The US version of the Kia Soul has been revealed, albeit with one rather major difference from the European car…

‘Wait a minute,’ you must be thinking, ‘why has that electric car suddenly spawned a massive grille’? Good question, and there’s a simple answer: it isn’t electric. Nope, this is the US version of the Kia Soul SUV, and over there it runs on gasoline instead of electrons.

Panic over. This is what the facelifted car will look like when it arrives stateside in the summer, and although it also has a gear selector and, er, an exhaust pipe, it gives us a few clues about what to expect when the battery-only model is updated on this continent later in 2022.

So a few revisions to the front and rear design, while the interior has largely been left alone. Although you can expect the Soul EV to be running the latest, much improved iteration of Kia’s touchscreen system.

US buyers are also being treated to a range of new colours, updated 17- and 18-inch alloy designs, and a shake-up of the trim line-up. So expect something similar over here.

The Soul EV is of course closely related to Kia’s other small electric SUV, the e-Niro. That uses a 64kWh battery for 458km of range per charge, slightly up on the current Soul EV’s 450km. Put that down to funkier, less aero-friendly proportions.

Which are you having, folks?