Release of Kia Soul EV

[WyVern]

Now the launch if the BMW i3 is out of the way and we can see it is limited in its appeal by offering only 4 seats, a limitation I'm happy with in my iMiev owing to its far more reasonable price.

Kia has now announced its Soul EV which, in ICE form, seats 5. Theoretically at least we now have an alternative to the Leaf in the form of an electric hatchback suitable for replacing our secondary ICE car, a Honda CRV.

Here's hoping they see sense and retain the 5th seat unlike the Volt, i3 etc.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows/wraps-come-kia-soul-ev-chicago-motor-show

A couple of open questions:

Is the 5th seat important to you when choosing a 'family' car?

The articles I have read on the Soul talk of a 27kw/h battery, but of a 5 hr charge time on 240v. Being used to the iMiev this doesn;t ring true, but I do not profess to know much, anyone care to confirm if this is possible on such a large battery?

Anyone know how the hell I can influence Kia to release this car in Australia, the US seems to hog all the best toys?!

 

[jray3]

Is the 5th seat important to you when choosing a 'family' car?
-Consumers are fickle; 5 seats is a benchmark, but we more often need to transport either four or six. When's the last time you saw a 6-seat sedan? (Mmmm, remembering the cushy velour front split bench seat on Grandma's 1980 Oldsmobile Diesel :roll: )

The articles I have read on the Soul talk of a 27kw/h battery, but of a 5 hr charge time on 240v. Being used to the iMiev this doesn;t ring true, but I do not profess to know much, anyone care to confirm if this is possible on such a large battery?
-No problem, a 24 amp 240V charger would do it, the LEAF now charges at up to 32 amps on L2.

Anyone know how the hell I can influence Kia to release this car in Australia, the US seems to hog all the best toys?!

-And we're always jealous of the Euro Models that never make it to the US! I think that paper letters are once again an effective tool. How much 'real mail' hits anyone's desk these days?

 

[Don]

The articles I have read on the Soul talk of a 27kw/h battery, but of a 5 hr charge time on 240v. Being used to the iMiev this doesn;t ring true, but I do not profess to know much, anyone care to confirm if this is possible on such a large battery?

We have a 3.3KW charger and a 16 KW battery - 16/3.3 = 4.84 hours. Add another 1/2 hour or so for balancing

Assuming they are using a 6.6 KW charger in the Soul (anything smaller would be pretty silly for a 27 KW battery) you'd have 27/6.6 = 4.1 hours, so yes, the rumored 5 hour charge time is likely correct

Don

 

[PV1]

I was wondering if Kia was going to jump in, or if they would follow Hyundai into hydrogen. Glad to see they favor electric.

There was one time we couldn't take the i-MiEV because of only four seats. Three adults and two kid seats won't quite fit.

 

[WyVern]

I was wondering if Kia was going to jump in, or if they would follow Hyundai into hydrogen. Glad to see they favor electric.

There was one time we couldn't take the i-MiEV because of only four seats. Three adults and two kid seats won't quite fit.

Note that Kia are hedging their bets on 'fuel mix'. Their badging includes Eco/Electric, Eco/Hybrid and Eco/Fuel Cell so expect some quite compelling products in the future. Also Hyundai/Kia are the same company so expect them to continue sharing drivetrains and models to gain volume and control costs. Make no mistake, Hyundai is in it to give Toyota a run for its money in the long term.

 

[WyVern]

The articles I have read on the Soul talk of a 27kw/h battery, but of a 5 hr charge time on 240v. Being used to the iMiev this doesn;t ring true, but I do not profess to know much, anyone care to confirm if this is possible on such a large battery?

We have a 3.3KW charger and a 16 KW battery - 16/3.3 = 4.84 hours. Add another 1/2 hour or so for balancing

Assuming they are using a 6.6 KW charger in the Soul (anything smaller would be pretty silly for a 27 KW battery) you'd have 27/6.6 = 4.1 hours, so yes, the rumored 5 hour charge time is likely correct

Don

Thanks for the clarification Don, I'll go back to trusting Autocar's reviews again

 

[WyVern]

-And we're always jealous of the Euro Models that never make it to the US! I think that paper letters are once again an effective tool. How much 'real mail' hits anyone's desk these days?

Hmm. Not a bad idea re: snail mail.

As for being jealous of the Euro models, I hear you.

The Aussie and Yank markets seem similar in their somewhat dull conservatism compared to the funky designs and niche models available to Europe and Japan, seemingly because of a fascination with having huge cars to travel on vast expanses of road present between large population centres; despite the fact that 95% of the time 95% of the population don't make those journeys.

 

[Mart]

The articles I have read on the Soul talk of a 27kw/h battery, but of a 5 hr charge time on 240v. Being used to the iMiev this doesn;t ring true, but I do not profess to know much, anyone care to confirm if this is possible on such a large battery?

We have a 3.3KW charger and a 16 KW battery - 16/3.3 = 4.84 hours. Add another 1/2 hour or so for balancing

Assuming they are using a 6.6 KW charger in the Soul (anything smaller would be pretty silly for a 27 KW battery) you'd have 27/6.6 = 4.1 hours, so yes, the rumored 5 hour charge time is likely correct

Don

Thanks for the clarification Don, I'll go back to trusting Autocar's reviews again

Certainly a better explanation than the typical car review of, "X hours on 120v, and Y hours on 240v" without mentioning how many amps (Attention reporters: volts times amps equals watts) or how much power the charger (Attention reporters: charger is in the car, not the EVSE) can provide.

 

[sandange]

I saw this article regarding the Soul EV, Thought I'd pass it on

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/02/06/2015-kia-soul-ev-chicago-2014/