Considering turning over an old Leaf and gaining some Soul

[warren55]

Hi, new lurking member here.
We bought our 2013 Leaf SV a couple years ago and we have been amazed at how much we enjoy it. I normally drive it back and forth to work (about 20 miles a day), but we always take it when we go out anywhere in the area just because it's so easy to live with and enjoyable to drive. We also don't seem to venture far from home, but we have other ICE vehicles around if we do.
Lately I've been considering the Soul just for a change of pace and to gain a few features we lack, like: a quick charge port (which we will still rarely use), more range maybe, a pretty good warranty (the Leaf is out of warranty now) and ventilated seats if we get a + version. I also like the higher seating position and the fact that it doesn't look like a frog!
There seem to be a few 2016 Soul's showing up that I'm sure are lease returns, with a scattering of 2017's and one 2018 (about $3000 more than any of the others).
A couple questions though.
I know that battery degradation is still an issue with these cars, but is it much less than the Leaf suffers from? Mine is at 82% SOH, mostly because it spent it's first 3 years in California. I live in the Seattle/Tacoma area, and degradation has slowed down considerably since I've owned it.
I've also heard of some long waits for a battery packs replaced under warranty. It's nice to have a warranty, but I'd rather not have to ever worry about that.
I've heard reports that the 12 volt battery goes dead in these cars occasionally. I've had that happen in the Leaf, but they did a software update that seemed to cure it. Is there a bigger battery that will fit in the Soul?
I have a spare wheel and tire for my Leaf (I don't carry it with me, but I can get someone to get it to me between work and home) because I don't want to ever use the slime that comes with the car. What do Soul owners do?
Is this even worthwhile, or should I just keep my Leaf and wait until the Niro EV is 3 years old and I can pick one up for under $20,000? :shock:

 

[JejuSoul]

...I know that battery degradation is still an issue with these cars, but is it much less than the L eaf suffers from?...

The L eaf and the Soul EV HV batteries are behaving similarly.
Both fail in super hot climates like Arizona.
Both do fine in mild climates if driven normally. Normally neither would need a battery replacement under warranty.

The Soul EV has the advantage of a fan blowing cool air over the battery.
The L eaf has the advantage of being a more aerodynamic car. The Soul EV suffers at high speed.
Not just with poor efficiency, it seems high battery stress causes much faster degradation.

Both cars have frequent problems with the 12V battery. This seems to be common with most EVs.

The Soul EV retains a much better used value than the L eaf. This does not make much sense.

..Is this even worthwhile, or should I just keep my L eaf and wait ...

That depends on how much you want to spend for the different experience. If the only criteria is economic then the the answer is keep the L eaf. I like my car. I would not swap my Soul EV for a L eaf. I think it is a better car. For me the issue I am pondering is whether to upgrade my old Soul EV to a newer 64 kWh Soul EV. Or like you just keep my old car for another 3 years and get a used 64 kWh Soul EV. If the only criteria is economic then the the answer is keep my old car.

 

[warren55]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I agree that it would not make economic sense, but it would probably make more sense than buying a brand new vehicle in my case. I plan to retire in the next year or two.
I'm going to have to download the PID's for Torque and figure that out before I make a decision on a car. If I buy from a Kia dealer, I suppose I could talk them into a battery report but there is one at a local Honda dealer that looks enticing right now; local car with the + package and 14000 miles. I think I could probably get it for about $10K and my Leaf, maybe.

 

[JejuSoul]

-
The SoulSpy app should be sufficient for checking the State of Health of the battery - SoulSpy on Github. It would be easier to install than copying the PIDs into Torque.

 

[warren55]

Thanks, I was under the impression that SoulSpy wastn't quite finished when I was browsing the thread on it. I'll have to check that out.

 

[warren55]

OK, so I have downloaded the app, but I don't have a Konnwei dongle, I have a Panalong which has served me well with the L eaf. I'm not sure if it's going to work, from what I have read.
I think the L eaf will be sold as of tomorrow, and I'll be heading down to check out the 2016 +.
From the pictures I have seen and the one Soul I test drove, I have not seen anything close to 90 miles on the GOM on any of these. I'd say more like 75 from what I can deduce. IF SoulSpy doesn't work for me, is this a cause for concern? It is wintertime here in the PNW, so temps are in the 30's and 40's Fahrenheit.
The GOM on the Leaf still registers about 78 even with almost 20% degradation. Could a car that has lived here it's entire life with less than 15K miles in less than 3 years have that much degradation?

 

[Kish]

By "here" if you mean WA, then I think you should be OK, as its a fairly mild climate. I would be more weary of cars imported from out of state like your Leaf, especially from warmer states (CA, AZ, NV, etc). Lower temperatures definitely has an effect on your GOM, as you should be pretty familiar from the Leaf. My car with a new battery shows ~90 miles in the summer (85-105f) and ~70 miles in the CA "winter" (45-55f).

The blue Panlong OBD adapter is what I use on my Soul EV, and it works fine with Torque Pro. I would have both Soul Spy and Torque Pro + PIDs loaded as a backup. It may be a good way to double check the SoH % using both apps. Good luck!

 

[warren55]

Thanks for the reply. The Panalong OBDII worked fine and I tested out a couple cars last weekend. I'm picking up the one with the best battery report today in fact. It is a 2016 base model that did come from California, but has only 8600 miles on it and showed 100% SOH when the dealership did a test on it. (Soul Spy showed 113%)
It's also a Certified Pre-Owned, so I get all of the remaining warranty plus another year of bumper to bumper.

 

[Kish]

Nice, sounds like a great car, 8600 miles is really low. Enjoy!