What first name would you like to appear in the review?
Martin O
What is the make and model of your EV?
Kia Soul First Edition 64kWh
What year was your EV registered?
2020
How long have you owned your EV?
0 – 1 year
What is the mileage on your EV?
5,000 – 10,000 miles
How many EVs have you owned?
This is my 4th
What is the average mileage range you achieve from your EV when fully charged?
280
Why did you choose this car?
I had the 1st gen Soul EV 30kWh 2017-19. It was a very well equipped & comfortable car. It’s only negatives were it’s range, 140 miles in summer, 110 miles in winter and restricted luggage. The current 64kWh addressed these plus adding even more toys ( HUD, Harman Kardon hi-fi + an app ) and ex-demo models were within my budget.
Positives
- It’s efficiency (for a relatively boxy shape car)
- It’s spec
- Probably most of all its difference in looks from a lot of other cars; I hate driving ‘same as’ cars.
Negatives
Struggling tbh…
- It lacks a 12v socket in the boot
- An extra data USB in the dash
- The mood lighting that the US/EU/Irish models have!
Tell us something surprising about this car
It has a surprising amount of room for a relatively small B segment car. It’s also not an SUV despite it’s design.
What car are you interested in next and why?
This is my 4th EV in a little over 5 years, increasing in range from 60 – 130 – 160 to now 280 miles. 280+ miles range is more in truth than I would ever need so I aim to keep this for a while…maybe!
Home charging unit
I have a ‘dumb’ Rolec 32amp installed in 2016 -no pressing need to upgrade.
Electricity supplier & tariff
I live where smart meters aren’t very smart so I have a basic E7 tariff . It works for me with solar and storage. Prices are volatile at present so look for best value fixed-rate deals.
What public charging networks do you use? Would you recommend them to others and why?
Public charging is, let’s face it, a mess. A result of the government leaving it to private finance, local councils and grants. We should have followed Scotland’s plan: one main network, one card. Unless you drive a Tesla, you are met with a myriad of choices, apps, cards and reliability.
Also a lot depends on geography as some areas are well covered by a network that’s rubbish elsewhere. My only advice – use Zap Map and PlugShare and do your homework. Try some local chargers to get used to using and always plan to charge en route the stop BEFORE you really need to.
Insurer
I fail to see why we need specialist insurance, most insurers insure electric cars. As is their method, their renewal prices will rocket so I change year to year.
