[jhothehornet]

I'm an ex pat living in Spain and I'm looking to buy Kia Soul EV. Out here some of the new cars seem to have the black "side bumpers" and black roof rails and some seem to have everything "body coloured". I just want to make sure I'm not looking at different models, maybe one is a slightly older model than the other? In the Spanish brochure and on the KIA Spain website ALL of the cars appear to be "body coloured" with no black "side bumpers". Personally I actually think I prefer the jeep type look that the black "side bumpers" give the car. Would appreciate any info anyone might have on this topic. Thanks!

I've included 3 images below, one of a white version in Spain without the black "side bumpers" and one of a white version that I have seen a lot online with the black "side bumpers". You'll see the Spanish version is completely body coloured as per the image from the brochure below.

 

[DSLRed]

Have you checked whether it is on the options list in Spain, like the decals?

In the UK, there is no option to not have them, but different countries seem to pick different configs which they think work in their locale. I suspect where they are not standard as in the UK, they could well be an option.

I know other countries don't have them - all the videos I have seen from Canada for example are all body coloured.

 

[IanL]

You are looking at the 2019-20 model, which has the black thingy at the bottom of the door on the UK model, but perhaps not the Spanish version(s). The earlier models, afaik, do not, and they can be readily distinguished by not having "slit eye" headlamps.

In some markets, there are a number of different options on the new model, the main one being battery size. The UK only has the larger battery.

I have just looked at the Spanish site, and there appears to be two versions of the electric motor, but no battery options. It also shows the black thingies on the doors in some pics of the blue, and not in others, so confusion reigns. They probably cut & paste the sites for various markets, and slip-ups occur.

EDIT:

I've just found the Especificaciones page, and it appears there are 3 trim levels; looking at Caracteristicas Exteriores, all have Barras de Techo (roof bars), but the lowest level does not have Lunas Oscurecidas, which may (or may not) include the black thingies. If they do, that would explain some pics showing them, and others not. OTOH the Descubrelo page shows only the top level (Emotion) has them. Yer pays yer Euros and takes yer choice.

 

[jhothehornet]

You are looking at the 2019-20 model, which has the black thingy at the bottom of the door on the UK model, but perhaps not the Spanish version(s). The earlier models, afaik, do not, and they can be readily distinguished by not having "slit eye" headlamps.

In some markets, there are a number of different options on the new model, the main one being battery size. The UK only has the larger battery.

I have just looked at the Spanish site, and there appears to be two versions of the electric motor, but no battery options. It also shows the black thingies on the doors in some pics of the blue, and not in others, so confusion reigns. They probably cut & paste the sites for various markets, and slip-ups occur.

EDIT:

I've just found the Especificaciones page, and it appears there are 3 trim levels; looking at Caracteristicas Exteriores, all have Barras de Techo (roof bars), but the lowest level does not have Lunas Oscurecidas, which may (or may not) include the black thingies. If they do, that would explain some pics showing them, and others not. OTOH the Descubrelo page shows only the top level (Emotion) has them. Yer pays yer Euros and takes yer choice.

Thanks for your reply.

The "body coloured" long range (150 kw / 204 cv) Spanish model I'm looking at in the showroom definitely has the "slit eye" headlights so that means it definitely is the latest 2020 version right? I've attached some more pics of the one in the showroom, this is the Drive spec, would appreciate it if you could confirm that this is the latest model. Definitely don't want to be buying a 2019 one! I've also attached the brochure I was given by the dealer.

You're right there are three different spec versions in Spain. Concept / Drive / Emotion. Drive is by far the most popular in Spain apparently because most of the extras on the Emotion spec (which is £2,500 more expensive) are actually things like heated seats and heated steering wheels etc. That you don't really need in Spain. Maybe like you say the black plastic bits on the doors that give it more of a jeep look are reserved for the top of the range Emotion spec?

 

[jhothehornet]

Have you checked whether it is on the options list in Spain, like the decals?

In the UK, there is no option to not have them, but different countries seem to pick different configs which they think work in their locale. I suspect where they are not standard as in the UK, they could well be an option.

I know other countries don't have them - all the videos I have seen from Canada for example are all body coloured.

Thanks, haven't seen them listed as an option anywhere yet but will keep looking!

 

[IanL]

Yes, it's the latest model. I see from the brochure that the more powerful motor comes with the larger battery, and vice-versa, which seems logical.

The website indicates there are no Opciones. I suppose you could buy the black thingies as spare parts, but I expect they won't be cheap. The one in the showroom seems to be 38,357 Euro according to the website. What's the dealer's price?

 

[Simon..Hewison]

Personally, I've discounted the UK model Soul EV from my possible new purchase options because it has the copious amounts of black plastic side trim. I guess I could order one in Ireland.

 

[IanL]

.... I guess I could order one in Ireland.

36,228 Euro and no government subsidy Plus tariff after Brexit?

 

[Slaphead]

Simon, I ordered my Soul back in July last year and was dissapointed that it came with the black plastic side trims as I did not particularly like the look. Having had my Soul for 4 months, I am glad I have them as they stop a huge amount of crud getting onto the paintwork and the look has grown on me.

 

[Simon..Hewison]

36,228 Euro and no government subsidy Plus tariff after Brexit?

Or fiddle the configurator web page and force it to accept the exteriorColor setting from the Irish options? They come from the same factory at the end of the day, which will have the ability to offer all the options to all the markets, regardless of what the marketing people deem required for the territory, since vehicles are almost entirely built to order these days. It's somewhat rare that a new car is just delivered from a standard stock anyway.

It's bizarre that Kia Ireland deem that every paint option available costs €600.24, but KIA UK includes all paint options in the base price, and the Irish configurator at least goes into some detail about the interior trim (no choice), but the UK one ignores the option entirely.

 

[IanL]

I admire the lateral thinking, but Sod's Law says the orders can only be generated by the dealer, on a system not exposed to the public.