Joe drives a KIA Soul EV 64kWh 2020.
This is Joe’s second electric car, he’s owned the KIA Soul EV 3-4 years and drives 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 30,000-40,000 miles and he achieves 280 miles from a full charge.
Why did you choose the KIA Soul EV?
- Range
- rear passenger space
- versatility of the shape
- reasonable size for parking.
Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this electric car
- Range is great and obviates the need to charge away from home in nearly all cases (and on most long trips where the return is longer than range, I use destination charging to top-up)
- Acceleration very good
- GOM is very accurate and updates in real time
- very good rear passenger space.
Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this electric car
- Easy to spin the drive wheels
- UI is somewhat dated now.
Compared to when you first bought the car, does your battery still charge at the same rate & do you still get the same range?
I haven’t noticed any drop off in range, if i’ts there it’s minor.
Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?
No
What are the standout technological features of the car?
I would say there are none, it’s just a solid, competent EV with longer range than 90% of other EVs and probably in the top 5 of all models in its price range.
Surprise us! Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car
Despite its marmite looks that’s only an issue for outsiders not the driver!
What’s the biggest or funniest myth you’ve heard about EVs?
There’s not enough electricity to charge them.
What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?
Forthcoming KIA EVs (3,4 & 5), Tesla Model Y and the 2024 Polestar 2. Kia because the new ones look like an upgrade of my Soul EV which I’m very happy with. Tesla because you’d be a fool not to consider it & Polestar because the 2024 new version has a decent range and is a nice drive.
Home charging unit – outline both positive & negative elements
Wallbox Pulsar Plus – there are no negative elements since they allowed you to switch off the ridiculously bright LEDs. It’s been faultless in the 2+ years I’ve had it and I use it on its own timer. Should I want to, it’s also compatible with Octopus Intelligent.
Electricity supplier & tariff – outline both positive & negative elements
No real issues. I prefer Octopus Go because there’s less to go wrong than with Intelligent which I know, anecdotally, does stuff up once in a while and I don’t need the longer charge time it offers. Wallbox adds an exact-ish 10% an hour to my Soul, so two nights is pretty much always enough, even after long drive.
What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?
Would have been InstaVolt for reliability but their recent price rise is OTT and will have me looking at open-to-all Tesla. I also use GRIDSERVE occasionally since they tend to predominate on MSAs.
Insurer – outline both positive & negative elements
AFAIK Direct Line don’t have any extra charges for EVs and even quoted me a reasonable price for a Model Y earlier this year (I didn’t proceed because I didn’t buy in the end). When I comparison shopped after their price this year I expected to find others cheaper but I didn’t so I stayed with them. LC who say they have an EV-specific rate were more expensive.
Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a KIA Soul EV
- £1500/year on petrol based on my average mileage, cost per mile based on home charging vs petrol
- £250/yr on servicing because no spark plugs, oil changes etc etc.
- Guess £250/yr on road tax, I don’t really know how much that costs on petrol
- Guess £250/yr on cheaper electric as a side benefit of being on an EV tariff
- I suspect an equivalent petrol car might be £100-£200 cheaper to insure
- So overall about £2k/yr cheaper.
See other KIA Soul EV Owner Reviews here
