Just picked up Soul EV 2020 Limited in Vancouver

I've returned my 2016 Soul EV Luxury lease and bought Soul EV 2020 Limited with 64 kWh battery in Canada. Single color - blue, with sunroof.
From dealer words there are no dual color options in Canada.
The new car is faster, smarter and slightly longer. Cargo volume is larger, slightly more legroom, plenty of headroom, backseat armrest added.
Harman Kardon premium sound system with subwoofer, HD radio, big responsive 10.25" navigation screen. Mood lighting. Heated and cooled front power seats with 2 way lumbar support on driver side, heated back seat.
Front ultrasound sensors are gone, as well as power folding mirrors. I don't care about sensors, but liked to see mirrors close when locking the car - you could tell from distance if car is locked or not. Headrests are not adjustable front to back, but softer and more comfortable.
Finally Kia UVO in Canada! Live traffic, weather info, emergency services, remote climate and charge control, etc.
The new car feels very different - breaking is more efficient, acceleration is much faster. Smart regeneration - car slows down on its own if a car in front is slowing down. Lane keep assist, smart cruise control, pedestrian detection, etc. Steering wheel paddles allow to change regen level, turn it off completely(I love it!) or completely stop the car.
Still learning the car, but if you have any questions - ask away, I'll do my best to answer.
Ilya

Congratulations! You have the same colour that I prefer. It seems BC and Quebec are getting them first - hope there are some left for Ontario but understand the rationale of course.

Does it have roof rails?

Also I assume the sunroof is not the full panoramic version?

Unfortunately no roof rails on my car. I've seen several Kia Soul EV 2020 in 2 dealerships here in Vancouver and none of them has roof rails.
Sunroof is regular size, not panoramic. But it still helps to get the heat out.

I got my soul luxury 2020 May 1st already drove 1000km, black color

Only what it doesn’t have it’s a folding mirrors

Hey - so I'm new to the Soul train and was hoping some current owners could help me out with some unknowns with this car.

I drive, A lot.

From Monday to Friday I travel ~300km per day at a speed of ~95-100km/hr on the highway, which most of it is. I'm curious if it's possible to ditch my gas burner and do this instead with either a Soul EV or the Niro EV, and year round? I live in an area where -20C is usually the normal for the colder part of winter, polar vortexes aside..

Another question I have is to what the actual pricing is? As of now the online Canadian website's information is to contact a dealer in regards to the 2020 Soul. Any time I step into a dealership I like to have some info prior as a way to know whether I'm being mislead or not.

Hopefully I'll hear back from some of you new owners to see if it's possible to dump the pump for once and all.

Cheers!

Hi EVDee,
That's a tough case. I would only suggest Kia EV if there are fast charging stations available on your way. Otherwise 300km at high speed will be a stretch during a winter time especially if there are hills on the way. You may or may not make it. My new Soul EV 2020 has 529 km estimated range in Eco mode for mixed City/HW driving, but that number will go down with speed, cold weather and battery aging over the years. Although Kia Soul has a heat pump I expect the range to drop in winter time by about 30%. Niro may be slightly better at highway speeds than Soul due to better aerodynamics, but you really need something like Tesla Model 3 Long Range to do your job. Model 3 LR has 75kWh battery vs Kia's 64kWh and it has better efficiency at highway speeds. But it's also much more expensive and has different form factor.
So with Kia you will be fine for 300km in winter at city speeds or 300 km at HW speeds in summer, but the 300km at 100km/h AND in -20C is a big stretch.

We just put down a deposit on the Soul EV. We were told the Soul EV does have folding mirrors. Is it possible you have to turn them on in the menu of the car? Also does the 2020 have a heat pump? What brand are the tires? Thanks for offering to answer questions.

Mactech I thought of more questions. Does the dial for changing driving ie. P, N, R have to be pushing down or pulled up to change into Park etc. or just turned? Hubby has a weak right hand and was wondering about the strength required for turning that wheel. Does the auto hold stay on by default or do you have to set it each time you drive? Does the car make VESS sounds as you drive slowly to warn pedestrians? Is there a sound when you back up? Do you have any comments yet on using stop and go with the adaptive cruise control?

Hi Laurel 1949,
to start moving you just turn the dial to switch to D or R and push the button in the middle of dial for P. It's easy to operate, although not as intuitive as the regular gear stick in my old Soul EV. After 3 weeks with the new car I still have to look down to find the dial and turn it the right way.
If asking about "auto hold" you mean "car will not roll back if stopped on the slope", then it's enabled every time automatically. There is no way to turn it off. The Soul EV 2020 makes a futuristic pedestrian warning sound as soon as you turn the drive dial, even if it's stopped. My old Soul EV only made sound when it starts moving. The sound in new Soul is different and changes tone as car picks up speed or slows down. I like it. When moving back the same sound is supplemented by bell sound.
Adaptive Cruise Control works well and the car stops completely when the car in front stops. But it doesn't resume automatically when the car in front starts moving - you either need to push RES+ button on the steering wheel, or push the gas pedal. Then the car is accelerating to set speed automatically.
The Active Lane Keep Assist is a bit disappointing as the car doesn't follow the middle of the lane as it should, but instead bouncing from one side of lane to another like a drunk driver. You have to fight the auto steering efforts to keep the car steady. It's easy to overcome, but you have a weird feeling similar to torque steer. Fortunately you can turn it off and set to "warn only". Maybe the software needs to be improved, or my car is not functioning properly, but this feature feels raw, unrefined. In rain LKA sometimes looses the road lines and turns completely off and then back on. It's no match to Tesla's Autopilot, but it's a good start and I hope it will be improved overtime.
My Canadian Soul EV Limited does have folding mirrors, i.e. you can fold them by hand, or in case you hit something the mirror will fold one way or another. But they are not automatic and will not fold when the car is locked. I miss that. My old Soul EV felt alive when it would unfold "ears" when I approached it. The car is equipped with heat pump and battery has active cooling and heating which will improve efficiency up to 14% in winter time, increase charging speed and prolong battery life. Tires are Nexen low rolling resistance, 215/55 R17. Not great, but much better than Nexen tires in my old Soul EV. They are not just bigger, they are different model. Traction seems much better. Despite more power in new Soul 2020 it doesn't spin wheels as often as 2016 model. Maybe traction control is improved as well?
Overall I love the new car. It's smarter, safer, faster and larger than the car it replaced. No more range anxiety for me. In city it beats Tesla Model 3 SR Plus by at least 50km. Even more in winter time, thanks to heat pump which Tesla M3 doesn't have.
One thing I'd like to see in new Soul is driver's seat memory for at least 2 drivers. With all power seat adjustments it shouldn't be difficult to implement.

Mactech thanks very very much for your detailed responses. It is very helpful. You will think we are bonkers, but we are trading in our 2019 Kona EV. We have found the lack of head room entering and exiting very annoying (we are both 70 yrs. old with stiff necks and we are tall). Also we carry crates for two dogs all the time and it is such a tight squeeze to have the crates in the car. And no electric seat adjustment feature for passengers has been very frustrating. We bought the Kona EV without seeing it and had been on a wait list for 7 months. We did sit in a petrol Kona one but really didn't think it through over the lack of ease of getting in and out of the car and how frustrating that becomes over time. We think since this will likely be my last car that we will just take our lumps and get a car that is comfortable for us and our dogs. The Kona EV just felt cramped in general. Life is too short to keep a vehicle when one makes a mistake if one can afford to eat the loss. The Kona EV is a super little car, but little is the word. It has LKA and Active Lane Keep Assist which makes it hold its position in the centre of the lane pretty well. Although some people seem to complain that it hugs inside and outside too much and drifts. I haven't found that nor has my husband. So maybe it is car dependent with little glitches? The Kona has smart cruise control which does resume on its own in traffic. I did think the Soul EV had something similar. My husband will miss that. I don't use cruise control and I have been a big fan of just using auto regeneration/smart recuperation in the Kona. It sounds like the Soul EV has similar which is great. We sat in a new Soul EV yesterday (no 2020 there yet) and put down our deposit as it was like night and day with the head space issue and there was nothing we didn't like that we saw. We are flexible for colour of the car and said we would take whatever comes in. It seems they have a little wait list, but are expecting quite a few Soul EV 2020's to come in soon. Have you heard any scuttlebutt about availability? Once again thanks for answering all my questions. I am likely to have a few more. lol I think you said you got the blue colour? Are you liking it? What colour are the seats? Oh and concerning mood lighting, what happens with that? See already more questions. lol

The colour is deep blue, looks very nice. See here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3rjs60mzxmjjikl/BlueSoulEV.JPG?dl=0
Seats are black, so will not stain as much as grey seats in my old Soul EV.
Can't say much about availability. Officially the car has not been released in Canada yet.
You can see what mood lighting is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjpx3vZCHcQ

Thanks for the video.

I am looking for a good comprehensive video that reviews all the features of the 2020 Kia Soul EV. I thought maybe Bjorn Nyland would have something out as he reviews all the EV's but nothing so far. I also would love to find one that mentions whether the 2020 has utility mode. We sure have used that in our Kona EV for the dogs if we pop into the post office etc. I think it may have it as the Niro EV has utility mode.

I can confirm Utility mode in Kia Soul EV 2020.
Couple of reviews for European version of e-Soul here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDpQL0-htDM
and here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsek85QTdnM

Mactech to my rescue yet again. Thank you. I am so relieved concerning utility mode as it works so well for the dogs in hot weather. I never leave them very long even with utility mode, but it means they can go on a quick errand with me in warm weather without me leaving all the windows down and fear them being stolen. I will watch the videos shortly. I am excited about getting a 2020 Kia EV! It is interesting on the Kona EV forums, many love the anonymous looks of the Kona EV as they don't like being identified as EV on looks alone. I have always loved the looks of the Kia Soul. Not sure why we didn't buy one in the beginning since my husband and I really like the funky look. It is so much more attractive in my eyes. I guess the less aerodynamic issue may impact some.

Mactech my husband says to thank you. He is in hospital for a couple of days, and has his ipad and is watching the videos.

You are welcome Laurel1949, here is some information about availability in Canada and available colours:
https://www.thekeea.com/soul/2020-kia-soul-ev-canada-dealer-price-colors/

Mactech I would be happy with any of those colours. All are nice. Maybe blue is my favourite though. I'll take whatever comes in.

Mactech how is the navigation system on your car? How about that EVO system? Is it helpful and easy to use? And finally how about Android Auto if you happen to have it? I was impressed with size of the screen and I'm hoping it is all user friendly for setting up favourites etc.

Hi Laurel1949, built-in navigation is very good and uses 10.25" screen to show additional information, like HW lanes or upcoming turns. Much better than on Soul EV 2016 or my old Lexus RX350. You can also see basic navigation info on HUD.
UVO is finally available in Canada and I like it a lot. It allows to remotely lock and unlock your car, to set charge limit for DC and AC charger and monitor battery charge level, to find your car on the map, to perform diagnostic and to use climate controls to heat up or cool down the car from your phone. It took about a week after purchase to get email confirmation that my car is registered for UVO. I created account and installed UVO app on my iPhone. UVO app reminds you if you forgot to lock car doors so you can lock them from your phone. You can also flash lights or sound horn to locate car on the parking lot.
I can't say about Android Auto, but Apple Car Play works fine with my iPhone.
Sound system settings allow to set default volume level for each audio source, so it won't blare too loud if the audio source changed from USB audio or Car Play to Radio when you start the car next time. It was really annoying in Soul EV 2016. Not anymore!