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The new Kia e-Soul serves up technical innovation with classic style in its interior. The upper door panels use an aesthetic 3D-patterned surface included in the mass of the panel material and reminiscent of fish scales. When the vehicle is running, the fish scales light
up at the same time as a stripe all around the lower part of the door panel. The music played in the car is visualized on the panel doors; Kia calls it their Sound Mood Ambient System.
We note that despite the presence of a touch screen, the interior bristles with buttons: pushbuttons and shift paddles and knobs on the armrests, on the center console, on and under the steering wheel. The screen is mainly used for infotainment rather than control. The customizable touch screen provides connected information including the live charging stations.
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The display included Kia’s UVO connect application, new in Europe but already in use in the United States. This telematics system allows a real exchange with the driver’s smartphone. The driver can retrieve information from the vehicle: battery state of charge, geolocation, status report including tire pressure and any other detected issues. They can also program and transmit remote instructions to the vehicle—not only a destination for its navigation but also HVAC settings, windshield defogging and the like, right from their smartphone. Seat heaters aren’t much use when the trip is too short to let them heat up, but now this remote system could change that for the better by allowing preheating.
