"stiff suspension makes for an uncomfortable, choppy ride"?

[fanbanlo]

What’s not?

> The Soul EV might be capable of a believable 132 miles on a single charge, although we struggled to match that in the cold weather we had while we test drove this Kia. A full charge can take an alarming 13 hours. Good job then that Kia includes a wall box charger that reduces the charge time to five-hours.

> The Soul EV is fitted with small 16-inch wheels and low-rolling resistance tyres as standard, but the stiff suspension makes for an uncomfortable, choppy ride.

> Despite the tall, boxy shape, the Soul doesn’t roll too much in corners, but the steering is so vague and lacking in feel, you’ll not want to find out.

http://www.businesscarmanager.co.uk/kia-soul-ev-review-electric-goes-funky/2/

AGREE? DISAGREE? :shock:

 

[tractioninc]

What’s not?

> The Soul EV might be capable of a believable 132 miles on a single charge, although we struggled to match that in the cold weather we had while we test drove this Kia. A full charge can take an alarming 13 hours. Good job then that Kia includes a wall box charger that reduces the charge time to five-hours.

> The Soul EV is fitted with small 16-inch wheels and low-rolling resistance tyres as standard, but the stiff suspension makes for an uncomfortable, choppy ride.

> Despite the tall, boxy shape, the Soul doesn’t roll too much in corners, but the steering is so vague and lacking in feel, you’ll not want to find out.

http://www.businesscarmanager.co.uk/kia-soul-ev-review-electric-goes-funky/2/

AGREE? DISAGREE? :shock:

So much of that info doesn't align with the how the Soul EV has been advertised here in the US market. I've never heard anyone claim 132 miles on a charge for these cars; it's achievable, but would require hypermiling techniques. Standard UK voltage is 230V (not 120V like in the US) which is already Level 2--I'm not sure why charging at that rate would take 13 hours unless the amperage was somehow restricted low. I find that my Soul EV + has a somewhat 'sporty' suspension feel (compared to the more floaty feel of my parents' Leaf, for example) that is neither uncomfortable nor choppy. I prefer the ride quality of my Soul to any of my other current cars (MX-5, M3, Sorento) and would liken it to my old 530i.

But I do agree that the steering feels pretty artificial, even in 'sport' mode. That's a small complaint for a commuting appliance, but cars like the Honda S2000 and the Scion FRS/Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT-86 twins demonstrate that electric power steering doesn't have to feel vague and disconnected.

 

[fanbanlo]

So much of that info doesn't align with the how the Soul EV has been advertised here in the US market. I've never heard anyone claim 132 miles on a charge for these cars; it's achievable, but would require hypermiling techniques.

Maybe they have a lot more stop-and-go city traffic that matches well for EVs? I don't know.

 

[mtndrew1]

It's not so much choppy as under-damped. With a couple passengers and some luggage on a rough road you can get the car bouncing around.

But as far as a commuter pod goes I find the Soul to be very well tuned. It's smooth and serene and the battery mass down low means the car retains its composure around turns, particularly in an urban environment. It does have a short wheelbase though and behaves as any car so designed would over consistently choppy pavement (the 110 South from Downtown LA comes to mind).

 

[fanbanlo]

bouncing around? Interesting, if the bounce is more horizontal than vertical, maybe it is due to the fact that it uses torsion beam rear suspension?

 

[mtndrew1]

Aside from the powertrain, the Soul is a very pedestrian automobile. Its bones are along the likes of a Hyundai Elantra or Kia Forte. The car that the EV starts from begins at less than $17,000 in the US.

It's important to keep that low price point in mind when reading reviews, as the high EV MSRP will often have reviewers contrasting the Soul EV with automobiles equipped with a far more sophisticated chassis.

Compared to its actual marketplace competition (Leaf, Spark EV, Fiat 500, etc.) the Soul has a very nice ride/handling balance.

 

[notfred]

Standard UK voltage is 230V (not 120V like in the US) which is already Level 2--I'm not sure why charging at that rate would take 13 hours unless the amperage was somehow restricted low.

Standard UK domestic sockets are 240V 13A as opposed to the North American 120V 15A. So very slightly lower amps but double the voltage means just over half the charge time i.e. the 24hr level 1 charge drops to 13hrs.

The 5hr charge time is for a 240V 30A EVSE which would require special wiring in the UK just like in North America. Given the higher power available from a standard UK domestic socket even tumble driers plug in to a normal socket. Usually the only things that are specially wired are an electric stove (cooker) and any electric heating and these are usually hard wired (i.e. no plug and socket).

 

[tractioninc]

That makes sense - thanks for the clarification.

 

[OlavEmil]

To clarify a little further: The stock charging cable we get in Europe is limited to 10A. With this cable, you get 13 hours charging time from 0% (highly unrealistic) to 100%.

If you drive a lot, and need to charge the car during the day for further use in the evening, like us, you can get a special charger, like notfred mentions. These will be 16A, giving 8 - 10 hour charging time, or 32A, giving 5 hours charging time, or more importantly, ~20% an hour.

Then to the mentioned range of 132 miles: This is the range that Kia operates with in the EU. As we are not as sue happy as some people over the dam, the estimated range (or mpg for fuel cars) is based on ideal conditions, rather than average conditions, which is the case for the US range.

That said, we get between 170km and 200km (105 to 125 miles) on our Soul EV, depending on weather conditions (wet road takes lots of range). Worth to mention is that we have conciderable lower speeds here in Norway, with the maximum permitted speed in our part of the country no more than 50mph, often no more than 30 - 40.

 

[tractioninc]

Thanks, that's helpful.

About half of my daily commute is on suburban streets with speed limits of 35-45 mph (~55-75 kph), the other half spent at 55-70 mph (~90-115 kph) on highways. The higher speeds bleed efficiency and range (as does my driving style), so I tend to average 4.2-4.4 mi/kWhr (6.8-7.1 km/kWhr). On startup at 100% charge, my Soul usually gives me an estimated range of 103-105 miles (166-169 km).

 

[fanbanlo]

depending on weather conditions (wet road takes lots of range).

That's new. I wonder why. Anyone else found the same?

 

[GizmoEV]

depending on weather conditions (wet road takes lots of range).

That's new. I wonder why. Anyone else found the same?

Running into rain takes energy, both against the car and the little "wall" of water the tires have to roll over. This was really noticeable in the 2000 Honda Insight I used to own. Mileage would drop significantly. Also, there environmentals used to defrost and possibly heat the car increase compared to dry weather.

 

[user 285]

I've not driven much in rain yet, but certainly a headwind really lowers the mpk (and a tailwind increases it). Normally we're seeing over 4 mpk like tractioninc, as long as we keep the speed down to 60mph-ish.

Definitely would not call the suspension choppy, I like the ride and find driving the Soul EV quite relaxing. But then I'm no petrolhead!

 

[Brickvipe]

I have not noticed an abnormally choppy ride in my Soul EV+, in fact overall I would say its one of the smoothest cars I have driven, possibly because of the extra battery weight it carries. However I live in Southern CA, so the roads are not too bad here. I drive about 70% highway with the car and the rest city type streets.

 

[irfca]

I've not driven much in rain yet, but certainly a headwind really lowers the mpk (and a tailwind increases it). Normally we're seeing over 4 mpk like tractioninc, as long as we keep the speed down to 60mph-ish.

On Monday we had a windless rainy day - my mileage was not impacted at all by the rain - I used the normal 30% of battery to get to work. I have observed a head wind impacting the battery consumption a few %, although I have not made note of any specifics yet.

 

[OlavEmil]

depending on weather conditions (wet road takes lots of range).

That's new. I wonder why. Anyone else found the same?

Like GizmoEV writes, wet roads give conciderably higher rolling resistance for the tires, resulting in less fuel efficience. This goes for EVs as well as conventional fuels.


irfca: That is strange. What kind of roads do you drive? I have noticed that some US highways have these concrete grooves (?) in them, perhaps these drain the surface water, and reduces the water impact to the tires?

In general though, wet roads = less fuel efficiency.

 

[irfca]

irfca: That is strange. What kind of roads do you drive? I have noticed that some US highways have these concrete grooves (?) in them, perhaps these drain the surface water, and reduces the water impact to the tires?

In general though, wet roads = less fuel efficiency.

Most of the roads I drive are asphalt paved, but also have 2 depressions where the tires naturally drive in ... and I tend to try to drive outside those depression, avoiding where the water typically accumulates ... maybe that is what is helping reduce water drag ... the benefits of poor road maintenance!