Soul searching

REPORT 4 1582cc, 4cyl turbodiesel, FWD, 126bhp, 192lb ft 47.1mpg, 158g/km CO2 0–62mph in 11.7secs, 110mph 1557kg £ £21,550/£21,550 Total mileage 4509 Driver Simon Carrington Why it’s here Can the Soul hack it as an urban family runaround?

The blue car you see above is no ordinary Soul. Nor is it mine. Mine’s the white one, the blue one is electric and I was keen to see how the two compared and what electric is like to live with.

As I live closest to TG Towers, I’ve driven a lot of electric vehicles and I’ve not always been a fan. So it was with trepidation that I took the keys for my quick commute home.

My frst impression... why do electric cars have to look so odd? The Soul is already a strange-looking car, but the oddly coloured eco wheels and flled-in grille are peculiar in the extreme. Once inside, you feel like you are in a diferent car, though. In a good way. Our normal Soul, with its black interior, is dark and moody, but the EV (see picture at bottom of this column) is white, light and airy and consequently feels far more relaxing.

Having unplugged it from its charging station and turned it on, this relaxed feeling continues. Whereas our diesel-powered Soul noisily chugs into life on ignition, the EV gently awakens with a digital ringing. Engage drive, and the EV gently moves of. The powertrain is virtually silent, of course, which makes for a very quiet journey, and there is a pleasant weighting to the steering, which gives the EV solidity where other electric vehicles seem far too lightweight (the Nissan Leaf, for instance). The 0–62mph times are similar for both Souls, around 12secs, but interior space is slightly more restricted in the EV, as the batteries impinge on rear seat and boot space.

The Soul EV, like all electric cars, is expensive: the OTR price is £24,995 including the government grant, which makes it £3,445 more than our top-spec Soul. TopGear maths suggests that’s 69 fll-ups, almost two years’ worth of fuel at my mileages, which means a long payback, suggesting an electric car is still a lifestyle choice rather than a money-saving option.

It’s difcult to rate one Soul over the other because they are so very diferent, but without a range extender option I’d fnd it hard to live with the electric car full time.