Category Archives: Soul EV

Kia Soul EV

Electric Kia Soul charges ahead

Electric Cars, Kia, Soul EV

NOT LONG ago mention of the “compact crossover” would have drawn blank faces all round.

Now annual sales of these quasi SUVs are set to rise to more than 600,000 in Western Europe by next year, with more than 150,000 of sales in the UK. The Kia Soul joined the party in 2009 to be superseded by the second-generation 1.6-litre petrol or diesel versions this year. However, its funky, boxy styling has not been a hit in the UK, so it’s something of a niche model here.

Kia hopes to make a bigger splash with this new Soul EV, though, which is its first battery-powered electric vehicle. Running on electricity alone, it is sure to be even more of a niche car, although not even Kia is pretending the Soul EV will be high up the sales charts. There is a very limited global supply from the South Korean factory and it will be available only through 13 specially trained dealers in its first year, but this is a car with an eye on the future and Kia is keen to get ahead of its mainstream rivals.

The Soul EV exterior is similar to existing Souls; the most noticeable differences being its blanked-off front air intake (hiding two charging ports), low-drag lightweight alloys with super-low-rolling-resistance tyres plus redesigned light clusters and rear bumper. Under the bonnet lies a 81.4kw electric motor (equivalent to 109bhp) that drives the front wheels via a single speed CVT automatic gearbox.

Housed beneath the floor in a protective casing is an air-cooled lithium-ion polymer battery with a storage capacity of 27 kilowatt hours (which is more than the BMW i3, Nissan Leaf or VW e-Golf). The battery can be recharged either from a standard 13amp wall socket, via the Kia-branded wallbox supplied as standard, at a public fast charger, or from a public rapid charger.

The combination of the two is enough to get the Soul EV from 0 to 60mph in 10.8 seconds and on to a 90mph top speed but the delivery of the electric motor means it feels punchier than those figures suggest.

The motor and drivetrain are also fabulously smooth and the car really couldn’t be easier to drive. The steering feels light but suitably weighted, while pick-up from low speeds is instant with very swift acceleration.

Meanwhile the feel of the brake pedal is linear and has none of the low-speed inconsistency that blights the regenerative braking systems of some other electric and hybrid cars. Weighing just 8kg over the standard turbo-diesel Soul, there’s little discernible difference on the move either.

Thanks to the retuned suspension the little extra weight it carries does not detract from the car’s nimble handling or comfy ride.

On the move, too, it’s eerily quiet and has a Virtual Engine Sound system which at low speeds apparently alerts pedestrians and cyclists to its presence, although we weren’t aware of it inside the car.

As with any all-electric car though, its maximum range is a concern. Kia claims a full charge gives the Soul EV up to 132 miles subject to conditions and driving style. Although 130 or so miles is good for a pure electric car, in practical terms the Soul EV is really only suitable for city or local use.

LOGBOOK LOWDOWN

Price: £24,995 government grant) Electric – 81.4kw 0 to 60mph in 10.8 90mph top speed : up to 132 miles emissions: 0g/km Ford Focus Electric, Leaf, VW e-Golf, Prius Plug-In 8/10 A full recharge takes 10 to 13 hours from a 230v domestic power supply or about five hours from a wallbox or at a public fast-charge point and recharging at a public rapid charger to 80 per cent capacity takes about half an hour.

During our largely urban drive the battery range held up well despite having the air conditioning on (the climate control system has an energy-saving driveronly function) and without being in full Eco drive mode.

REAR LEGROOM is slightly reduced due to the battery’s underfloor location, while the 281-litre boot is lowered because of an undertray housing the recharging cables. A tyre inflation kit replaces a spare wheel and there’s an EV-specific instrument cluster, but otherwise the interior is much the same as a normal Soul. So fit and finish is high standard, there is ample space and practicality plus good front seats.

The Soul EV will come in one spec grade, retailing at £24,995, including a £5,000 government plug-in car grant. This makes it the priciest Soul by £3,445, and more than the 170bhp 100-mile-range BMW i3.

On the upside, the electric Soul has touch-screen sat nav (showing charge point locations), a reversing camera, air con, DAB digital radio, voice recognition and music streaming; plus there are no road tax costs and highly reduced company car tax. If you can cope with the Soul EV’s range, it’s an enticing prospect.

LOGBOOK LOWDOWN Price: £24,995 (after government grant) Engine: Electric – 81.4kw Power: 0 to 60mph in 10.8 seconds, 90mph top speed Range: up to 132 miles CO2 emissions: 0g/km Rivals: Ford Focus Electric, Nissan Leaf, VW e-Golf, Toyota Prius Plug-In Rating: 8/10

Source: Express

Electric Car Recharging

Is now the time to buy an electric or hybrid car?

A3 Sportback e-tron, Ampera, Audi, BMW, e-Golf, Electric Cars, Formula E, Golf GTE, i3, i8, Kia, Leaf, Mitsubishi, Model S, Nissan, Opinion, Outlander PHEV, Renault, Soul EV, Tesla, V60 PHEV, Vauxhall, Volvo, ZOE

Best cars and options explored

The future of driving appears to be electric, with Formula E in full effect, supercars adopting hybrid drive systems and range getting further all the time. Fuel powered engines may have their days numbered. But is it time to make the change to electric?

Now that the big car manufacturers are creating hybrid and electric cars we can be assured that it’s the future. And thanks to infrastructure improving all the time for charging stations range isn’t becoming such a big issue. But last year’s Tesla owners won’t get updated with the latest self-driving tech of this year’s Tesla, not a very nice reward for early adopting.

So is it still too early to adopt? Are batteries in cars suddenly going to improve to make current models a joke? We’ve looked at what going on to help give you a clearer idea of what to do.

Pure electric cars right now

The selection of pure electric cars right now isn’t huge, but it’s more than ever before and range is now good enough for day-to-day use. Prices, in the UK at least, are kept reasonable thanks to government assistance taking £5,000 off the price and offering free tax. If you offset petrol costs too you’re saving even more.

At the top end there’s Tesla with its Model S boasting all wheel drive and self-driving smarts starting at around the £50,000 mark. But this is in a league of its own with sports car performance, plus the latest model is not actually going to be in the UK until July 2015, even if you can buy yours now.

Then there are established brands like BMW, Ford, VW, Nissan and Renault all making fully electric cars at affordable prices right now.
Range, charging times, price and power

When going electric most people will be juggling these few key numbers: range, charging time, price and power.

PRICE: Firstly there’s price, at which the Renault Zoe wins by a fair margin starting at £14,000. Nissan’s Leaf can be bought from £16,500, Kia’s Soul EV is £25,000, the VW e-Golf is from £26,000, and BMW with its i3 is from £31,000.

RANGE: The range winner, from the reasonably priced cars, is the Kia Soul EV with 135 miles. In close second is the Nissan Leaf with 124 miles. Coming in behind them is the BMW i3 with a 118 mile range along with the VW e-Golf also sporting a 118 mile range, followed by the Renault Zoe with 93 miles.

Of course if you include the Tesla Model S that wins with its base model eeking out an impressive 240 miles on a charge and its top end offering 312 miles a go. But you get what you pay for.

CHARGE: This is a fairly even playing field with the cars all offering a rapid charge to 80 per cent in half an hour. Across the board it’ll cost you to upgrade your home charger for faster charging but this can result in as fast as a 3-hour charge to full.

POWER: Electric cars deliver all their torque instantly and the engine directly powers the wheels, this means they feel really nippy pulling away. The Nissan Leaf utilises 107hp to do 0-60mph in just 7 seconds making it the quickest of the lot off the mark.

The BMW i3 has 170hp for a 0-60mph time of 7.2 seconds, the Renault Zoe has 83hp for a 0-60mph time of 8 seconds, and the VW e-Golf manages 0-62mph in 10.4 seconds thanks to its 114hp motor. In last place is the Kia Soul EV with its 108bhp delivering a 0-60mph time of 10.8 seconds.

So for price the Renault Zoe wins it, but for range and power the Kia Soul EV comes out on top.

Plug-in hybrid electric cars right now

Hybrids have been around for years with the Toyota Prius leading the way with its dual-drive system. These are now more common than ever with Uber drivers using Prius as the car of choice.

But the market has grown, especially recently, with plug-in hybrids that allow drivers to charge at home so they may never need to use the fuel engine, instead reserving that for long distance journeys only.

From the Volvo V60 Plug-in and Ford Mondeo Titanium Hybrid to the Golf GTE or the BMW i3 with range extender, hybrids are fast becoming viable alternatives to single engine cars. The extra you may spend on the new technology can soon be made back in the petrol and tax savings they offer.

Range, charging times, price and power

Plug-in hybrid cars mean less of a worry about range than pure electric while also offering power and a reasonable price.

As with the Tesla we’re not going to include the likes of the McLaren P1, BMW i8, Porsche 918 and Ferrari LaFerrari as they’re all reserved for the super rich. And we’re only using plug-in hybrids as straight hybrids are fast becoming outdated in favour of the electric only options and extended range of plug-in hybrids.

PRICE: The plug-in hybrid range have all arrived at a similar time with manufacturers savvy to the government’s £5,000 contribution. For this reason they’re all very similarly priced.

The winner, by a narrow margin is the Ford Mondeo Titanium Hybrid from £25,000, with Mitsubishi PHEV GX3h from £28,250 in second and closely followed by the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid from £28,395.

Then we have the Vauxhall’s Ampera from £29,000, Audi A3 Sportback e-tron from £35,000, BMW i3 Range Extender from £34,000 and Volvo V60 Plug-in hybrid from £45,000.

RANGE: Winning with an impressive 967 mile range is the Ford Mondeo Titanium Hybrid but it only manages around 20 miles on electric alone. Closely behind that is the BMW i3 with range extender that offers a 930-mile top end with pure electric for 105 miles, making it overall cheaper to run than the Ford. The Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid can manage up to 700 miles in one journey but loses on electric alone with just 15 miles on a charge.

Audi’s A3 Sportback e-tron can last for 585 miles with 31 of those miles on electric alone. Despite its size the Mitsubishi PHEV GX3h manages 500 miles with 32 on electric alone. Vauxhall’s Ampera eeks out 310 miles with between 20 and 50 of those miles on battery.

CHARGE: As in pure electric cars this is a fairly even playing field with the cars all offering a rapid charge to 80 per cent in half an hour. Across the board it’ll cost you to upgrade your home charger for faster charging but this can result in as fast as a 3-hour charge to full.

POWER: The Audi A3 Sportback e-tron, as the name suggests, wins this with a 0-62mph time of 7.9 seconds thanks to 204hp. The BMW i3 Range Extender model is second offering 170hp for 0-60mph in 7.9 seconds.

The Vauxhall Ampera does 0-60mph in 8.7 seconds with 148hp, despite having 178hp the Ford takes 9.2 seconds to get from 0-62mph, the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid gets from 0-60mph in 11 seconds from 134hp, the Mitsubishi PHEV GX3h does 0-60mph in 11 seconds and has 186hp.

The winner for price is the Ford Mondeo Titanium Hybrid but the BMW i3 takes it for range with the Audi offering the most power.

Future electric and hybrid cars

The future of electric cars and hybrid machines is looking positive. Charging infrastructure is cropping up all over the country with Tesla’s Elon Musk promising to install his Supercharger network UK wide by the end of next year.

Crucially, right now, it’s possible to drive pure electric all the way from the top of Scotland to the bottom of England thanks to fast chargers along the way. It might take a little longer than petrol cars since you have to stop for half an hour to recharge, but it won’t cost as much by a long shot. So adopting right now, especially if you’re going for a hybrid, isn’t as risky as it once was.

Another issue is batteries. Developments are being made more and more regularly as car manufacturers pour money into research. But worrying about having an older battery shouldn’t be an issue as, hopefully, manufacturers will be able to swap out old for new future-proofing any car you buy now.

Next year Tesla hopes to offer a car which is nearly completely self-driving. But since that’s out of the price range of most people current electric car offerings are plenty futuristic.

If you’re already driving a car and the cost of petrol and tax are proving too much then electric or hybrid could be your way out.

Source: Pocket Lint

2015 Kia Soul EV Video Road Test

The Hamsters are back, and they’re performing a science experiment that resulted in this: the 2015 Kia Soul EV. It’s one of the newest electric cars on the market, but what’s it like to use?

Let’s start with what makes the Soul EV different from any other Kia Soul to date: the powertrain. It’s driven by an 80-kilowatt electric motor (that’s 109 horsepower) that produces 210 pound-feet of torque. The motor is powered by a 27-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack mounted under the rear cargo floor.

According to the EPA, the Soul EV is rated at 93 miles of range, with an efficiency of 105 MPGe. In our testing, though, we’ve found it easy to beat the range rating and drive more than 100 miles on a charge.

At first, the driving experience is almost eerily quiet. There’s no whine during acceleration as you’ll hear in some other EVs. The pedestrian warning sounds are part light saber, part slow-motion crickets. Frankly, from behind the wheel, the Soul EV is a really nice-driving version of what’s already a smart car.

It feels quick, but it’s hardly scorching from a standstill. There’s more than enough power for any situation below 50 mph; above that speed, it feels about as powerful as the Soul with the base 1.6-liter gasoline engine.

The Soul EV actually handles much better than the gasoline-powered Soul, despite being more than 300 pounds heavier. There’s a more glued-to-the-pavement feel behind the wheel. But the low-rolling-resistance tires don’t have much grip—meaning that if you like to corner aggressively, you won’t enjoy the Soul EV to its fullest.

The car has two drive modes: D for drive and B for more aggressive regenerative braking. In D, or normal mode, it coasts reasonably well and you’ll feel a bit of idle creep when you lift your foot from the brake pedal. Pull the shift lever to B, and there’s a ton more brake regen here—to the point that if you aren’t a skilled ‘one-pedal’ driver, you may make your passengers’ heads bob.

So how do we get those electrons into the Soul EV? Using a 240-Volt, Level 2 charging station, you’ll take five hours or less to charge the battery pack. But there’s a CHAdeMo DC fast-charging port as well, which lets the Soul EV go from empty to an 80-percent charge in just 33 minutes. If you don’t have either of those options available, you’re looking at about 20 hours on a standard 120-Volt outlet.

Inside, the Soul EV benefits from all the updates in the second-gen Soul. The cabin is well packaged, and four adults won’t have a problem fitting inside for a road trip—and there even heated rear seats. Need more cargo room? The rear seats fold forward, and while the cargo floor isn’t completely flat, it’s close enough.

The interface in the Soul EV is quite simple on the surface. The gauge cluster has a stable, predictable estimated-range meter, a battery-charge percentage meter, a speedometer, and a reconfigurable display in the middle. All the in-depth features are accessed by hitting an ‘EV’ button on the center stack, which brings you to a screen of EV-centric options. They’ll let you figure out where the closest charger is or set times for recharging overnight, when your electric rates may be lowest.

So what’s the bottom line on the 2015 Kia Soul EV? It may have the best usable driving range outside of a Tesla Model S, along with wondrous versatility and more interior room than other electric cars its size.

Read more: Green Car Reports

The New Kia Soul EV in ‘The Electric Takeover’

From Kia Motors: When it comes to paying for fuel, we know it can be pricey. So imagine our driver’s reactions when we covertly took over a petrol station and only charged them £2.80 – the amount for a full charge of a Kia Soul EV.

Watch what happened when we charged ordinary drivers extraordinary prices for their fuel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qayjUsksu6w

Kia Soul EV

Kia Soul EV UK first drive review

Electric Cars, Kia, News, Reviews and Comment, Soul EV

Smooth, refined and responsive, but some way behind the new EV models from Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen in nearly all areas

What is it?

This is Kia’s first production electric vehicle, based on the familiar high-roofed Soul hatchback. Like all other Kia models, the Soul EV will get the same seven-year warranty which is a market first for battery-powered vehicles and should help reassure potential purchasers.

In the conversion to battery power, the core of the Soul – the conventional internal combustion engines, transmission and heating system – have all been dumped, the front and rear styling revamped and the structure reworked.

While the upper body structure is carried over, it has been further beefed up with extra strengthening in the B-pillars and sills. Five extra crossmembers have also been bolted across the floorpan to increasing the rigidity of the bodyshell by 27 per cent.

The Soul EV also gets a restyled front end and a plastic insert in the grille space, which opens up to revealed the twin charging sockets. The rear bumper and tailgate have also been restyled and LED rear lights have been added.

Inside, the dash is all new and built of higher-quality materials than the conventional models. The EV version gets OLED digital instruments, a large centre touch screen, a rather shapely steering wheel and a new shift lever and surround.

The 27kWh lithium ion polymer battery pack is packaged under the floorpan. Charging from a UK domestic socket could take up to 13 hours. Kia UK is, however, suppling owners with a wallbox charger, which should reduce charging time to around five hours. It is also fitted with a Japanese-standard Chademo fast-charging socket, which can deliver an 80 per cent charge in 33 minutes.

Kia engineers created a new low-energy heating and ventilations system based on the heat pump principle which also allows heating and ventilation to be restricted to just the driver, saving energy.

The 109bhp, 210lb ft electric motor drives a single-speed transmission and Kia claims a 0-60mph time of 10.8sec and a top speed of 90mph. The combination of the polymer battery cells and the new heating system will stretch the potential driving range out to 132 miles.

What is it like?

While the Soul EV delivers the typically compelling electric car dynamic of smooth and torquey performance and a quiet cabin, the whole package feels somewhat dated.

Had this car been launched three years ago, it would have been easily class-competitive with the Nissan Leaf. But the world of the EV has moved on rapidly and the new Volkswagen e-Golf and Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive are better cars than the Soul EV.

The two German models feel more refined both in terms of cabin ambience and ride quality, the drivetrains perform better and both cars have far superior handling.

The cartoonish looks might, of course, not matter to many potential buyers, but the clinching argument is that the entry-level VW e-Golf is only just over £1000 more than the Soul EV; the B-Class Electric Drive costs around £2000 more, and the excellent BMW i3 only a few hundred pounds more.

That’s not to say the Soul EV has nothing going for it; quite the opposite, in fact. In addition to its EV driving and performance traits, the lofty driving position and boxy styling make it easy to position in busy city-centre traffic.

Should I buy one?

If you are going to buy an electric car, it would be hard to find a compelling argument for the Soul over rival models. It does everything pretty well, aside from suffering a somewhat disturbed ride on poor roads, but is short of EV class leadership.

Kia has modest sales targets for the Soul EV, with next year’s sales tipped to be 100-200 units, the cars only being sold through a select 13 dealers who applied. Despite the £24,995 price (including government grant, battery pack, wall charger, Chargemaster account and generous standard spec), Renault’s Zoe and the Nissan Leaf also benefit from buying packages that make EV ownership even more affordable.

As it stands, the Soul EV, as competent as it is, is neither the best to drive nor the best value.

Source: Autocar

Kia Soul EV (Image: Kia)

Kia Soul EV review

Electric Cars, Kia, News, Reviews and Comment, Soul EV

Driving the Kia Soul EV round central London made petrol and diesel power seem so yesterday. You actually feel sympathy for people driving around in Bentleys. Kia says it has been working on electric vehicles for 30 years, but only now thinks the time is right to make one available to the public. Kia, which now sells nearly three million cars a year, is starting in a typically small way with intended annual sales expected to be around a couple of hundred.

If you need a compact electric SUV crossover hatchback, the Kia Soul is it. As with all Kias, the Soul EV has a seven year warranty which should give confidence about the life of the battery pack.

Performance

With acceleration to 60 mph taking 10.8 seconds the Kia Soul EV has adequate performance for a town car especially with town planners’ mania for traffic lights. Performance is smooth and serene and in mode B the regenerative braking is strong. Drive and Brake modes can also be operated in Eco mode to help maximise the car’s range. Maximum speed is claimed to be 90 mph but there was no opportunity to verify this.

The permanent magnet synchronous AC electric motor produces 109 bhp from 2,730 rpm to 8,000 rpm, while maximum torque of 211 lbs ft arrives instantly and continues until 2,730 rpm. Claimed class-leading energy density of 200 Wh/kg gives the car a projected range approaching 132 miles.

Handling

The rack and pinion power steering is quick and light and the car’s shape (and reversing camera) makes it easy to manoeuvre into parking spaces. A button push makes the steering even lighter for parking. The 275 kg battery pack has actually improved the handling of the Soul. Not only has it lowered its centre of gravity but the weight distribution of the Soul EV has been altered slightly too.

It is several percentage points less front heavy though you don’t really notice a difference on a slow speed town drive. The suspension settings felt stiffer which helped cornering precision. Braking, with large discs front and rear, was predictable and progressive.

Read more: Next Green Car

The Fast Lane Reviews 2015 Kia Soul EV

A US-centric review by The Fast Lane.

The 2015 KIA Soul EV is the all electric version of the new KIA Soul. With a range of 94 miles and a 105 MPGe this new electric car is KIA first crack at an EV. Like many other manufacturers KIA plans to sell the 2015 KIA Soul EV only in California which of course begs the question: Are electric cars the wave of the future? You find out by checking out Roman’s first drive review of the new 2015 KIA Soul EV.