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Soul 64 First edition specifics

9K views 41 replies 19 participants last post by  shikoku14 
#1 ·
I'm lining up a potential replacement for the naughty Corsa already. It's between the id3 and the Soul EV first edition I think.

I had a Soul EV before so I want to check a few things.

Front parking sensors are missing on the First Edition spec - is that correct? If so can you see the end of the bonnet from driver's seat easily? In the Zoe I couldn't so lack of front parking sensors was annoying at times.

Remote pre condition - can you do it when the car is unplugged from a charger and what is the minimum percentage it will pre heat at? Corsa is 50% minimum which is a monumental PITA. Corsa App does sort of work for checking battery status, changing charge times etc. I'd want the same with the Soul.

Auto wipers - can you just leave them in auto and expect them to work? Corsa you can't. They have to be turned off and on again all the time which makes having them called Auto a total con. Leaf and Zoe I could leave in Auto and they generally worked without much messing from me.

While rapid charging can you switch the car on and use the heater and AV system for as long as you want? Corsa you can and that is essential. I don't imagine I'd do much public charging in the Soul but it's always useful to know you can keep warm if you have to.

Bluetooth music. In my original Soul when you got into the car you always had to fanny about selecting the source as it was too dumb to remember you used bluetooth and would blare the radio at you rather than pick up where you left off. Corsa does the same and I hate that. I need a car that will automatically re-connect to bluetooth and carry on playing music where it left off and stay muted until it does. Leaf and Zoe both managed that without any interference. It's a really trivial thing but I find it annoying when it can't do what any old cheapo after market head unit can do.

Apple car play I don't really use but I assume it's wired and not wireless?

Is the dash display fully digital so you can display a map of where you are in that screen? Corsa does this and it's really useful when you are going somewhere you haven't been before as the route is highlighted and easier to follow than having to look across to the main AV head unit display.

Are the LED headlights plain auto dipping ones or the light shaping fancy matrix ones? The light shaping ones are quite something. Corsa has those and the Leaf ones were good but the Corsa ones are a step up in usefulness. Auto dip function seems better as well.

Reversing camera - does it do the fake 360 and fill in gaps or is it just a normal reversing camera? I miss the full top down view on the Leaf.
 
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#2 ·
Lots of questions so hard to answer!
No front sensors
Yes, can precondition
Yes, can use HVAC when charging
Dashboard is digital but map display only on central screen. Directions are repeated on HUD
Bluetooth works fine, remembers source
Carplay & AA are wired
LED headlights auto dip only
Reversing camera gives std rear view only
Why not go for a test drive?
 
#3 ·
I'd rather get facts about the car from folk that own them and drive them first as they tend to actually know how the car behaves in reality rather than how it does in the manual... I'd never find out all that lot on a short test drive. Some things you want to know are only possible by talking to people who own and drive them for long enough.

The minimum percentage for the battery to precondition question is usually the one that flummoxes sales people. I've given up asking them much at all as they often just don't know the answer to that or basic questions about charge speed and whether you can run the heating while rapid charging.
 
#4 ·
Have never actually noticed whether the pre-heat stops working at low battery, i only use it unplugged as I don't have a home charger - have certainly used it below 50% but probably haven't used it below 30% as I've only got there a couple of times.
Seat is quite high so yes you can see the front - but test drive will show you that
Yes heating/infotainment can be used whilst on rapid charge
Auto wipers seem to work >95% - have had a couple of occasions when I've had to wake them up (tweaking the 'speed')
Route directions on dash and hud are ok - lane, turn arrows, distance to turn etc.
Reverse camera view has adjacent sensor view
 
#5 ·
@finchlean has covered most of it perfectly. I would only add

a. Yes remote pre-condition works without being plugged in. I don't know of any minimum SOC limit but if not plugged in it will only run for 15 minutes.

b. Yes the auto wipers stay 'on'. i.e. they work when you get in the car without having to do the off-back on thing. But the auto full beam doesn't- it has to be activated with a push forward of the left stalk. Then it is on (assuming your lights are in auto mode in the first place). Which is the exact opposite of how it worked in my last ICE, where the auto lights were on but the wipers needed the off and back on thing. To be honest, I think there is a valid reason for having to arm the wipers before they work. What if it is raining when you first get in the car but the wipers are frozen to the windscreen? If I have to re-activate one of them I would have preferred it to be the wipers.

c. I can see the end of the bonnet from the drivers seat quite easily. I have no need for front sensors.

d. The LED lights are standard dipping ones but they are good quality.
 
#9 ·
The front sensors missing from the new Soul was annoying coming from the previous Soul. However it really hasnt been a problem as having had the previous Soul its essentially the same bonnet and so you just know where the front is. It doesn't ride as softly as the old Souls but has better handling, not a fan of the glossy black scattered around the cabin and its all black inside too. Apart from that superior in every way to the old Soul and the joy of driving at proper motorway speeds and still get over 200 miles in winter, with 22 degrees a/c, and 240 miles in summer never gets old. You can get the 280 miles WLTP if you stick to slower speeds but I had enough of that in the old Soul. It looks much better in the metal than in pictures also.
 
#10 ·
Hope the OP doesn’t mind too much me hijacking a bit but I’m also starting to contemplate a next car and the Soul is one option under early consideration.

Bit of a left field question, but is anyone please able to tell me whether the default reference consumption in ABRP (2.94mi/kWh at 65mph) is reasonable, or if not, what do you use? I’ve seen someone mention setting it to 3.5mi/kWh somewhere before, and 2.94 feels really low.

Im just tying to get an accurate idea of how much time would be shaved off longer journeys in the Soul vs my current i3 for which I use 3.8mi/kWh.
 
#15 ·
Just to jump in on this, I was surprised at the insurance group on the new Soul EV is 34! Thats higher than the e-Niro's 29 and the Kona's 26, anyone have any idea for that discrepancy? The old Soul 30kWh was Group 18.
 
#16 ·
Someone posted info on twitter that 900 odd niros were sold and only 90 odd Soul Evs in the same time. They're not very popular at all. Maybe the insurance costs are one reason they're less popular. The 0-60 time is much quicker than the first generation ones. The Niro is far more practical and available in multiple trims and not just one which really doesn't help the Soul. I assume a lot of folk are waiting for more choice and Kia are waiting until so many are sold so it's a stand off.

In the end I changed to another Corsa and a lot of the weirdness has gone. Auto wipers you have to turn off and on again remain the most stupid decision ever.

Glad I didn't get an id.3 as they seem even more riddled with problems than the Corsa.
 
#18 ·
Someone posted info on twitter that 900 odd niros were sold and only 90 odd Soul Evs in the same time. They're not very popular at all. Maybe the insurance costs are one reason they're less popular. The 0-60 time is much quicker than the first generation ones. The Niro is far more practical and available in multiple trims and not just one which really doesn't help the Soul. I assume a lot of folk are waiting for more choice and Kia are waiting until so many are sold so it's a stand off.

In the end I changed to another Corsa and a lot of the weirdness has gone. Auto wipers you have to turn off and on again remain the most stupid decision ever.

Glad I didn't get an id.3 as they seem even more riddled with problems than the Corsa.
I think of my Soul as being exclusive rather than unpopular 😁
Aston Martin would love to sell 90 cars/year!
 
#22 ·
I can understand why many choose the Niro, bigger boot for family buyers and more 'normal' looking. As a household without pushchairs and all the stuff that goes with it we dont need a big boot and as such the Souls shorter length were positives for us. As for looks I find the Niro, capable as it is, is somewhat boring to look at and comes in a rather boring limited range of colours for some reason. Whereas the Soul is a more interesting shape with better colouurs to choose from. Side by side I would go as far as to say you wouldnt think they were both made by the same company really. Having owned 2 Soul EVs before I dont think the depreciation will be any different to the Niro over time. The buyers for both are different and will be looking for Short and quirky or bigger and more conservative. Our dealer mentioned that Soul buyers tended to be couples either youngish with no kids or older and buying with cash compared to families leasing the Niro, which makes sense.
 
#29 ·
I just picked up a Soul EV after a year and half with a 40kWh Leaf. So I can’t really comment much after only 60 miles but from previous experience with auto wipers on a 5 series BMW and the Leaf, they’re both the same they never work as you want them.
Niro compared to Soul, the obvious choice is the Niro with more boot space. You would have to get either the Niro 3/4 to get the same level of equipment. The main reason I bought the Soul is it is different, it’s styling is very unique, almost marmite I guess, you’ll either love it or hate it. The first Leaf was unique but the front of the latest Leaf and the new Micra is pretty much identical.
 
#31 ·
Hi all, first post.

Had my Soul EV since June 20

Average through the summer was 4.2m/kw now averaging 3.8m/kw when I reset in Nov so pretty impressed with that.

Preconditioning is great, and the fact you can do it via the app even when nowhere near the car is fab.

One tip - if the car is plugged in, if you ‘over condition’ then you use less power after that - what I mean is that in winter if it’s bitterly cold, I just set the temp for 27 degrees - then when I unplug I turn off the heaters and turn off the fan. All the plastics in the cabin are toasty, and slowly give off that heat so I can do about 5m without any heater at all, the. I set it for 21.5 and use the heated seat on 1 (not high) which runs off the 12v battery not the drive battery...... makes a big difference to range.

I did the same in summer, chill the cabin to minimum, then the plastics are not red hot, which means the air con doesn’t have to work as hard.

Make sure after setting the climate to on you re-click “turn on charging” again just to make sure you don’t drain the battery as I think once charging stops you have to manually re-start it.

Love the range on the car and the performance in Sport although I drive 99% of the time in ECO - still more than quick enough.
 
#32 · (Edited)
..... and use the heated seat on 1 (not high) which runs off the 12v battery not the drive battery...... makes a big difference to range.,,,,,
Good tips there, but I think a misconception about the heated seat, and, indeed, anything else which runs off the 12V system. When the car is in "ready" mode, the traction battery constantly replaces what is taken out of the 12V system via the DC-DC Converter, so 12V power consumption does affect range.
 
#34 ·
If you can live with the boot space (only a minor regret for me as this replaced a Mazda MX-5), the Soul EV is easily the best value of the current gen Kia/Hyundai platform. Yes, the new Ioniq and EV6 look amazing, but they are nowhere near as cheap and certainly not available on the same sort of lease and PCP deals as the Soul currently is.

The First Edition spec is pretty amazing. Yes it would be nice to have front sensors, and maybe a pan roof, but it wants for nothing else.
 
#35 ·
I’d echo the above, I went from an MG ZS EV back to a Soul (I’d previously had a 30kWh) and honestly I’ve not missed the extra boot space. Rear passenger room is the same, but for me the killer features are seat comfort (on the couple of occasions I’d driven the ZS more than an hour I could tell I wasn’t going to get on with the front seat long distance, which is a hard thing to judge on any test drive) , predicable motorway assistance with the cruise control, and (at present) range to spare. Having 11 speakers in a car that size seems a ridiculous excess and yeah sorry ID.3 owners to bring that one up 🥳

I did have to take some 2 meter plus IKEA bed frame to the recycling centre yesterday.The Kia wasn’t up for the job (neither was my neighbours Leon estate, which they offered to lend us) but my mums 2016 Honda Jazz won out thanks to the magic seats in the back and being able to drop the front passenger seat so it was fully reclined (why can’t all cars do this, it would save people feeling they needed massive estates / SUVs for the occasional long item haul).
Which again shows it’s not always the size of the package it’s how it’s used (it Honda make a 200 mile EV Jazz and can keep the flexibility of the interior space, that would be all the car you’d ever need)
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#36 ·
Which again shows it’s not always the size of the package it’s how it’s used (it Honda make a 200 mile EV Jazz and can keep the flexibility of the interior space, that would be all the car you’d ever need)
(I would buy a 200 mile EV Jazz in a heartbeat. Our 09 is very practical, fun to drive (4yo: jazzy is a racecar), even while it is underpowered. Rear speakers good enough 😊, and roomy inside. 4yo again: "jazzy is bigger than leafy" (panoramic roof helps, but also more space around the legs in the front. Magic seats: luggage space below rear bench is amazing. Jazz is 20cm shorter.... so well packaged. Drivers seat a bit meh for long distance, but we don't do that often).

Can the e Soul carry a roof box? (E Niro and Kona can, but couldn't find info on the soul).
 
#37 ·
It can carry a roof box, but as far as I know, nobody has made roof bars for the Soul when I last looked into it.

edit: it looks like you can now get them -https://kiapartsdirect.co.uk/parts/soul/kia-soul-ev-2020-on/accessories-kia-soul-2020-on/kia-soul-ev-2020-present-aluminium-roof-bars/
 
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#38 ·
It can carry a roof box, but as far as I know, nobody has made roof bars for the Soul when I last looked into it.
You are right, it has the attachment points, but I am not even sure if it is rated to carry roofbox (or type approved).
 
#39 ·
EV database say 100KG but I’d certainly want to check that with KIA UK (also get some clarity on those expensive roof bars from Kia parts before committing to buying them)
 
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#42 · (Edited)
I did a bit of digging and these are the roof bars that you can order from Kiaparts - Mobis Marketing Plattform they also provide the fitting instructions. In it they advise a 50KG load limit and a max speed of 80mph (but given I don't do that when unladen isn't an issue). My next step is to contact a Kia dealer and get them to confirm all this, but I may well be the canary down the mine for us on this one.

Edit: According to the manual (section 5 -135/6) it is 100KG roof limit, but that needs to be part of the 385Kg overall limit shared between passengers and luggage.
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