2017 Soul EV page is up (kinda)

Looks like the wheel inserts are darker, but otherwise looks the same. No specs though...

http://www.kia.com/us/en/vehicle/soul-ev/2017/

I saw this a few days ago, and things look pretty much the same (regarding battery and etc).

Oh you're right just saw the page on charging. So really just new wheels!?!

I was provided this not too long ago: http://www.mykiasoulev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=534#p4850

EDIT: I do like the darker rims better IMHO. Even though my car is white, and therefore everything matches, I would prefer contracting colors.

Lee Johnson in Kirkland just got their first '17. I bought the last '16

vanillagorilla said:

Lee Johnson in Kirkland just got their first '17. I bought the last '16

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I got mine used from there!

Kia Soul EV is getting a new 35 kWh battery in Korea this year.

` Soul EV` also increases the battery from 27㎾h to around 35㎾h. Considering that the fuel cost per kWh of the battery is usually 6 to 7.5 km, it is expected to run more than 250 km.
...
` Soul EV` new battery models are expected to be sold in the first half of this year.

원문보기:
http://m.etnews.com/20170119000323#csidx4c21ec26deeea3a8e9bdbc3860a80b9

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Hi Jychevyvolt, welcome to the forum.
Are you also in Korea?
Maybe I'll see you at the Jeju EV expo in March.
If a new battery for the Soul EV exists it is likely to be announced there.

Jychevyvolt: Don't know why I thought you were in Korea.
I should have remembered this post which was a reply to me from the Ioniq forum.

Jychevyvolt said:

I have a 80 mile commute in Southern California.

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Jychevyvolt said:

Kia Soul EV is getting a new 35 kWh battery in Korea this year.

` Soul EV` also increases the battery from 27㎾h to around 35㎾h. Considering that the fuel cost per kWh of the battery is usually 6 to 7.5 km, it is expected to run more than 250 km.
...
` Soul EV` new battery models are expected to be sold in the first half of this year.

원문보기:
http://m.etnews.com/20170119000323#csidx4c21ec26deeea3a8e9bdbc3860a80b9

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

From what I can see, we (the US) are usually around 9-12 months behind Korea. So the 2017 model will possibly be out soon, and the website doesn't say anything about a increase, just some minor fixes from the previous years. So it looks like at least Jan/Feb 2018 from what someone else stated already would see a increase.

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The 2017 Soul EV was released in Korea last August. There is already a thread about this - Any hints about 2017 release date?

The latest rumours are about the MY2018 Soul EV which has not yet been released.
Previously we heard a rumour that the battery would be increased by 30%. (That would be about 40kWh total capacity)
Latest rumour is 35kWh total capacity.

JejuSoul said:

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The 2017 Soul EV was released in Korea last August. There is already a thread about this - Any hints about 2017 release date?

The latest rumours are about the MY2018 Soul EV which has not yet been released.
Previously we heard a rumour that the battery would be increased by 30%. (That would be about 40kWh total capacity)
Latest rumour is 35kWh total capacity.

Click to expand...

Maybe it is 40 kWh, but only 35 usable. Just like for us, its 30, but 27 usable. Either way, its great to see a increase regardless. At 35, that would net me around 108 miles (3.1 mi/kWh * 35) based on NE USA cold weather. As time goes on I am slowly becoming less "range anxious", and more about planing my route better and knowing the charging stations in the area.

JejuSoul said:

Hi Jychevyvolt, welcome to the forum.
Are you also in Korea?
Maybe I'll see you at the Jeju EV expo in March.
If a new battery for the Soul EV exists it is likely to be announced there.

Jychevyvolt: Don't know why I thought you were in Korea.
I should have remembered this post which was a reply to me from the Ioniq forum.

Jychevyvolt said:

I have a 80 mile commute in Southern California.

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Good memory jeju. My wife wants a crossover SUV and I'm pushing for the Soul EV or the Niro EV. Does the Niro ride high like other SUVs?

Jychevyvolt said:

I'm pushing for the Soul EV or the Niro EV. Does the Niro ride high like other SUVs?

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The Niro EV hasn't been announced yet. I haven't seen one, and haven't driven one. I have no idea how it rides. Although presumably it will be the same as the Hybrid. There is a separate thread for the Niro EV - Kia Niro EV to launch later this year

Are you replacing a Chevy Volt? What is your impression of plugin hybrids?

JejuSoul said:

Jychevyvolt said:

I'm pushing for the Soul EV or the Niro EV. Does the Niro ride high like other SUVs?

Click to expand...

The Niro EV hasn't been announced yet. I haven't seen one, and haven't driven one. I have no idea how it rides. Although presumably it will be the same as the Hybrid. There is a separate thread for the Niro EV - Kia Niro EV to launch later this year

Are you replacing a Chevy Volt? What is your impression of plugin hybrids?

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The Chevy Volt is one of the best cars I've owned but I want to eliminate all gas usage. I would keep the Volt if our company installed some charging station, like they promised, before the buyout. In 4 years, I've done 2 oils change and 1 tire change.

The ideal combination, for the US household, is a PHEV/HEV SUV and a BEV commuter. For example, I would buy a BEV for my 80 mile commute and my wife would get the SUV for her 1 mile commute. Any road trip would be done in the SUV because of space and the quick refueling.

Jychevyvolt said:

JejuSoul said:

Jychevyvolt said:

I'm pushing for the Soul EV or the Niro EV. Does the Niro ride high like other SUVs?

Click to expand...

The Niro EV hasn't been announced yet. I haven't seen one, and haven't driven one. I have no idea how it rides. Although presumably it will be the same as the Hybrid. There is a separate thread for the Niro EV - Kia Niro EV to launch later this year

Are you replacing a Chevy Volt? What is your impression of plugin hybrids?

Click to expand...

The Chevy Volt is one of the best cars I've owned but I want to eliminate all gas usage. I would keep the Volt if our company installed some charging station, like they promised, before the buyout. In 4 years, I've done 2 oils change and 1 tire change.

The ideal combination, for the US household, is a PHEV/HEV SUV and a BEV commuter. For example, I would buy a BEV for my 80 mile commute and my wife would get the SUV for her 1 mile commute. Any road trip would be done in the SUV because of space and the quick refueling.

Click to expand...

I agree with this. My wife has the Ford C-Max Energi and I have the Soul EV.

At this moment, if we were to take a trip, we would use the C-Max Energi. Granted its not a SUV, but the fact that we can refuel quickly is great and my wife won't keep on looking at the gage of my Soul EV is awesome in its self. I am not saying I am against 100% EVs... heck I have one and I love it. The two things IMHO that prevent EVs going really mainstream are range and charge time.

Anyway, back to the topic...

New brochure came out for 2017:

http://www.kia.com/us/k3/content/media/all/vehicles/soul-ev/brochures/Soul_EV_2017.pdf

Now I wish we can get the "less annoying" DC fast charge for the 2015, and 2016 Soul EVs...

Says 45 mins for charge to 93% seems that it will still lower the amps way down approaching 80% to account for the extra time required

Chademo graphics are here (43kW and 46kW) : http://www.mykiasoulev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=685



Kia Soul EV 2017 is here : http://www.mykiasoulev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=685&start=10#p5322

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This thread gets a mention on pushevs here -Kia Soul EV expected to get more battery capacity this year

Pushevs interprets the new 35kWh battery article to mean the Soul EV will get 35kWh useable. I don't think it actually says that. It could also be 35kWh total.

The Renault Samsung SM3 ZE in South Korea is expected to get a similar upgrade (27 to 35 kWh) is also not quite right. In this case both the 27 and 35 are total capacities. I think the SM3 will actually get a greater improvement proportionately than the Soul EV. Because (30.5 to 35 kWh) is not as good as (27 to 35 kWh). The Renault Samsung SM3 ZE is really the Renault Fluence. It has an old battery and is in dire need of an upgrade.

The original article - http://www.etnews.com/20170119000323 is talking about SM3 taxis having their batteries replaced with the newer version.
There is no mention that older Soul EVs may be able to upgrade to a newer battery.



The interesting thing about EV taxis is that until today there was a rule that meant almost all taxis had to be greater than 4m70 in length.
This made the SM3 the only green car eligible to be a taxi. There are 100 SM3 ZE taxis here on Jeju. Problem with the SM3 is its low range.
And like all Renault cars it does not DC fast charge. They have an AC fast c harger and it is really slow.



According to this article - http://www.etnews.com/20170203000143 the law has changed.
The I oniq EV and Tucson Hydrogen Fuel Cell can now be taxis.
This also probably explains why the I oniq EV is about to get 4cm more rear headroom.