Took the 2015 Kia Soul EV out for a little drive to Lake Michigan. With winter taking hold, overcast skys and a dreary overlook will be the standard landscape for the next few months. The Soul EV is a California/Oregon car. Really happy that Kia brought one to Chicago through STI. Only a short four days so if it does not snow tomorrow, well run her down deep. The Soul EV holds a 27 kWh LG Chem Li-Ion providing more range - 93 miles per the EPA - than std. BEVs most may be used to reading about or driving. Thinking of the Leaf, Fiat 500e, Focus Electric, Fit EV... The Soul EV like many of its contemporaries arrives loaded. On the electric side of the fence, a 6.6 kW Level2 onboard charger and that big Level3 480V DC port just waiting to be used somewhere is mounted up front. Under the hood is a 109 HP synchronous AC motor doing the heavy lifting. For heat, the Kia folks went all out tech with a std. Heat Pump onboard. Does less range damage than a resistance heat for sure. A/C via an electric compressor as expected. Outside it is pure all-new Soul. Less boxy and more mainstream than before while still keeping the urban youth look of its predecessor. 16 alloys give it a more upscale appearance. Inside there are shades of modern - soft touch upper IP - mixed in with low rent materials - hard IP in the upper door trim, instrument hood, vent surrounds, pillar coverings and a really cheap looking and feeling headliner. The gray cloth door inlay material looks like faded gray Levis with a pewter like door handle and surround. I like this. Kia control stalks are always welcome and the glovebox is BIG. A sunglass holder rounds out the driver comforts. The std. large high res 8 central display with NAVI and UVO is bright, quick and beautiful. It has a very modern looking white plastic bezel surround and large toggles with large fonts. Like all UVO systems, pair it and all the stuff just works. Sirius XM, UVO e-servuces, USB and aux jacks, BT, EV charging station locations and an energy monitor round out the HW. Stereo has good highs but lacks a little on the low end. Better than most of the base stuff from other Asian OEMs for sure. When you hit the charge port door button, 1/4 of the grille pops out on a hinge allowing access to the ports. 60/40 split rear seats are nice. Loaded a 48 TV in it the other day and had to fold both down. Wheel chairs and walkers will not fit in the rear hatch section without folding down the seat(s) either. Little small but loads of volume with the seats dropped. They do not lay flat. The Soul EV is priced at a stiff $33,700 + $800 D&H. The only option it arrived with was mats all-around for an additional $125. All in, $34,625. Drove it for two days on short city suburban jaunts at 5 to 6 miles/kWh. It is going to provide huge range - 150 + miles? - despite temps in the 40s already. Start a vent fan and lose 5-miles estimated range immediately. Will have to check on the range calcs when I start up the heat pump. Even with the Souls short wheelbase, it does not pogo like the previous gen and the ride is actually surprisingly good. Curb apron entry test was positive with no bangs or clunks and it is responsive from a light. It is eerily quiet. It does not have the electric motor whine like the Prius PHEV and of course does not have an ICE spinning groan at 1,000 to 1,500 rpm during warm up. Really good job of NVH isolation by the Kia guys and gals in Korea. Charge on a 120V outlet from 68 percent to full took 8.5 hours. If you are not able to charge from a Level2 when the pack is near flat, you may be looking at 25 hours. This definitely needs a Level2 home charger if one were to find its way into a garage near you.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 21:59:55 +0000