cells for Soul EV. Energy density, which is dependent on cathode capabilities, is a core performance factor deciding EV driving range. By exploiting the class-leading energy density of its battery, the Soul EV offers a driving range of 'around' 200 km on a single charge.

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Kia Niro four-wheel drive Hybrid electric makes US debut @ Chicago [VIDEO]

Kia’s Niro urban lifestyle concept vehicle, unveiled last September at the Frankfurt Motor Show, made its US debut at the 2014 Chicago Auto Show. The Niro suggests a possible future B-segment contender, and features a hybrid electric powertrain working through an advanced four-wheel drive system.

The concept is powered by a variant of Kia’s turbocharged 1.6-liter Gamma engine, capable of 160 hp (119 kW). The engine and a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission serve the front wheels while an electric hybrid system powered by regenerative braking delivers up to 45 hp (34 kW) to the rear wheels when road conditions require extra grip.

Although Niro presents a sturdy and muscular outline, it has relatively compact dimensions on its all-new B-segment platform. Its 164.8-inch overall length, 72.8-inch width and 61.3-inch height place it firmly in the city car bracket.

Entry into the vehicle is by way of dihedral “butterfly” doors with flush door handles, that swing up high into the roof. Mounted directly onto the side windows are milled Plexiglas door mirrors with built-in cameras.

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Kia debuts its first electric vehicle for US [VIDEO]

Kia Motors Corp rolled out an electric version of its Soul compact car on Thursday that the Korean automaker plans to begin selling in some U.S. markets later this year.

The 2015 Soul EV, unveiled at the media kick-off for the 2014 Chicago Auto Show, is Kia's first all-electric, zero-emissions car in the United States and its second "green" car for the U.S. market, joining a hybrid version of the company's best-selling Optima sedan that has been available here since 2011.

The Soul EV is powered by an air-cooled lithium-ion polymer battery and an 81.4 kW, 109-horsepower, liquid-cooled electric motor, which produces a 210 lb.-ft. of torque, according to Kia.

The car can go from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 96 km per hour) in less than 12 seconds, has a top speed of 90 mph (144 km per hour) and can drive 80 to 100 miles (129 to 161 km) on a full charge, the company said. The vehicle can be recharged by plugging into any standard 120v outlet or a conventional 240v EV charger.

The Soul EV will initially be sold in a handful of states, including California, Oregon, New York, New Jersey and Maryland, Kia said. Pricing has not yet been announced.

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Kia gets it right with the GT4 Stinger

THINGS are looking grim in America at the moment.

While you were busy worrying about high tides and gale force winds, people on the Eastern Seaboard have been enduring something which Michael Fish types call a polar vortex, nudging temperatures to so comically cold that the Niagra Falls actually froze. People haven’t been going to work. They’ve uploading footage of freshly boiled water turning instantly turning into snow onto YouTube instead. 

As a result I was surprised anyone actually braved the bitter conditions for a trip to this year’s Detroit Motor Show, but those who did have been rewarded with an historic moment in motoring. A Korean company unveiling a genuinely gorgeous and exciting car.

This, as far as I’m aware, has only happened twice before in the entire history of South Korea’s car industry, making it a sort of solar eclipse of motoring. The first was back in 1995, when Hyundai launched the Coupe, which caught the car world napping because it was curvaceous and charismatic when everything else it made at the time – the Accent, the Sonata and so on – was at best bland and at worst visual pollution. Then, in 2008, it launched a rear-wheel-drive GT car called the Genesis, but none of us ever got to see it because the company has never sold it in this country.

The rest of the world launches cars designed solely with the wow factor in mind every other week – we’ve got the F-type, Italy’s got the Alfa 4C, Japan’s got the Toyota GT86. Korea’s upped its game lately with attention-grabbers like the Kia Soul and the Hyundai i40, but its ‘wow’ cars, the sort of thing your eight-year-old son Blu-tacks to his bedroom wall, are few and far between.

That’s why I really hope Kia gets its latest concept car into production. Even without the freezing Detroit weather outside, it is a truly cool car.

For starters, the name is spot on – ladies and gents, meet the Kia GT4 Stinger, which makes it sound like a fighter plane. It also might only have a 2.0 litre engine, but it’s turbocharged, and chucks 315bhp through a six speed gearbox at the back wheels. Yet the thing which really stops you in the GT4 Stinger’s tracks is the way it looks, which is stunning.  It’s all bulging wheelarches and narrow windows, and it looks like it means business.

Think of it as Kia’s answer to the Nissan 370Z or – if you’re a bit older – as a sort of Korean reinvention of the Ford Capri. Get making it, chaps!

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Kia Soul EV with 200 km range to launch in 2014 [UPDATE]

An all-electric version of the Kia Soul is still on track to launch globally in early 2014. It will be Kia’s first electric car sold outside its home market of South Korea, following up on the domestic Ray EV.

The Soul will be equipped with a 27 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery making it capable of travelling up to a claimed 200 km on a single charge. Paired with that is an 81 kW / 285 Nm electric motor, propelling the Soul EV from 0-100 km/h in less than 12 seconds, and on to a top speed of 144 km/h.

Power is sent through the car’s front wheels via a single-speed constant ratio gear reduction unit. In a test drive Autocar.co.uk says there is and there’s surprisingly aggressive deceleration upon throttle lift off. Kia says the Soul EV’s battery can be fully charged in around five hours when using a standard 240-volt outlet, or in 25 minutes when using a fast-charge unit with a 100 kW output.

The Soul EV is expected to go on sale in the first half of 2014 and pricing is expected to start at 40 million KRW ($35,490 / €27,480).

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Kia Soul EV on sale in UK by end of 2014

The electric Kia Soul is due to go on sale in the UK in October 2014, with prices set to rival those of other electric vehicles.

Yaser Shabsogh, Kia’s UK Commercial Director, has confirmed that the electric Soul will be offered in the UK, but not until the end of 2014, some months after the arrival of the new Soul in early 2014.

He said the projected prices were based on the assumption that the car would be sold with a battery, rather than via a leasing scheme. Kia is yet to decide whether to lease or sell the battery.

The car, which Shabsogh says will have a "low-to-mid £20,000" price tag, will also be eligible for the government's £5000 electric car grant, assuming the scheme is still operational as the car goes on sale.

Kia UK will use it to demonstrate Kia has cutting-edge EV technology available.

Shabsogh told Headline Auto:

It is not going to be priced to try to stimulate demand.

We won’t be selling hundreds of them – maybe a couple of hundred, mostly in the key metropolitan areas.

The bigger question for the manufacturer is the support network that an electric car would require, with Shabsogh saying: 'We would definitely have some specialist dealers that can charge and service it.'

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Kia Soul EV confirmed for 2014 launch

Kia has announced plans to offer a Soul EV in the United States.

Set to go on sale next year, the Soul EV is described as a "natural extension of the Soul's urban-friendly place in the brand's lineup of award-winning vehicles." The company declined to release additional information but said we can expect to learn more at an upcoming auto show.

While Kia is remaining mum on details, our spies have already caught the model undergoing testing. Despite being heavily camouflaged, the photos revealed the model will have a revised grille with an integrated charging port.

Little else is known about the model but previous reports have indicated it could accelerate from 0-100 km/h in less than 12 seconds, have a top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph) and travel up to 200 km (124 miles) on a single charge.

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Prepare to fire up the... Kia pro_cee'd GT

FAST, frantic, furious and just a little bit front wheel drive. There are certain qualities you need if you’re looking a bit of hot hatch heaven.

Regular readers will already know I’m a big fan of family hatches made fruitier through revvier engines, bigger suspension and sportier suspension, and while there have been a couple of rear-drive and four-wheel-drive deviations it is by and large a recipe for motoring fun that’s worked a treat for more than 40 years. In fact, more than 50 years if you count the original Mini Cooper – which was only ever a two-door saloon, of course – as the one that started it all.

Now the Koreans are having a crack with – unless any automotive anoraks out there can suggest otherwise – the country’s first fully-fledged hot hatch, the Kia pro_cee’d GT. The outward signs are that it’ll have the firepower to take on the establishment, thanks to a trick taken straight from chapter one, verse one of The Hot Hatch Bible; strap a ruddy great turbocharger onto your engine of choice, in this case Kia’s 1.6 ‘Gamma’ petrol lump. The end result is 201bhp and – if we’re being really petrolhead about it – a power to weight ratio of 157bhp per tonne.

It’s also got a seven year warranty and a keen starting price - £19,995 – in its favour but what really gets it for me is the way it looks. Kia’s head honcho of styling these days can count the original Audi TT among the achievements on his CV, and while I’m not going to pretend the pro_ceed’s shape is quite THAT swoopy, it’s not one that’s going to give your children nightmares either.

I can’t wait to get a go, and I’ll let you know whether it’s on the ball dynamically as soon as I do. Would you opt for a Kia hot hatch as your motoring weapon of choice in your next battle at the lights?

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Fire up the... Kia Picanto 1.0

KIA'S city car contender, for all its snazzy styling, is all about the numbers. Three or five doors, seven years of warranty, 67 claimed miles to every gallon and yours for a shade under eight grand.

There is, however, one figure in particular that defines this 1.0 litre, entry level twist on the pretty Picanto; the three cylinders you get under the bonnet. It makes an interesting, offbeat throb when you put your foot down, which is infinitely nicer, to my mind at least, than the 2CV-esque rattle you get from Fiat's TwinAir offerings. The only problem is you'll be doing that a lot, because this emphatically not a fast car.

The 1.0 litre triple, great though it sounds, really makes a meal out of moving you about, forcing you to hunt through the rev range to get the best out of it. That, in turn, ruins the real world fuel economy, and the owner of the particular car I borrowed struggles, despite his best efforts, to better 40 to the gallon around town. Weirdly, it reminds me of the Mini 1000 I had as my first car - it actually did less to the gallon than the 1.3 that replaced it simply because you had to work it harder. I reckon you can pull of the same trick with the Picanto; be smart, save up and go for the extra oomph of the 1.2 litre, four-cylinder version.

The rest of the Picanto package, however, fares rather better. It looks great, it's cheap, both to buy and run, the seven year warranty is something Kia - quite rightly - are particularly proud of, and on the inside it feels substantial in a way neither the Panda nor the Aygo/C1/107 triplets manage. All of which brings me to what I reckon is the Picanto's biggest flaw. If, like me, you're a little larger of frame, you'll find your elbows brushing the doors as you drive along, and that's something I haven't encountered in any of the other city car contenders.

Nor is it especially exciting to drive. There's nothing wrong with the way the Picanto goes, stops and handles - engine aside - the steering's too light and lacking in feel. Great for its natural habitat of congested city centres, but take it anywhere more challenging and you'll be craving the feedback you get from most of its rivals.

The Picanto's pertly styled, generous on both price and warranty and miles better than the company's previous entry-level offerings, but my money would still be on a Fiat Panda, Toyota Aygo or VW Up, all of which offer a more engaging small car experience for not much more.

This little Kia's got some great numbers on offer, but for me they just don't add up.

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Fire up the... Kia Sportage

THIS is where the smart money in motoring goes. The hard-earned you used to blow on family hatchbacks now goes on trendy, pint-sized off roaders.

It's why the Nissan Qashqai's such a big seller and the Skoda Yeti earns its plaudits; they might not have the mountain climbing ability of a more hardcore 4x4 but they offer their rugged image with the load-lugging practicality of an estate car and friendly hatchback handling in the same package.

Kia's offering in this keenly-contested territory, the Sportage, has one thing immediately in its favour - that it's such a cleanly styled car. To my mind, the company's stylists have been little too liberal with the chrome detailing, meaning it looks more at home on Sunset Boulevard than Lord Street, but not one of the Sportage's onlookers thought it was anything other than a handsome bit of kit. Whip the badges off this thing and you'd swear it was an Audi or Mercedes off roader.

But what isn't at all Mercedes about is the price. True, the 2.0 CRDi 4X4 version I tested was a £22,000 car but this was the range-topper with all the bells and whistles; you can, if you're happy to settle for the 1.6 GDI version, get the Sportage's looks and faintly ridiculous amounts of head and legroom for nearer £17,000. More importantly, it doesn't feel like a cheap car, with the same attention to interior detail which impressed in the Hyundai i30 being used to good effect here. It's also a smooth, refined sort of drive, and while you're never going to get the fluidity of a lower, lighter Focus or Megane if you really thrash it into a corner, the torquey nature of the 2.0 litre diesel in particular makes it perfect for towing caravans in particular.

The Sportage is one of the best entries in a hard-fought corner of the car marketplace. To my mind, only the Skoda Yeti offers a more polished package, but then the Kia pulls out its trump card - a seven year warranty to the Skoda's three.

Your call...

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It's Sportage versus Focus in the Champion family car battle

AFTER several months of of fruitless debates I'm finally able to put a longstanding argument at the Champion offices to bed. Focus or Sportage - which is better?

It all started earlier this year when one of the office petrolheads asked what's the best new car money can buy, provided you're a family man with roughly £18,000 to throw at your pride and joy. Easy, I reckoned. If you want a family car that's fun, comfy, roomy, good value and is either very good or brilliant at just about everything, then really Ford's Focus is the best bet. The end.

But I was met with a slightly exasperated look. How, the man from the Champion production department suggested, could I seriously reccommend the Focus over Kia's Sportage? Had I gone mad?

So it went on, but to be honest there was one very good reason why I couldn't suggest the Sportage - until this time last week, I hadn't driven one. That was until last week, when at a media test driving day in Yorkshire I finally got a go behind the elusive Korean contender and, for good measure, the clever new 1.0 litre Ecoboost version of the Focus too.

To be fair, the Focus and the Sportage are both very different beasts - one's a good ol' fashioned five-door hatch, while the other's a sort of pseudo-off roader - but if it's a straight cut question of which you'd splash your eighteen grand on, it's a much closer call than you'd think. The Sportage is never going to thrill you a windy road the way a Focus will, but it handles that side of things surprisingly well before pulling out its trump card - the sort of headroom, legroom, and boot space Focus Man would kill for, and it looks good too, in a slightly over-chromed, chintzy sort of way. It's a good car. Annoyingly, verge-of-argument-losingly good, in fact.

Not that I'm going to concede defeat that easily of course. The Focus scores highly on the sort of the things I look for in a car - ride, handling, comfort, gadgets and so on - but if you put style, value for money and a cavernous interior at the top of your shopping list, then the Sportage is the easy winner. Call it an honourable draw.

Obviously it's your call, but I know what I'd go for if I had £18,000 to throw on a family motor. The Skoda Yeti, come to think of it.

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