Considering an EV+ ... but!

[splunty]

I've been researching every EV available. Luckily, this only takes a few hours since there's only a handful of EV available where I live! I'm down to either the Soul EV+ or the Leaf.

The nearest Soul EV dealer is 200 miles away. Has anyone had any good/bad experiences trying to get maintenance done over that distance?

The Kia dealer says A/C pre-conditioning can be done anytime, but all of the posts I can find here on this lovely forum indicate the car must be plugged in to pre-condition. What's true?

My soul reason (hah, see the joke?) to consider a Leaf at all is that it's the only model available from a dealer here in town.

I look forward to your comments!

 

[tractioninc]

Compared to traditional vehicles, these cars require almost no maintenance. That said, if there are any warranty issues with my car I'd hate to have to make a 400 mile round trip for servicing.

My recommendations: if you're looking to buy an EV this year, you might also consider waiting for the Chevy Bolt which has nearly double the range of the Leaf. Alternately, consider buying a cheap off-lease Leaf--they start from about $8,000 for late-model low mile examples.

 

[notfred]

I'm in Canada so we don't have the app, but I can tell you that here the Soul EV only preconditions on the timer when plugged in.

 

[splunty]

I'd really like to thank both of you for your replies. For what it's worth, the rebates/incentives right now on both the Soul EV and Leaf are crazy good -- maybe good enough to pull the trigger rather than wait to see how they improve with the 2017s.

 

[notfred]

I have a Soul EV+, my friends have Leafs. I think the Soul is a nicer car but I don't think I'd like to be 200 miles from a dealer. There have already been 3 recalls on mine that I picked up in September 2016 (steering recall and rear seatbelt recall across all Souls plus firmware flash on DC/DC converter, had all 3 done in one visit) plus I've had my reversing camera replaced after the seal on the lens let water in to it.

 

[tractioninc]

Splunty - That makes sense. Good deals are hard to find in my area now this state discontinued its large ZEV tax incentive and instead levies an annual EV fee; EV sales have fallen off the cliff and dealers hardly carry them.

I much prefer the interior and exterior styling of my Soul EV to my Dad's and Brother's Leafs. My Soul also seems to have about 20% more range but slightly less cargo volume. Otherwise the cars are very similar.