Big rubber for this beachcomber.

Kia has shown the potential of electric crossovers to become more hardcore all-terrain vehicles.

The Korean car company’s UK division had a battery-powered Soul that had served its purpose as a demonstration vehicle. This particular Soul has been converted into an impressive Boardmasters edition.

Without a traditional front grille, this Soul is clearly battery-powered. Atop, there is a sturdy roof rack for mounting those surfboards, while long-range radio antennae ensure you can stay in touch, even when venturing into the deepest wilderness.

An LED lightbar adds additional illumination, handy when navigating unchartered coastal routes, to that secret surf spot.

One strange feature is the ratchet straps used to secure those surfboards, featuring metal fastening mechanisms, which are sure to ding and ruin the glassing of any surfboard deck or bottom, they make contact with. We imagine the Kia UK marketing department would be best served, by using traditional soft-straps for tie-down duty.

By far the most impressive aspect of this Kia Boardmasters edition is its stance. It rolls massive 265/75 tyres on 16-inch steel wheels – very uncharacteristic for any Kia, not to mention a Soul.

Although the additional flotation and traction of those huge tyres are beneficial, they also need a lot more room. Kia fitted a lift kit to raise the Boardmasters edition by 70mm, while the tracking width increases both front and rear.

Off-road ability should be way beyond what any Soul owner could imagine. The Soul Boardmasters edition has more ground clearance than a Land Cruiser, at 310mm.

The standard Kia Soul EV powertrain remains in place, which means a 150 kW electric motor, drawing energy from a 64 kWh battery pack.

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