Winter Commute

[DNAinaGoodWay]

There are dealerships about 70 miles away in CT that carry the Soul EV.

Really? Cool. Which one? My initial searching hasn't found it yet. I want to go test drive it. If you can get a good deal on it, it could do you for a couple years.
Still a long way to go if you needed EV service.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Ok, I'm finding Wallingford and Branford/New Haven, and just for fun asked for lease quotes by email.

Per this: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100376_kia-soul-ev-sales-expand-again-to-four-northeast-states may be the only two dealers authorized to have them in CT

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Asked both for lease quotes with $2500 down and Branford came back with the only good reply:

"Thank you for your request. For 12k miles at 36 months your payments are only $199 month plus tax. There is a total of 13,500 in cash rebates for this vehicle and I only have one left. "

Seems reasonable, but may be factoring in the CT rebate. I'd go for it if I wasn't already locked in.

That's this car: http://www.premierkiact.com/tcd/vehicles/Kia/Soul+EV/?tcdkwid=222742331&tcdcmpid=141077&tcdadid=78664569802&locale=en_US

Contact: Kimberly Seabrook
Business Development Consultant
Home of the Nationwide Lifetime Warranty
Premier Subaru Kia
[email protected]
203-315-2059

 

[tkdbrusco]

I just said to pass on it because the range isn't all that much greater compared to the cars coming out in the next year or two. Why go for 93 miles when you can get 107 on a 2016 leaf or 200+ on a 2017 Bolt. Especially if its a lease, you're locking yourself into a 3 year commitment that you can't escape to buy a Bolt or other 200+ mile EV.

 

[Jefe]

When I was first looking for an EV to replace my Prius, I was really worried about losing the cargo space the Gen 2 Prius has. So when I saw the Kia Soul EV, I thought it would be perfect. But when I saw a Soul in person, I was shocked at how compact it is. It looks much roomier in pictures, but the cargo area is tiny. The overall wheelbase of the Soul is a foot shorter than the Leaf.

 

[GRA]

Volt would be a good way to get halfway there until the longer range BEVs are affordable.

A Gen 2 Volt could probably do the round trip on the battery, except in winter, if above the engine start temp (35 deg. unless you alter the setting, then 15 deg., assuming that the Gen 2 Volt didn't alter the set points from Gen 1 - see https://www.chevrolet.com/content/dam/Chevrolet/northamerica/usa/nscwebsite/en/Home/Ownership/Manuals_and_Videos/02_pdf/2013%20Volt_ColdWeatherTips_Nov%2012.pdf

Gen, 1, one-way in winter if above the engine start temp, maybe 2/3rds - 3/4s of the round trip the rest of the year.

Some good tips on Volt cold weather ops: http://gm-volt.com/2016/01/14/cold-weather-pre-heating-engine-assisted-heating-procedures/

Is that based on Chevy specs, or Volt real world? I'm skeptical.

Both. GM said 13 mile range drop in winter, and real world reports about 25 miles +- of range ditto. e.g.

GM Discusses Chevy Volt 13-Mile Range Drop in Frigid Temps

http://insideevs.com/gm-discusses-chevy-volt-13-mile-range-drop-in-frigid-temps/

and the comments. Or Google 'Volt winter range', and enjoy. It can drop to 20 or maybe even less if you really try, but low to mid-20s seems common.

 

[GRA]

I just said to pass on it because the range isn't all that much greater compared to the cars coming out in the next year or two. Why go for 93 miles when you can get 107 on a 2016 leaf or 200+ on a 2017 Bolt. Especially if its a lease, you're locking yourself into a 3 year commitment that you can't escape to buy a Bolt or other 200+ mile EV.

The major advantages I see for the Soul EV over the 2016 LEAF SV/SL are an unambiguous capacity warranty, a TMS, and driver-only HVAC zoning which will save some energy when heating on a single-person commute. OTOH, it's also less aerodynamic than the LEAF, so freeway range will be reduced relatively more. How high the Soul EV's battery heater will raise the temp would be critical for the OP's application; this implies that it's brought up to normal operating temp to maintain full capacity, or nearly so:

Cold weather is notoriously hostile for a battery and the Soul EV features a battery heating system, which warms-up the battery while the car is plugged into the grid, prior to use. This helps to maintain optimum battery performance regardless of external temperature.

http://insideevs.com/full-details-released-on-2015-kia-soul-evs-advanced-battery/

The owner's manual has this to say, in slightly awkward Korglish:

The high voltage battery warmer system prevents reduction of battery output when battery temperature is low. If the charging connector is connected, the warmer system automatically operate according to the battery temperature. Charging time may shorten compare to vehicles without the high voltage battery warmer system. But, electricity charge may increase because of high voltage battery warmer system operation. The high voltage battery warmer system operates when the charging connector is connected to the vehicle. However, the high voltage warmer system may not operate when battery temperature drops below -35°C(-31°F).

The LEAF's battery heater only raises the battery temp enough to keep it from freezing, but not enough to provide full usable capacity.

That being said, if the OP can wait a year or so, the Gen 2 BEVs will provide considerably better long- term value.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

RI is adding EVSE at a good pace, with incentives for employers to install stations and get their own EVs.
https://www.zevstates.us/rhode-island-ev-infrastructure-deployment/

 

[ebuonaccor]

ok... Still doing research. I found a great lease deal for a brand new 107 mile Leaf. Do you guys think that would make my 46 mile round trip commute in the dead of winter? I have never leased and am shocked how low the lease rates are! I figure the lease would be best for me. As the battery starts to degrade my lease will end and I can get another EV with an even better range.

Another newbie question, I read somewhere that Nissan require you to buy and install their EVSE. Is that true? I can buy one on Amazon relatively cheap and my friend is an electrician and said he would install it for me. Thanks for all the great info guys! You guys are very helpful.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

A 2016 will do, no problem. You can install any EVSE you want, or none at all, there's no requirement.

Also, my battery shows no degradation at 17k. You're in a good climate for it.

 

[ebuonaccor]

Great.. Thanks again for the help!

 

[LeftieBiker]

ok... Still doing research. I found a great lease deal for a brand new 107 mile Leaf. Do you guys think that would make my 46 mile round trip commute in the dead of winter? I have never leased and am shocked how low the lease rates are! I figure the lease would be best for me. As the battery starts to degrade my lease will end and I can get another EV with an even better range.

Most of us are finding the lease rates for the 2016 to be terrible. What were you offered? And remember: the SV and SL have the bigger battery, but not the S. Also, if you lease and find that you like the car, the residual will be low (unless someone has offered you a low payment with a high residual) so you'll be able to afford to buy the car if it works out well.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Some of our dealers have been known to be less than honest, offering anything to get you into their showroom so they can practice their mind game magic on you. Like, offering a deal on a 2015 S when you asked about a 2016 SL. The dark side of the force.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Some of our dealers have been known to be less than honest, offering anything to get you into their showroom so they can practice their mind game magic on you. Like, offering a deal on a 2015 S when you asked about a 2016 SL. The dark side of the force.

Yes, and there is also often reason to believe that it's as much ignorance of the car (although not year!) as evil. Still, we don't seem to be encountering many cases of salespeople making "mistakes" that work for the customer...

 

[ebuonaccor]

I got a quote of $325 a month for the SV. I think that's good, but I have never leased so have nothing to compare it to. It is quite a bit less then if i purchased it. I will likely end up paying more, I need more then the 12K miles. What do you guys think?

 

[ebuonaccor]

DNAinagoodway, you said you have no battery degradation in Massachussetts. Do you charge to 80% or 100%? Do you use DCQC?

 

[bradbissell]

I leased a 2013 for almost 3 years. After 33 months and 38000 miles, I had between 2-5% degradation on the battery. The value fluctuates based on temperature. The weather in New England is perfect for EVs. Not to hot to cause battery degradation, but the winters are a killer. My range in the dead of winter was no more than 55miles (the resistive heater uses lots of power when the temps are below freezing).. My commute is 26 miles one way, so the LEAF worked well, but I did have charging at work. For ease of mind, I would charge to 80% at home and then to 100% at work. This made it so I was mostly charging at work and using their electrons. In the summer I was able to charge only at work which was a huge electricity savings.

If you are looking at leasing a Leaf, only look at the 2016 SV or SL. The larger pack would get you through the winter, and the range in the summer would be very close to 100miles.

I do think a Volt is a good option, and one that I took due to range concerns for emergency trips to Maine. I'm running on battery for my commute, but that is because I can charge at work. Real world winter range in the Gen2 is ~40 miles. So far I've only used gas on the day I got the car (the dealer didn't charge the car) and the one day I forgot to charge at home. Overall, the Volt is a very nice car, and a good option for people with range issues. I will however state that I liked my Leaf better, even though the Volt seems to be better built, and will be getting a full BEV with 200 mile range when my lease is up.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

DNAinagoodway, you said you have no battery degradation in Massachussetts. Do you charge to 80% or 100%? Do you use DCQC?

Here, read from this post and the posts that follow, and you'll see: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=17459&start=460#p449569

$325/month is what they're getting now, because it's new and people will pay it. At the end of the year, when 200 mile cars arrive, this same car might lease for $200/month.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

There are still some 2015's around. That's your best bet for a good deal, and it will do your commute in winter. As a test, I've been doing 35 miles a day this week, temps in teens and twenties and stiff winds, highway speeds up to 80, and heat at 75, averaging 3.0 m/kWh, and still have 40% left when I plug it in, so I'm sure you could do your commute.

 

[LeftieBiker]

The weather in New England is perfect for EVs.

Not anymore - at least not the Summers. When it's 90F in the daytime and only drops into the high 70s or low 80s at night, that's battery degradation weather. I often find myself planning to recharge my car at 2:00am, or even later.