The effective price of a Kia Soul EV has gone up dramatically for 2019, in what is likely to be the model's last year of production.
The company dropped the bottom Soul EVe trim from the lineup. The EVe listed for $1,700 less than the version officially called "base," according to our partners at CarsDirect.com
The Soul EVe was only sold in California and offered the biggest discounts as well as the most affordable base price of $33,145 before tax credits. (Like all purely electric vehicles, the Soul EV is eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit, in addition to state and local electric-car incentives.)
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Soul EVes were available for as little as $159 a month in California with $1,999 due at signing.
Shoppers, however, may barely notice the demise of the most affordable Soul EV, because any Soul EV has been rare—even on California dealer lots in the past year.
Kia is preparing to introduce the new Niro EV, a larger and more expensive electric car than the Soul, as soon as December.
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A new version of the Soul EV also has been spotted testing in Europe.
That model was just rated at 301 miles of estimated range in the latest European certification tests, though U.S. estimates have not been released.
That's a sharp contrast with the Soul EV, which was an early arrival on the electric-car scene in 2014. The latest model has an estimated range of only 111 miles, compared with 150 miles for the Nissan Leaf and 238 miles for the Chevy Bolt EV.
Buyers looking for a Soul EV can still find some good deals on remaining Soul EVs, including a $9,200 cash incentive from Kia for lessees interested in the top EV Plus model, on top of the available tax credits.
The Soul EV Plus is one of the few electric cars available with a sunroof and cooled seats.
