Many potential customers love to fire up their spreadsheets and produce some involved calculations that attempt to answer the question of whether the electric model will work for them better than a diesel or petrol version over a representative ownership period. So let's see. We've already mentioned the 280 mile WLTP-rated driving range.
Obviously, to get anywhere near the official quoted range figures, you'll need to be using the two most sensible of the provided driving modes - 'Eco' or, ideally, 'Eco+', both of which slightly restrict throttle travel and climate system performance, the latter, majorly so. You'll need to maximise brake regeneration using the steering wheel paddles. And you'll also want to keep an eye on the drive indicator to the left of the instrument binnacle screen, staying in the lower blue 'Charge' zone and out of the upper white 'Power' section. The central part of the instrument binnacle display offers a selectable 'Energy Flow' monitor and a 'Driving Style' read-out which rates your driving in % terms in 'economical', 'normal' and 'dynamic' categories.
You'll want to know that this Soul EV's charging times stack up to segment standards. Pretty well as it turns out. It's possible to replenish this model's lithium-ion cells with a charge of up to 80% in just an hour and a quarter, providing you've got access to a 50kW DC fast charger. If you haven't, then a 7.2kW home wallbox will re-charge a Soul EV completely in 9 hours 35 minutes (which, to give you some idea, would use around £9 of electricity at current rates). If you're somewhere with only a normal 3-pin plug 220V AC power supply to connect into, it'll take a yawning 31 hours to top the car up completely. If you can find a fast-charging 100kW charging station, the battery can reach 80% of charge in only 54 minutes.