Goodbye Nissan Leaf, hello Kia Soul EV

[Slow1]

I got all excited about the Soul EV until I saw it is "California only" - hope that is just due to marketing introduction and that it isn't a sign of being a "compliance" vehicle.

I have not plans to buy a new car anytime soon, but am thrilled to see competition in this space so that more/better options may appear.

Now if only a couple 7 passenger EVs would come out at somewhat reasonable costs (i.e. Tesla is out of my budget by far!). I do need to plan to replace our minivan (160K miles on it) in the next few years....

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

for people buying it this is very nice perk

10-year/100,000-mile EV System Warranty (includes battery pack)

Any capacity warranty? Or do they just guarantee it's a battery?

 

[forummm]

Glad you're happy with the Kia Soul EV. I hope many great EVs will be on the market in the near future. I think it would be better to compare a 2015 Kia Soul EV with a 2015 Nissan Leaf. Both of them should be superior to your 2011. My 2015 Leaf has more range than my 2014 Leaf. And many forum commenters have talked about the improvements made in 2013 and 2014 as well. IIRC the Soul has an extra ~3kWh battery, so that will definitely give your range a small boost. But with the same Leaf battery, I'm now getting the capability of over 120 miles with efficient driving. Less efficient driving is still at near 100.

But I hope the 2017's from all the manufacturers are just even more amazing and no one buys ICEs anymore.

 

[Stanton]

Glad you're happy with the Kia Soul EV. I hope many great EVs will be on the market in the near future. I think it would be better to compare a 2015 Kia Soul EV with a 2015 Nissan Leaf. Both of them should be superior to your 2011.

The true test will be a couple of years down-the-road; after all, nobody complained about their Leaf until (accelerated) battery degradation started to show up. If the Soul can even approach the level of quality/reliability I've seen in my Leaf, that will be noteworthy.

I'm happy for your purchase, but we need more GA EV's, not just compliance cars; when the Soul comes to a dealer near me (in TX), I'll give it more serious consideration.

 

[TomT]

There is no data that suggests that the real range of the Leaf has changed much from 2011 to 2015... If you use heat often, the heat pump on the later higher end versions will buy you some range but if you use primary AC, you have actually lost some efficiency with the heat pump... I would be in the latter camp.

I think it would be better to compare a 2015 Kia Soul EV with a 2015 Nissan Leaf. Both of them should be superior to your 2011. My 2015 Leaf has more range than my 2014 Leaf.

 

[mtndrew1]

for people buying it this is very nice perk

10-year/100,000-mile EV System Warranty (includes battery pack)

Any capacity warranty? Or do they just guarantee it's a battery?

Kia guarantees 70% capacity at 100,000 miles in their written warranty booklet. Similar to Nissan, they only guarantee that they'll get the pack back up over 70%, not necessarily give out a brand new pack.

I'll check the booklet tonight to see if the warranty is only for the original owner.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

2015 leafs have 292 gids. 2011 was 281 and many leafs I'm intermediate years started with less.

We need Tony to do A 2015 LEAF road test.

 

[lorenfb]

"You may or may not like the look of the Soul, but apparently a lot of folks do, as they sell a ton of them."

"a ton"
Really? We'll have to wait for the 10/14 BEV numbers.

 

[TomT]

He's talking about the ICE version. It is a hot seller. I see tons of them around here.

"You may or may not like the look of the Soul, but apparently a lot of folks do, as they sell a ton of them." "a ton" Really? We'll have to wait for the 10/14 BEV numbers.

 

[edatoakrun]

Xpost from the "official" thread:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13531&p=394821#p394821" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Efficiency ratings in kWh/100 miles, combined city highway cycles, for all currently available BEVs can be found here:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=35207&id=34918&id=35601&id=35247" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Soul's 32 kWh/100 mi is at the low end of efficiency ratings (from 27 to 32 kWh/100 mi) for all US-market (low to mid market price) BEVs, except for the Tesla-powered conversions Rav4 and MB-B, which lag way behind.

Comparing the MPGe ratings of the Soul and LEAF, the Soul's aero drag shows up just as you would expect, with ~9% lower highway efficiency than the LEAF, but only ~5% lower efficiency in the city cycle.

It looks likely the Soul was tested at 100% charge, just like the LEAF, to get that ~11% higher (93/84 miles) calculated range.

 

[Valdemar]

I learned my Leaf lesson well.

The most important lesson I learnt from the Leaf is to stay away from unproven technology, as much as tempting the KIA EV is I'm not getting emotional over it.

 

[TomT]

Just got back from a two hour test drive. I was very impressed. It just feels like so much more of a car than the 2015 Leaf... My wife commented that the interior (we drove the Plus) was so much nicer and more upscale than the Leaf SL and she liked the infotainment system much better. We both also felt it drove better (I pushed it pretty hard).

 

[gsleaf]

Just got back from a two hour test drive. I was very impressed. It just feels like so much more of a car than the 2015 Leaf... My wife commented that the interior (we drove the Plus) was so much nicer and more upscale than the Leaf SL and she liked the infotainment system much better. We both also felt it drove better (I pushed it pretty hard).

Tom, can you comment about two things I've heard stick out with the Soul EV. 1. The tires, supposedly they are super low resistance tires and squeal some on turns. 2. Supposedly the Soul EV handles strangely over speed/other bumps somewhat strangely. Any thoughts on your experiences with either of these?

 

[ksnogas2112]

Very glad to hear about the Soul. I thought it looked like a keeper when I saw the first media on it. Bottom line when I've got the Leaf paid for (3 more years) there will be a plethora of new EV's to choose from. Nissan will definitely need to watch the competition or drop the price point.

Still happy with the Leaf and won't ever buy an ICE for myself ever again.

 

[TomT]

I did not find them to squeal more or be less sticky than the Ecopias that came on the Leaf. That said, the Michelins I now have are better in both regards...

As far as speed bumps and freeway discontinuities, I'd say it is no worse than a current MY Leaf but also won't cause BMW or Audi to have any sleepless nights... I've driven the ICE Soul and would say it is pretty similar except for a lower CG and less polar moment. One thing I did note was that there was very little tendency to tram-line. It was also quite quiet.

I'm not a big fan of the styling but I could live with it... I do wish it was more sleek, aerodynamic and lighter... Creature comfort wise, I liked it better than the current Leaf, as did my wife...

If I had an idea what Nissan was planning for 2016 and it was interesting, I might push my lease to see... But all indications are that nothing substantial will happen until 2017 and I simply can not wait that long...

Tom, can you comment about two things I've heard stick out with the Soul EV. 1. The tires, supposedly they are super low resistance tires and squeal some on turns. 2. Supposedly the Soul EV handles strangely over speed/other bumps somewhat strangely. Any thoughts on your experiences with either of these?

 

[EVDRIVER]

Just got back from a two hour test drive. I was very impressed. It just feels like so much more of a car than the 2015 Leaf... My wife commented that the interior (we drove the Plus) was so much nicer and more upscale than the Leaf SL and she liked the infotainment system much better. We both also felt it drove better (I pushed it pretty hard).

Wow, does the plus have a different dash and shifter because the pics I see of the inside make it look like a rental econobox with a horrible shifter and dash. What am I missing it seems horribly basic and boring inside.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Just got back from a two hour test drive. I was very impressed. It just feels like so much more of a car than the 2015 Leaf... My wife commented that the interior (we drove the Plus) was so much nicer and more upscale than the Leaf SL and she liked the infotainment system much better. We both also felt it drove better (I pushed it pretty hard).

I'm impressed that you could drive it for two hours without turtling.

 

[TomT]

With the leather interior, it actually looks very nice. That said, it is no MB ED but it is also not schizophrenic like the i3...

Wow, does the plus have a different dash and shifter because the pics I see of the inside make it look like a rental econobox with a horrible shifter and dash. What am I missing it seems horribly basic and boring inside.

 

[TomT]

It was 100% charged when we got it and we drove about 70 miles with a combination of freeway and surface streets... It was showing 31 miles when we pulled back in.

I'm impressed that you could drive it for two hours without turtling.

 

[nosuchthing]

I mentioned the icing on the cake in my original post. Here is the cherry on top: At the click of a button Soul has 3 levels of power steering: sport, normal and Leaf ehm, comfort. No more mushy steering wheel.

Our m/kW is at 4.3 My Leaf was 3.8 Now that is a 100-mile car.

You may begin to cry now.