Goodbye Nissan Leaf, hello Kia Soul EV

[nosuchthing]

Alright alright alright! Let's move on back to the worthy subject of other former Leaf owners throwing in the towel and making a leap to Kia Soul EV... And its significance to Nissan.

 

[lorenfb]

Looked inside an ICE Soul, what an ugly dash layout compared to the Leaf, "Like, let's throw the control
knobs/buttons on a test setup and see where they land". Hardly 'clean' looking nor logically placed like
my '13 Leaf or '12 Xterra. The interior looks like a Datsun design of the '70s.

 

[nosuchthing]

As a footnote to this missive:

I have for the first time made my 84-mile commute to work on one charge. This was my plan/dream all along. Too bad Leaf could not do it. Driving 62-64 mph most of the way I came home with 22 miles (24% battery) remaining, some AC and defog heat for the return trip included. Total trip miles + GOM equaled to 106 miles.

Love the car. Love the steering, everything works, and my Nokia candybar phone connects automatically. Leaf could not do that either.

 

[derkraut]

As a footnote to this missive:

I have for the first time made my 84-mile commute to work on one charge. This was my plan/dream all along. Too bad Leaf could not do it. Driving 62-64 mph most of the way I came home with 22 miles (24% battery) remaining, some AC and defog heat for the return trip included. Total trip miles + GOM equaled to 106 miles.

Love the car. Love the steering, everything works, and my Nokia candybar phone connects automatically. Leaf could not do that either.

ILECTRIC---Maybe you should be on the Kia payroll as a salesman. For the 1st year I had my Leaf, I could drive 84 miles, no sweat. Now, 3 1/2 yers later, I'm lucky to get 65 miles. So....talk to me after 3 1/2 years of driving and tell me what your Soul range is. :roll:

 

[nosuchthing]

I traded in, or should I say "unloaded" my Leaf, just like yours, at a very motivated Kia dealer for $11,500. I suggest you do the same. Otherwise you can watch your Leaf's value drop like a bad stock. As I said it before, looking at the specs of the Soul EV I realized my Leaf--as much as I tried to sell it to my wife to "wait for a better battery, it's coming..."--was a dead ender. There was nothing that could resurrect it at reasonable cost and reasonable time.

She hated the Leaf in the end, hated the fact she had to constantly plug it in and worry about my pestering her about TOU. Car had become a problem. By switching on a spur of a moment we have effectively gotten rid of a problem product, doubled our range, and lowered our monthly payments on a car whose residual value in 2016 will be...

Anyone's guess, I suppose. Mine: about 5,000 bucks. A loss total of 20,000 dollars. This is why I've leased Spark EV and now Soul EV. No more buying EVs until many years from now when the tech stabilizes.

 

[lorenfb]

"ILECTRIC---Maybe you should be on the Kia payroll as a salesman. For the 1st year I had my Leaf, I could drive 84 miles, no sweat. Now, 3 1/2 yers later, I'm lucky to get 65 miles. So....talk to me after 3 1/2 years of driving and tell me what your Soul range is."

Well said!

 

[Nubo]

As a footnote to this missive:

I have for the first time made my 84-mile commute to work on one charge. This was my plan/dream all along. Too bad Leaf could not do it. Driving 62-64 mph most of the way I came home with 22 miles (24% battery) remaining, some AC and defog heat for the return trip included. Total trip miles + GOM equaled to 106 miles.

Love the car. Love the steering, everything works, and my Nokia candybar phone connects automatically. Leaf could not do that either.

Sounds like this one's better suited for your needs. Looking forward to seeing how it does over time.

Sure I'd like 20% more range, but in the end I was more than happy with our LEAF and it suited my needs well. I know its ins and outs and so was comfortable with another lease. I'd be glad to see Nissan get some serious competition for sure. The next few years should be interesting!

 

[Belvedere]

I'm happy to see some opinions on the Soul EV, but it's a shame the opinions presented here are mostly hyperbolic and speculative in nature. Comparing an inadequately optioned 2011 Leaf to a 2015 model anything is a bit misguided in the first place. I don't own a Soul, but claiming it's the holy grail of EVs for having 8 more miles of range and niche hvac features sort of discredits all legitimacy.

OP, I'm happy you're happy with your purchase, but please don't expect everyone to entertain this. The Soul definitely is an improvement over YOUR Leaf, but please don't spin this to pretend it's better than ALL Leafs.

 

[pchilds]

OP, I'm happy you're happy with your purchase, but please don't expect everyone to entertain this. The Soul definitely is an improvement over YOUR Leaf, but please don't spin this to pretend it's better than ALL Leafs.

It has a TMS, it is better than all LEAFs!!! Even if the LEAF lizard battery is better than the garbage Nissan put in the 2011 LEAF, it would be even better if it had a TMS. Nissan has a TMS in their second production EV, the E-NV200, that is the equivalent to admitting that they screwed up with the LEAF. Why would they design in a TMS if it isn't required? If it is required for the E-NV200, it should be in the LEAF!

 

[Belvedere]

OP, I'm happy you're happy with your purchase, but please don't expect everyone to entertain this. The Soul definitely is an improvement over YOUR Leaf, but please don't spin this to pretend it's better than ALL Leafs.

It has a TMS, it is better than all LEAFs!!! Even if the LEAF lizard battery is better than the garbage Nissan put in the 2011 LEAF, it would be even better if it had a TMS. Nissan has a TMS in their second production EV, the E-NV200, that is the equivalent to admitting that they screwed up with the LEAF. Why would they design in a TMS if it isn't required? If it is required for the E-NV200, it should be in the LEAF!

Since there aren't any sancitioned TMS standards, Tesla, GM or Nissan for that matter all have different ideas for what TMS actually entails. Do you even live in a climate where you think heating/cooling/TMS on the 2013+ batteries would even be a factor? More speculative fiction.

 

[mxp]

The OP is sharing his observations based purely on his use case (location, commute requirements, past experience with an EV product etc)

The KIA clearly, has better specs on paper, and a better battery warranty than the Leaf. The unknown here naturally, is if they will honor their battery warranty, no questions asked.


Some data points: http://wallstcheatsheet.com/automobiles/the-2015-kia-soul-ev-vs-4-new-electric-vehicles.html/?a=viewall" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Quoted:
.....What makes the Kia Soul EV noteworthy? First of all, its 93 miles of EPA-estimated driving range will rank it third behind the pricey Tesla Model S and the largely unavailable (and also pricey) Toyota RAV4 EV. In other words, the Kia Soul EV has the longest range of any electric vehicle middle-class consumers could afford. Kia announced the Soul EV would retail at $33,700 in the base model trim and $35,700 for the Soul EV Plus. After rebate, that puts the new Kia EV at a starting price of $26,200. That’s doable.

The Kia Soul EV’s efficiency puts it on the leader board as well. With a rating of 105 MPGe, it ranks eighth among all U.S.-ready vehicles in fuel economy (tied with the Ford Focus Electric), yet many of the cars ahead of it are either unavailable or akin to golf carts.

I'm happy to see some opinions on the Soul EV, but it's a shame the opinions presented here are mostly hyperbolic and speculative in nature. Comparing an inadequately optioned 2011 Leaf to a 2015 model anything is a bit misguided in the first place. I don't own a Soul, but claiming it's the holy grail of EVs for having 8 more miles of range and niche hvac features sort of discredits all legitimacy.

OP, I'm happy you're happy with your purchase, but please don't expect everyone to entertain this. The Soul definitely is an improvement over YOUR Leaf, but please don't spin this to pretend it's better than ALL Leafs.

 

[pchilds]

Since there aren't any sancitioned TMS standards, Tesla, GM or Nissan for that matter all have different ideas for what TMS actually entails. Do you even live in a climate where you think heating/cooling/TMS on the 2013+ batteries would even be a factor? More speculative fiction.

I am down three bars at 23k miles, I doubt that 2013 battery is any better than the 2011, the jury is still out on the 2015, I'LL get back to you in 2 1/2 years on that. Nissan is the only EV maker that doesn't use a TMS! All of the compliance cars have a TMS. You make a car that you are going to take back and crush after three years and you still put a TMS in it, sounds like a design requirement to me.

 

[NasGoreList]

I traded in, or should I say "unloaded" my Leaf, just like yours, at a very motivated Kia dealer for $11,500. I suggest you do the same. Otherwise you can watch your Leaf's value drop like a bad stock. As I said it before, looking at the specs of the Soul EV I realized my Leaf--as much as I tried to sell it to my wife to "wait for a better battery, it's coming..."--was a dead ender. There was nothing that could resurrect it at reasonable cost and reasonable time.

She hated the Leaf in the end, hated the fact she had to constantly plug it in and worry about my pestering her about TOU. Car had become a problem. By switching on a spur of a moment we have effectively gotten rid of a problem product, doubled our range, and lowered our monthly payments on a car whose residual value in 2016 will be...

Anyone's guess, I suppose. Mine: about 5,000 bucks. A loss total of 20,000 dollars. This is why I've leased Spark EV and now Soul EV. No more buying EVs until many years from now when the tech stabilizes.

All of this is really problem of you own making as you bought the car that could get you to work only under certain conditions even when it was brand new. Now you have one that has the range to satisfy your daily commuting needs....I guess took you few years to realize this but school is never free...

 

[mkjayakumar]

I doubt that 2013 battery is any better than the 2011

A friend of mine here in Dallas, TX just returned his leased 2013 S for a 2015 SV / 3 year lease.

His 2013 Leaf after 25K miles and 2 years when he returned it had all 12 bars intact, and when I checked it about 5 months ago with 18K miles, he had 260 Gids on a full charge. I am guessing he might have a lost another 10 Gids when he returned it. That is very impressive for surviving two Dallas summers.

It was always garaged during the hot summers nights, where the temps inside the garage never dropped below 90, and sits in the office parking lot baking in the sun during the work day.

 

[Valdemar]

Anyone's guess, I suppose. Mine: about 5,000 bucks. A loss total of 20,000 dollars. This is why I've leased Spark EV and now Soul EV. No more buying EVs until many years from now when the tech stabilizes.

For those who bought, like myself, this math doesn't quite work out the same. Even if the price falls as low as you predict it would still be less expensive to keep the Leaf for 3 more years than leasing another car, provided you can still make it work. This is my plan, I will put about 120k miles on mine after 6 years, then even if I have to "unload" it at 5k I will have saved enough in gas so overall it won't be to bad. The depreciation rate has slowed down a lot for older Leafs, and my guess I will be able to do better than 5k then.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

As a footnote to this missive:

I have for the first time made my 84-mile commute to work on one charge. This was my plan/dream all along. Too bad Leaf could not do it. Driving 62-64 mph most of the way I came home with 22 miles (24% battery) remaining, some AC and defog heat for the return trip included. Total trip miles + GOM equaled to 106 miles.

Love the car. Love the steering, everything works, and my Nokia candybar phone connects automatically. Leaf could not do that either.

hope you leased and did not buy

 

[kubel]

hope you leased and did not buy

It seems Kia has made a very strong commitment on a battery capacity warranty that makes long term ownership of this car very practical. Of course, the lease deal is also outstanding. It sounds like you can't go wrong with this car, buy or lease. I just wish I knew it would be available here in Michigan by the time my lease is up next year.

 

[nosuchthing]

Yes, as I said above, I leased. In fact, it's becoming more and more clear that leasing these early stage BEVs is the only economical way to go.

Like our Spark: 250 per month (15,000 miles) over 36 months minus 900 bucks (1600 down, 2500 back from state) minus fuel savings about 100 bucks a month comes to about 120 dollars per month. Times 36 equals about 4300 dollars over 3 years' time. Bumper to bumper, no worries, no fixin's, no anything. I've lost at least 9000 dollars on the Leaf, including the fuel savings. I think it was pure luck I could get rid of it so painlessly at that price.

Soul is a new car just like Leaf was in 2011. I'm not stepping into that trap again. No matter what, you know the old saying as soon as your car drops onto the pavement leaving the dealership you just lost 3 grand. Don't need any of that. I have never leased car in my life. This is a new thing for me. Plus, you can bet your lifesavers 2017 Kia Soul EV will be a 180-mile range much improved car. I will not be stuck with my 2015 now 85-mile Kia, folks, wondering how to unload it and at what loss.

My feeling is, I'll be leasing EVs for a good decade. The tech is going to go through the roof every 3 years. The 300-mile car is around the corner, then 600-mile one. Think of these cars as baby clothes. They get outgrown before your kid has even a chance to wear them.

 

[lorenfb]

"Plus, you can bet your lifesavers 2017 Kia Soul EVVisit the Kia Soul EV Forum will be a 180-mile range much improved car."

Really, and you know this for sure, right? If that's that case and the Tesla 3 arrives, most likely Kia will
have a huge excess inventory.

 

[nosuchthing]

There is a car for everyone out there. Not everyone needs a big screen shining at you while you drive. I'm, for one, not a big fan. And since I'm a big believer in Murphy's Law, I do imagine, that screen goes dead on a rare occasion. You can only imagine the consequences. In other words, I like my buttons. They are so simple, and make so much sense... But I digress.

Yes, there is a car for everyone. I keep proclaiming, I will be the first in line to...LOOK at Model III. Well, judging by what happened when I and my wife went to look at the Soul just a week out, things could happen fast. I'm not of faint of heart to make decisions.

So...see where the chips fall in 2017. Either way, can't wait!