Official Kia Soul EV thread

[o00scorpion00o]

The Soul EV has a battery heater, right ? so shouldn't cold have minimal effect on range ?

But once it's charged and after being heated, would the cold still effect the kwh available after being standing for 12 hrs ?

 

[minispeed]

No plugs at all at work. Park outside for my 12 hour shift.
Parked outside at home too.
Usually go 95km/h, 5 stop signs on the way, probably be going 80km/h if the roads were snow covered.
Trip is 50km each way...it's the parking for 12 hours that has me worried.
Need to know if this is doable on my worst -25C days or if I would need an ICE for crappier winter days. If I need the ICE I have to factor in those extra costs when comparing to a base Model S.
Thanks!

What about a generator? Can you leave one out with your car safely during a shift? It would be a heck of a lot cheaper than an ICE winter car.

I do 70km each way in Ontario, above 10C I can make it round trip on 1 charge with no problem. I do have a 120v plug at work though. When it was down to -6 and I blasted the heat I used 78% of the leaf battery to make it one way.

I think your best bet is the next volt. A lot of rumours but it should go 100km in good weather with that driving (The current cars can go 100km in good weather at 80km/hr).

 

[pkulak]

+1 on waiting for a 2016 Volt.

 

[GRA]

How does the Soul EV look for my worst case commute?

50km (31mi) from home to work, parked outside at work for 12 hours overnight, no charging available whatsoever, then 50km (31mi) back home. Can it be done in windy -25C (-13F) winter with snow covered roads?

Is this looking possible or should I be saving for a Tesla?

If you're talking about 2-inches of unplowed snow, that's a range killer. I don't think you'd make -15°C, let alone at -25°C.
At home, is there a heated garage? What speeds would you be driving? Is there no way to access even a 120V receptacle at work?.

No plugs at all at work. Park outside for my 12 hour shift.
Parked outside at home too.
Usually go 95km/h, 5 stop signs on the way, probably be going 80km/h if the roads were snow covered.
Trip is 50km each way...it's the parking for 12 hours that has me worried.
Need to know if this is doable on my worst -25C days or if I would need an ICE for crappier winter days. If I need the ICE I have to factor in those extra costs when comparing to a base Model S.
Thanks!

We just don't know yet, or to put it another way, 'insufficient data does not compute'. It should be better than a car like the LEAF which only uses a battery heater to protect the battery from freezing, but you postulate an extreme range degradation case for any BEV (or ICE car, for that matter), involving multiple variables. In a RAV4EV I'd think you'd be fine, but it'd take at least a Model S 60 to remove any doubt.

Personally I wouldn't chance it, and would go with a Volt or similar. The majority of your driving will be electric, with no need to debate whether or not you can use the heater/defroster and still get home, or even whether you can get home at all.

 

[hingisfan]

How does the Soul EV look for my worst case commute?

50km (31mi) from home to work, parked outside at work for 12 hours overnight, no charging available whatsoever, then 50km (31mi) back home. Can it be done in windy -25C (-13F) winter with snow covered roads?

Is this looking possible or should I be saving for a Tesla?

No plugs at all at work. Park outside for my 12 hour shift.
Parked outside at home too.
Usually go 95km/h, 5 stop signs on the way, probably be going 80km/h if the roads were snow covered.
Trip is 50km each way...it's the parking for 12 hours that has me worried.
Need to know if this is doable on my worst -25C days or if I would need an ICE for crappier winter days. If I need the ICE I have to factor in those extra costs when comparing to a base Model S.
Thanks!

We just don't know yet, or to put it another way, 'insufficient data does not compute'. It should be better than a car like the LEAF which only uses a battery heater to protect the battery from freezing, but you postulate an extreme range degradation case for any BEV (or ICE car, for that matter), involving multiple variables. In a RAV4EV I'd you'd be fine, but it'd take at least a Model S 60 to remove any doubt.

Personally I wouldn't chance it, and would go with a Volt or similar. The majority of your driving will be electric, with no need to debate whether or not you can use the heater/defroster and still get home, or even whether you can get home at all.

I test drove the 2014 Volt, hated the site lines in it, deal breaker for me. Much preferred my test drive of the Leaf. If the 2016 Volt has a different body style at all, I will check it out. I also would prefer not to deal with GM, as my local dealer has a horrible service department.

I would prefer to go all electric, but if it means I have to keep a winter ICE car going as well, that is not as attractive. I estimate $2500/year to run the winter car, taking into account gas, oil changes, rust proofing, insurance, plates, and repairs. If I span that over 12 years (minimum long I expect a new car to last), it adds $30k to the cost of my all electric vehicle. When looking at something like the Soul, that brings me up to 70k (CDN pricing). When I look at that number, I feel its a no-brainer to pony up the extra 10k to get into a base Model S 60 (or a used 85 with some options for the same price). The Tesla would also replace a lot of our family car driving, saving us even more on gas, plus of course be an amazing vehicle to drive and own.

 

[GRA]

I test drove the 2014 Volt, hated the site lines in it, deal breaker for me. Much preferred my test drive of the Leaf. If the 2016 Volt has a different body style at all, I will check it out. <snip>

Yes, major blind spots and restricted sight lines are a deal breaker for me also, but then I drive a 2003 Forester which has excellent visibility, and the current model is credited with having the best visibility of any current car (presumably excluding convertibles).

 

[RubberToe]

Never owned an electric car, so bear with me here...

I have been looking through the owners manual for the Kia Soul EV. I have a question about the "electric parking brake" (EPB). The owners manual says that to engage the EPB, you pull up this little switch that is very close to the main gear shift. You can then either push it down to disengage the EPB, or it gets automatically disengaged when you start the car up and shift into either R or D.

In my manual shifting ICE car, when I park I would either just put the emergency brake on (pull lever up) if I were on a flat surface, or do that and also leave the car in gear too, if I were on a slope for example. It isn't clear to me whether engaging the EPB is "essential" when leaving the car parked or not. I'm kind of assuming that it is, since I have no idea of what the rolling resistance of the car would be if I didn't do it, but a simple explanation would make me feel better if I actually knew what was going on. For example, if the EPB isn't engaged, could the car just roll away, or is there something preventing that? If so, what?

RT

 

[mwalsh]

I can't speak to the Soul, but there is a pawl in the transfer case on the LEAF that engages a gear when the vehicle is in "P". See it pictured here:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=14360&#p326112" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

However, this same type of thing is built into most automatic transmissions and it is never been a good idea to count on it solely. So I would say engage the parking brake and assume the Soul also has a pawl in whatever it uses for a transmission.

Edit: Thinking about it, you could probably also use a hamster as a chock for one of the wheels. :lol:

 

[nosuchthing]

It's just like your hand brake but it's electric. The auto makers did away with the big manual hand brake lever because it's an EV, so might as well make that a servo as well. Use it as you would use your hand brake in your ICE car.

I am not a big fan of this "improvement" so I don't use it at all, unless I was parked in SF on a steep street where I would use it for sure. Putting the shifter in P suffices to keep car immobile just like in an AT car.

Be aware that AT ICE cars roll if you leave the shifter in D. GM thought it was a great idea to keep things the same, hence so does the Spark EV. I haven't actually tested Soul, but I bet it does too (roll in D). Now, Leaf, on the other hand, does not. Once you power Leaf down it automatically shifts to P. I did like that feature a lot, you powered down and the car was immobile. Spark actually warns you (on screen) when you power down to shift to P or else...

 

[RonDawg]

It's just like your hand brake but it's electric. The auto makers did away with the big manual hand brake lever because it's an EV, so might as well make that a servo as well. Use it as you would use your hand brake in your ICE car.

Automakers are going with electric parking brakes even with ICEVs. The last two I rented (Chrysler 200 -- the new one, and a Buick La Crosse) both had this feature. Nissan's decision to go with a foot-operated parking brake on 2013+ Leafs is actually "retro."

 

[nosuchthing]

Nissan's decision to go with a foot-operated parking brake on 2013+ Leafs is actually "retro."

I did not know they did that. Mine was 2011. I hate those the most. I never notice it's engaged and force the car to move until I do, cuss, and release it (our 2008 CRV has it).

 

[donald]

I like ducks... :lol:

At this point anyone who claims Soul EV is not a compliance car is a sitting duck :lol:

Why are they selling them in Europe, then?

Kia has stated it is a global launch.

 

[dhanson865]

I like ducks... :lol:

At this point anyone who claims Soul EV is not a compliance car is a sitting duck :lol:

Why are they selling them in Europe, then?

Kia has stated it is a global launch.

Globalish.

When I can buy one in TN I won't think of it as a compliance car.

I'd have to drive 800-1000 miles to buy one from NJ/MD if I wanted to buy one now and I'd have to ship it home because the drive back would take days with L2 charging (five hours per 6.6KW charge x 8 or so + 13 hours driving) and would still be a marathon drive with chademo L3 charging.

 

[donald]

They sell it in the US. So what would make you say it isn't global?!!

Most of the US is California, so that covers it, I guess!

 

[nosuchthing]

It takes a lot of battery to make 1000s of these babies. Give Kia some breathing room to scale it up and abstain from making hasty conclusions based on no information!

Look at Tesla, building a whole factory to do it. Nissan started the same way back in 2010-11, fer god's sake. Soul EV is going forward. Worry not. All car makers ultimately want to sell the metal, no matter what it is, ICE or electric.

We have this car for 45 days now and already racked up over 3000 miles. That thing is going places!

 

[dhanson865]

It takes a lot of battery to make 1000s of these babies. Give Kia some breathing room to scale it up and abstain from making hasty conclusions based on no information!

Look at Tesla, building a whole factory to do it. Nissan started the same way back in 2010-11, fer god's sake. Soul EV is going forward. Worry not. All car makers ultimately want to sell the metal, no matter what it is, ICE or electric.

We have this car for 45 days now and already racked up over 3000 miles. That thing is going places!

lets just say as ugly as it is I'd still be willing to be seen in one just to stop driving a gas guzzler.

 

[nosuchthing]

Being a veteran of 2011 Leaf, my motto at this point is: give me the range and I'll lease. Soul EV is consistently at 95-101 miles - for now. That's all that matters to me.

 

[hingisfan]

Anyone have one in the cold with a winter range update???

 

[nosuchthing]

California cold or East Coast cold? Maybe one of a few lucky Canadians could report here on the latter.

As for CA 50's no change in range. Remember, there is TMS. It sucks warm air from the cabin and sends it to the battery compartment to keep it near optimal.

 

[hingisfan]

would love a hard core winter range review...maybe a bit early in the winter yet.