KIA Soul EV 300 mile challenge! Including a rant about EV charging!

[@ItsmeItsstillme]

I wish i found you sooner. This is what everyone wants to know about each specific ev. Thank u

[@saltaroe19]

Last summer I drove 1300 km/807 miles in my 2022 Soul. The driving was for the most part highway between 80-110 km/hr. The average was 5,93 km/ 3,70 miles per kwh. And I definitely agree about the comfort. I have what is called Advanced Plus here, the Premium Soul.

[@ItsmeItsstillme]

In the real world whenever anyone comes home on a trip they refuel. Really this is doing really great

[@btnbiker]

My 64 klw Kona is spot on, showed 325 miles at last charge in this hot weather. I think the Koreans for magic elves which take care of battery management. I agree with you have a top up when you can rather than when you need to. When there is a hub on my route so I know there is a little chance of me having to wait I will call in for a quickie. Both wattup and charge finder clearly show the numbers of chargers to identify a hub

[@rajanpatel65]

I have a Soul Maxx 2022, and if I’m close to missing my destination by a few percents, dropping down to 60mph will easily bring back the mpkWhr above 4. On a few summer occasions where time wasn’t an issue I’ve been able to travel 198miles on 56% charge! The kia Soul is very efficient but not very aerodynamic so case of working out what’s best, charge or run slower. I’m 50/50 I’ll drive fast and recharge from 4-8%, or sometimes just hypermile and be amazed at how the GOM just doesn’t shift! Great car, just wish it was quieter, a little more aerodynamic and charged a little faster.

[@Koulis_]

I know this may not qualify as real world driving to most people but dropping motorway speeds down to 60mph really improves efficiency and makes a negligible difference to the ETA. If this was done I reckon you would have achieved your 300 mile range target.

[@ianemery2925]

I agree, the sit-up-and-beg driving position and windscreen angle, plus the big blunt nose means efficiency suffers at higher speeds; but then this is true for a lot of ICE cars as well; I drove 250,000 miles in a Toyota Previa, and the difference between 70 mph and 60 mph was around 20% more MPG, for not a lot of lost time on the 150-180 mile journeys I regularly did to various London airports from the Midlands. On 800 mile runs across central France, it could reach 40% improved MPG; although that might have been aided by their superior blends of petrol.

[@shuttayerface503]

Rapid chargers are expensive but that price is offset if being able to home charge before setting off

[@markparish9072]

Over the years the years they have done the same with diesel, Lpg and now electric. ps currently have a 12 plate diesel soul 38 mpg round black country recently dropped to around 35 in cold and merry hill shoppers but £60 for 3 weeks 300 mile in tra15 ffic. but have been watching Kia some interesting things coming. May be a while till I get one on the used market. I did see one like your test think it was a 15 plate for £15k.

[@stevecarter8869]

I live in Victoria BC Canada and I drive a 2020 Kia Soul EV and my wife drives a KIA eNero. My home charging costs me 9.5 cents/kW and rapid charging at Electrify Canada costs 0.27 cents per minute. I was Gob smacked at the cost to charge your vehicle. Yikes!

[@computerbob06]

Many thanks for this video. My diesel is about to die so I have to really look for cars now. I would like a full EV but can only really afford a 28kwh Ioniq/40kwh Leaf/Zoe etc which, as we drive 250 mile trips 2 or 3 times a year worry me, as it would probably mean 2 stops (1.5) to recharge and I don't really trust the UK's public network at the moment. I would like to be able to do that trip without a charge if needed or just one charge stop having the confidence that if I turn up to a charger and it's broken/blocked/queuing, I have the range to get to the next charger! The 1st Edition of the Soul is available for about £20k at the moment, so with a bit of PCP action, I could afford this car and knowing this opens up my options further. I was wondering if the Soul/Niro/Kona has had the same upgrade the Ioniq 5/6 and EV6 have had that let's them preheat the battery when a charge point is navigated to or not? Its a great car and a little nicely quirky for me!

[@chargeelectric9905]

Don’t be put off by the 28kwh battery in the original Ioniq. I had one as a company car and drove it all over the country. It goes further than Leafs with bigger batteries due to its efficiency. I was getting an easy 120 miles on the motorway, and due to the size of the battery, it charges very quickly on a rapid charger. I have great memories of that car. If you can get into a Soul or Niro 64kwh for your budget, they are fantastic electric cars with motorway range of 250 summer, 220 winter.

[@ianemery2925]

KIa have a software stop on rapid charging; if you wanted that extra 3%, you have to unplug and replug; it used to be about 84%, but they upped it to 97% sometime in the last 18 months; and it seems to be common across a range of Kia and Hyundai EVs, as my 2016 Soul's limit is now 97%. It does also vary on the SOC when you started, if the battery has above a certain %, it wont stop (I forget exactly what that % is) I did a 270+ mile trip to Manchester and back, a couple of weeks ago, and averaged 5.1 miles/KWh; cruising at 60-65mph in heavy traffic; obviously, with a ~92 mile original range, I had to charge 3 times; but one was a destination charger, so didnt cost me any time; the other two took 15 & 20 minutes, charging to 80%; the 20 minutes was via a fairly old BP Pulse charger that gives a max of 50KW, but only seemed to be giving 45 ish. I'm not sure about the new Soul, but on my old 2016 model, it doesnt matter if you only choose DC chargers on the KIA satnav - it will display both - and there is no way to filter out private chargers, or sort Rapid from Fast or Slow chargers - which is UTTERLY STUPID.

[@AhhGeeProductions]

Over the last 12k miles in my SoulEV Maxx, I've averaged a very respectable 4 miles per KWh. On the combined journeys I travel, I tent to average anywhere between 3.8 miles per kWh - 4.4 miles per KWh. I really enjoy driving in the Kia SoulEV, but this 'new' model doesn't offer the same value for money vs the 1st edition and MAXX. Both of which were available between £32-£35k. £38/£39k is too expensive and really pushes buyers into very competitive territory, especially with the NiroEV. I do however think that the Urban edition offers very good value as the lower battery model will easily perform at 4.5 KWh - 5.5 KWh in town / city driving, which for a £32k EV with a lot of space and comfort is a good proposition.

[@chargeelectric9905]

I agree. The Urban will make a great car for most people, but will be overlooked because everyone wants a big battery.

[@nigelgreenwood9010]

My energy tariff at home is 25p a kilowatt. How how do Instavolt get 75 pence and they’re not even on a motorway? Yes they have to turn a profit and they have costs but this seems excessive. If this was the petrol companies there’d be an enquiry

[@RuthSmart]

Does the Soul have a lot of driver alerts ?

[@colingoode3702]

EV's are not the best thing since sliced bread unless, you can charge from home only & do not have to use the public charging system. We have a 7kW home charger but no EV yet. We plan to get an EV later this year & run it as a second car for local trips only. Due to the stupidly high prices of new cars, & EV's in particular, our 1st EV will be a used model. Probably a Kona or something slightly smaller but whatever we land up with the price will be dictated by what we can get for our existing ICE car. I am adamant that the change to an EV must not involve borrowing any cash or taking out a PCP or HP etc. I will be keeping my petrol estate car for longer trips & holidays. Keep up the reviews of EV's. A vid on used models would be very interesting.

[@btnbiker]

They may not be the best thing since sliced bread but do remember there were. 26000 premature deaths in the UK from lung disease caused by air pollution. Seeing the increase in children admitted to hospital with asthma is what pushed me into the EV world

[@narinderchander]

Try looking into a Nissan e-powered car - ICE engine powering an electric motor. Might suit you.

[@markhoyle843]

Like with electricity petrol/diesel prices can change. There is no guarantee that diesel will be cheaper than electric and vice-versa. You have to think that with dwindling oil supplies petrol and diesel will get a lot more expensive over time. The other thing is that manufacturers need to llok at supplying smaller, more effecient cars. Too many SUV's in the electric car market. In addition there will be developments in battery tech which should make them cheaper to supply and provide longer range for smaller batterires.

[@autowiewiorka771]

Hello. It was very interesting experiment that you've done with both cars. I have a question as you drove both EV6 and KIA Soul. I wanted to know your feedback on which car has more relaxing feeling when driving for long distance (seat comfort, visibility at rear, dunamics, and whether fun to drive, etc)? If the budget is not an issue, which car do you recommend to drive between those two vehicles and also new KIA Niro if you have experienced it as well? Thank you in advance.

[@chargeelectric9905]

The Soul and EV6 are very different. Soul has better visibility all round and is perfectly comfortable. EV6 is better over long distances, handles better, charges quicker.

[@Hell-Hound1]

Ey up, nice informative video. But I think that your mini rant about EV charging costs were a tad unfair. True public charging is expensive, and EVs are thirstier at higher speeds. But overall an EV will be averaging 150+mpg when charged at home and in an urban/city environment, so combined mpg/cost is still in the EV's favour.