First Couple Hundred Miles

(This is a cross-post with MNL)

I've got a couple hundred miles on the car now and I'm really enjoying it.

I thought you guys might be interested in a few of these notes:

- The highest regen I've seen is 76 kW during hard braking, leading me to believe that under the correct circumstances the motor would be able to use its full 81 kW for regen.

- In B mode the brake lights come on during moderately strong regen, which is strong enough to nearly bring the car to a stop. Not quite i3/Tesla one-pedal driving, but very close. Brake blending is flawless, with none of the clunkiness of the Volt or the unevenness of the Leaf.

- Yesterday I drove the car 87.4 miles and had 31% SOC remaining. The route was the 110 @ Redondo Beach Blvd to Downtown LA, Downtown LA to Northridge, Northridge to Tarzana, Tarzana to Glendale, Glendale back to Redondo Beach Blvd. in Gardena. Speeds as high as 70 MPH with a blend of LA slow-n-go traffic. Fan only on the HVAC.

- The accelerator pedal is bottom-hinged and very tall, like a BMW. It allows the driver to have their full shoe sole on the entire pedal allowing for very precise metering of power/regen.

- I hope this doesn't jinx it, but assembly quality is flawless. All gaps are even, paint is glossy, nothing rattles or squeaks, and the suspension is quiet (in stark contrast to my Volt's clanky setup).

That's all I can think of for now. So far, so good! Loving it!

Thanks for sharing!

I never really thought of it before, but a bottom-hinged pedal is a much better feel. I remember years ago an old Toyota 4x4 truck I had used a bottom hinged pedal and it had a great feel, easy to monitor throttle even on bumpy terrain!

What color and options did you end up going for?
And while it's assumed, can you confirm you are in California (I'm anxiously waiting to see if anyone outside of CA can get their hands on one)?

Sorry for all the questions

mitchell said:

can you confirm you are in California (I'm anxiously waiting to see if anyone outside of CA can get their hands on one)?

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Mitchell, you gotta read the post again: Yesterday I drove the car 87.4 miles and had 31% SOC remaining. The route was the 110 @ Redondo Beach Blvd to Downtown LA, Downtown LA to Northridge, Northridge to Tarzana, Tarzana to Glendale, Glendale back to Redondo Beach Blvd. in Gardena.

mitchell said:

Thanks for sharing!

I never really thought of it before, but a bottom-hinged pedal is a much better feel. I remember years ago an old Toyota 4x4 truck I had used a bottom hinged pedal and it had a great feel, easy to monitor throttle even on bumpy terrain!

What color and options did you end up going for?
And while it's assumed, can you confirm you are in California (I'm anxiously waiting to see if anyone outside of CA can get their hands on one)?

Sorry for all the questions

Click to expand...

The bottom-hinged pedal is indeed quite a nice feature.

I'm in California and I haven't heard of Soul EVs being anywhere else yet. I chose the dark blue with white top in the "+" trim level. I can't believe some of the features this car has for the money!

I heard they had some in Arizona and Canada.

erikdg said:

I heard they had some in Arizona and Canada.

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Everything I have read and heard said they are only available in California right now. After seeing your comment, I googled the Soul EV in Arizona. I found several dealerships that say they have it, but I wasn't able to confirm through online chatting. I suspect it is a come-on, but I'll be checking it out soon, as I am in Phoenix.

I'm in the Toronto area in Ontario, Canada - we definitely have them here - I test drove one on Oct 23, and that vehicle was delivered to someone on Oct 27. The dealership in Toronto tells me they have 5 more coming - all sold.

Ian.