Official Kia Soul EV thread

[evnow]

The car really does seem to have exceptional range for a 27 kWh total capacity pack. Unfortunately the car won't tell me total kWh used for a given trip like my Volt would (or I don't know how to find it), just mi/kWh, of which I've been averaging about 4.0. My home EVSE also doesn't report kWh dispensed, so I'm flying blind a bit. It sure feels like 27 kWh usable though, at least right now.

I'm supposed to do a range test with Tony on Saturday, so hopefully he can come up with some accurate all highway speed data.

One way to figure out would be to drain the battery and charge using 120V. Use a kill-a-watt to measure.

 

[mkjayakumar]

One way to figure out would be to drain the battery and charge using 120V. Use a kill-a-watt to measure.

This is the only surest way to measure capacity of a battery pack, though I would recommend 240V. !20V wastes quite a bit than 240V and so your calculations become a little less precise.

 

[DaveEV]

MOD NOTE: Moved flames to Snippiness thread.

 

[pkulak]

The car really does seem to have exceptional range for a 27 kWh total capacity pack. Unfortunately the car won't tell me total kWh used for a given trip like my Volt would (or I don't know how to find it), just mi/kWh, of which I've been averaging about 4.0. My home EVSE also doesn't report kWh dispensed, so I'm flying blind a bit. It sure feels like 27 kWh usable though, at least right now.

I'm supposed to do a range test with Tony on Saturday, so hopefully he can come up with some accurate all highway speed data.

One way to figure out would be to drain the battery and charge using 120V. Use a kill-a-watt to measure.

Yeah, but then you do have to guess at the wall-to-pack efficiency then. But, if you were to get 35 or so kWh out of the wall, it would be a pretty good guess that the pack is larger than 27.

 

[mtndrew1]

I can try the 120V via kill-a-watt when my EVSE gets back from EVSEUpgrade.com. It's currently en route so I'm left with just my 240V at home.

Even so it'll be tricky to find enough time to run down the car and then let it trickle charge all the way to full.

 

[billg]

The car really does seem to have exceptional range for a 27 kWh total capacity pack. Unfortunately the car won't tell me total kWh used for a given trip like my Volt would (or I don't know how to find it), just mi/kWh, of which I've been averaging about 4.0. My home EVSE also doesn't report kWh dispensed, so I'm flying blind a bit. It sure feels like 27 kWh usable though, at least right now.

I'm supposed to do a range test with Tony on Saturday, so hopefully he can come up with some accurate all highway speed data.

You should be able to use the mi/kWh, miles driven and SOC used to calculate the battery pack size. This formula seems to work with the LEAF.

For example: 4.5 mi/kWh, 60 miles driven using 50% SOC (50% remaining) = 60/4/.5 = 26.7 kWh usable battery capacity

 

[Berlino]

...

- The highest regen I've seen is 76 kW during hard braking, leading me to believe that under the correct circumstances the motor would be able to use its full 81 kW for regen.


- In B mode the brake lights come on during moderately strong regen, which is strong enough to nearly bring the car to a stop. Not quite i3/Tesla one-pedal driving, but very close. Brake blending is flawless, with none of the clunkiness of the Volt or the unevenness of the Leaf.

Thanks for you comments. Two things appear odd:

1) 76-81 kW of regen? The Tesla Model S only gets 60 kW max.

2) If you can one-pedal drive a 4700 lb. Model S with 60 kW of regen, you ought to be able to do it with 76 kW in a lighter Soul!

 

[mtndrew1]

...

- The highest regen I've seen is 76 kW during hard braking, leading me to believe that under the correct circumstances the motor would be able to use its full 81 kW for regen.


- In B mode the brake lights come on during moderately strong regen, which is strong enough to nearly bring the car to a stop. Not quite i3/Tesla one-pedal driving, but very close. Brake blending is flawless, with none of the clunkiness of the Volt or the unevenness of the Leaf.

Thanks for you comments. Two things appear odd:

1) 76-81 kW of regen? The Tesla Model S only gets 60 kW max.

2) If you can one-pedal drive a 4700 lb. Model S with 60 kW of regen, you ought to be able to do it with 76 kW in a lighter Soul!

You can totally drive the Soul one-pedal right up until the last few MPH, when the car tapers the regen greatly. It may actually come to a complete stop but I've been working the brake pedal for the last 5 MPH or so. I'll have to play with it and see if I can get it to stop entirely without the brake. On the freeway, however, I virtually never use the brake pedal because of the strong regen (in B).

The kW of regen caught me totally by surprise, which is why I shared it. I'll have to keep an eye on it to make sure it wasn't a fluke or I wasn't reading it wrong, but it sure seems to regen higher than the Volt and Leaf as far as kW go.

Edit: The 76 kW was when I was on the brake pedal AND off-throttle regen in B mode, coming down an onramp from the freeway. Just wanted to make it clear that the car will not generate this kind of negative torque just from letting off the accelerator pedal. I'll try and get a picture tonight.

 

[mtndrew1]

The car really does seem to have exceptional range for a 27 kWh total capacity pack. Unfortunately the car won't tell me total kWh used for a given trip like my Volt would (or I don't know how to find it), just mi/kWh, of which I've been averaging about 4.0. My home EVSE also doesn't report kWh dispensed, so I'm flying blind a bit. It sure feels like 27 kWh usable though, at least right now.

I'm supposed to do a range test with Tony on Saturday, so hopefully he can come up with some accurate all highway speed data.

You should be able to use the mi/kWh, miles driven and SOC used to calculate the battery pack size. This formula seems to work with the LEAF.

For example: 4.5 mi/kWh, 60 miles driven using 50% SOC (50% remaining) = 60/4/.5 = 26.7 kWh usable battery capacity

I'll take a shot of my trip summaries and post them tonight. I really wish the car had a "this charge" summary like my Volt did, as it is I have to add up all the little trips it summarizes with distance and mi/kWh. I'll also post my remaining charge percentage so it can be extrapolated.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Fascinating developments here. I just wanted to chime in and let you know I'm anxiously awaiting the results of the kWh usable experiments! (And of course, the "Gold Standard" of Tony's range test)

 

[mtndrew1]

Got a shot of negative torque values during heavy regen and got -76 kW again. I actually got a little higher than that but you wouldn't believe how difficult it is getting a shot of the screen while not looking at the phone...

So either the Soul EV has more regen than a Model S or the value is erroneous. It sure feels like 76 kW.

And here's my screen shot of today's driving:

I began the day at 93% SOC and ended at 65%, so I used 28% to drive 32.74 miles.

 

[billg]

And here's my screen shot of today's driving:

I began the day at 93% SOC and ended at 65%, so I used 28% to drive 32.74 miles.

Those stats indicate that you used 7.116 kWh. Divide that by 0.28 and you get 25.4 kWh usable capacity.

 

[mtndrew1]

And here's my screen shot of today's driving:

I began the day at 93% SOC and ended at 65%, so I used 28% to drive 32.74 miles.

Those stats indicate that you used 7.116 kWh. Divide that by 0.28 and you get 25.4 kWh usable capacity.

That adds up pretty well. If it has 25.5 kWh usable x 4.5 mi/kWh that gives about 115 miles on a full charge, which is what my GOM is showing in the morning. The GOM has been pretty accurate too, so far. Maybe not as precise as the Volt's, but close.

 

[pkulak]

Got a shot of negative torque values during heavy regen and got -76 kW again. I actually got a little higher than that but you wouldn't believe how difficult it is getting a shot of the screen while not looking at the phone...

So either the Soul EV has more regen than a Model S or the value is erroneous. It sure feels like 76 kW.

And here's my screen shot of today's driving:

I began the day at 93% SOC and ended at 65%, so I used 28% to drive 32.74 miles.

Wow, look at that efficiency! What numbers did you get in your Leaf? I hover around 4.2 in mine. Super-strong regen would help with that.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

One way to figure out would be to drain the battery and charge using 120V. Use a kill-a-watt to measure.

This adds the losses of the EVSE, the charger, and the battery during charging. But it is measurable.

Or, you can use a JuiceBox Premium which logs all charging data with a Level 2 EVSE.

We have seen as high as 4.9 miles / kW on out '15 Leaf S. Free wheel coast is better than regen, because you cover lots of ground "for free". Use regen only for slowing down, but coast when you can and when you need to cover more ground.

 

[mtndrew1]

Got a shot of negative torque values during heavy regen and got -76 kW again. I actually got a little higher than that but you wouldn't believe how difficult it is getting a shot of the screen while not looking at the phone...

So either the Soul EV has more regen than a Model S or the value is erroneous. It sure feels like 76 kW.

And here's my screen shot of today's driving:

I began the day at 93% SOC and ended at 65%, so I used 28% to drive 32.74 miles.

Wow, look at that efficiency! What numbers did you get in your Leaf? I hover around 4.2 in mine. Super-strong regen would help with that.

My commute is pretty ideal for EV range and efficiency. I haven't owned a Leaf (thought I would right about now...) but on my Volt I got 4.0-4.2 mi/kWh on average. I'm kind of amazed that the Soul was an efficiency improvement over the Volt, to be honest.

 

[Pipcecil]

That doesn't surprise me. The Volt has extra dead weight of the engine. Driving a a good amount of highways my wife and I can push 4mi/kWh and even up to 4.3 in the leaf. She is better than I am and her car is the Volt which gets a paltry 3.2 on average and she can easily push the electric range to 45+ and sometimes almost to 50 on super good days. BEVs always end up beating PHEVs due to reduced weight of the no engine.

 

[mtndrew1]

I paid attention to off-throttle regen in B mode last night, and the highest I saw was 60 kW when jumping off the accelerator at highway speeds (60 MPH +). It tapers quickly from there and doesn't seem to go stronger than 20 kW in city driving unless you apply the brake pedal.

 

[Berlino]

You can totally drive the Soul one-pedal right up until the last few MPH, when the car tapers the regen greatly. It may actually come to a complete stop but I've been working the brake pedal for the last 5 MPH or so. I'll have to play with it and see if I can get it to stop entirely without the brake. On the freeway, however, I virtually never use the brake pedal because of the strong regen (in B).

OK, thanks for the clarification. fwiw, when someone talks about one-pedal driving the Model S, they really mean as above. They still have to use the brake to stop from 5 mph at lights, unless they don't have to worry about traffic behind them and can start slowing down early.

 

[Berlino]

Unfortunately, Kia is not seriously interested in the Canadian market for the Soul EV. People who were interested are jumping ship.

1) Limited Supply (50 for the entire country).
2) The battery guarantee isn't as good as in the USA.
3) The mobile app doesn't work in Canada.
4) Launch delay, still no configurator available online.
5) No one wants the base version, since it doesn't have CHAdeMO and heat-pump in Canada. (You can get a LEAF SV + CHAdeMO for less).