Spring is upon us, the daffodils are out, the sun is trying to shine and in the distance you can almost hear the classic tune I know you got soul – your mood is instantly lifted.

Then you spot a Kia Soul EV driving towards you driven by flustered motoring journalist Jess Shanahan who has ten miles until her next stop with just a 12 mile range left, as she attempts Route 57.

On 6-26 April, Jess and a Kia Soul EV will attempt a 2,580 mile road trip from Plymouth, England to Galway, Ireland also known as UK and Ireland’s answer to the US Route 66, Route 57.

Similar to Plugin Adventures’ epic EV voyage we documented recently, this collaboration between Jurys Inn Hotel, DriveElectric and ZapMap seeks to challenge common myths around electric cars. Jess’s route will see her pass through 57 destinations and by our calculations around 20 EV chargers (if the Kia manages to achieve its 132 projected miles).

What is a Kia Soul EV?

This isn’t a car we’ve spoken much about and one you may not have spotted on Britain’s road. The Soul EV is Kia’s first electric vehicle to be marketed by the company outside Korea. The Soul EV accelerates to 62 mph in a modest 11.2 seconds, while top speed is in the region of 90 mph. On a full charge Kia tell us the Soul EV is able to travel up to 132 miles.

Keep up to date

Jess will be posting updates on the Route 57 website: www.route57.org.uk along with Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – and taking driving music suggestions through the Twitter hashtag #Route57, or adding them directly to the Route 57 Spotify playlist.

We will leave you with some of our favourite tracks we hope Jess will be listening to on her trip:

Eric B and Rakim – I know you got soul



Soul Power – James Brown

