We just leased a 2018 Soul EV+ Sun/Fun, and previously leased a 2013 and 2015 Leaf, just returned the 2015. While we were generally happy with the Leafs, had no issues except a persistent drivetrain "click" on accel/decel in the 2015 (also had in 2013, but they were able to fix it in that car (odd)), and a couple recalls.
So after about 7 1/2 years of total operation time on the Leaves (Leafs?) our initial impressions of the 2018 Soul are it has superior range (makes sense, as it has a 30kwH vs. 24 kwH battery) and is a sleeper (no one seems to know that the Kia Soul has an electric version, Hamster transformation commercials notwithstanding). The back seat seems a smidge tighter for leg room, although that may be a function of the front seat travel being farther aft. We are thrilled it has a center headrest for the kids and that the glovebox wasn't designed to automatically eject any loose items when opened, and then crush them with the hinges upon closure. I can sit in rear seat comfortably with the front seat set to a comfortable position for me. Really tall/long legged people are going to potentially have a problem with the 2018 Leaf center console as the high sides interfere with you leg if you have to point your legs out a bit to fit around the wheel. For those of us that sit tall, it is one of the few cars with sunroofs that have sufficient headroom for me. The cargo area is somewhat shorter than the leaf with the back seats up, but I took off the cargo cover and that seems to have opened things up. The hidden compartments under the cargo floor for purses etc. are welcome. The Soul is a few inches under 14' and the Leaf is about a foot longer I think, easy to check is you are interested. Under 14' gets a discount on WSF, so that's a plus.
The car feels a bit less quick than the Leaf, but more solid. Only complaints we really have is the car keeps calling my wife's iphone 5S (calls itself) when the phone is connected by cord or by bluetooth, but seems to be doing it less (maybe it is getting tired of no one answering) and I can't figure out how to get the EV screen (remaining battery charge) to only come up on the right half of the home screen even though it initially did that on the drive home, now it takes up the whole screen. I even turned off the climate and charge timers to see if that would change it, no dice. We use the charge timer every day to avoid having the battery sit too long at 100%, which is what we did on the 2015 Leaf, and that battery had 93% capacity after 3 1/2 years.
The only other interesting thing I noticed is that the Soul battery keeps charging at full amperage/wattage virtually right up until it stops, whereas the Leaf tapered off appreciably once it got to about 90% (I can see that on my WiFi enabled eWerks Charger or on our eGauge solar system monitor). Not sure if this indicates that the battery has some extra unused capacity or not, my EV geek buddy thinks that is the case. The other interesting thing is that the car charges a bit above 6.6 kw, 6.68 or so, whereas I never saw over 6.6 on the Leaf, trivial difference, but interesting. One more interesting point, after my range test, I charged to about 3% then drove home downhill mostly so no loss of charge, plugged in and 4.8 hours later had a full charge
We had a 2018 Leaf reservation, the reason we ended up with a Kia Soul EV is that the lease rates for the Leaf was double what we paid previously for a modestly appointed vehicle (and no rear seat heat no matter how much you are willing to pay) for the 2018 and we don't need the extra range, so in Washington State that basically left the Kia Soul as the best value in new electric cars if you don't need the extra range (we have a 30 amp charger, so we can get more miles quickly mid-day if necessary). I ran a range test on the Soul because a relative wanted to buy one, but needed 100 miles of range. I went up 5 miles up to the freeway about 90 miles on the freeway at 60 mph with the heat set to 70 degrees on automatic, 42 degree OAT at start, 34 degrees OAT at turnaround, 5 miles back home and then back up the hill to the PCC charger (didn't quite make it, but the car is surprisingly easy to push for its weight, pushes well in drive or neutral, just be the low grip low rolling resistance tires). Car went 105 miles before it stopped dead, gave me battery capacity reading all the way down to 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and then zero %, and that's when it stopped, so that is nice, no more flatlines start guessing a la the Leaf. I think I could have maybe gotten a few more miles, but the last two miles or so was steep uphill.
Happy to answer any additional questions. Sorry for the slow response, just joined the forum today, only had the car for a few weeks now.
