Arizona SOUL EV Heat testing

[jstack6]

We have at least 3 of us that have the new SOUL EV in the greater Phoenix area. We ordered them from California. We will be doing extensive HEAT testing and measure the battery capacity to be sure it can take our HEAT.

We get a high of about 122F but on the dark asphalt it can reach 160F. The LEAF and others have had a hard time with the heat. An Air Conditioning system also has to work very hard in the extreme heat. The KIA SOUL EV has a very efficient Heat Pump. We will see how that hold up in our HEAT.

Our area is the first indicator that any vehicle can or can't take the heat. This is why many car manufacturers like Toyota, GM , Audi-VW and others test here. But they don't always give you the real life test. In real life we park in the hot sun for 8-10 hours a day since we work. We then drive home in heavy traffic and park in a hot garage to charge. They don't seem to test like that but we do!

[iletric]

Can't wait for the report.

[jstack6]

So far all of our 2015 KIA SOUL EVs have been doing great. No problems and great range even at 60-70 on the highway.

We had a 100 Electric Mile Rally for our Phoenix Elec Auto Association and local Tesla owners club. My wife and a friend went 109 miles and still had 16% (about 16 miles) left on the guess o meter. That is very good.
-One small issue is when you charge in our small hot garage all the fans and cooling start up and make a heat loop in the garage. We charge at night so I can park outside ,then move in later. I also can just reduce the charge amps from 30 down to 12 on my JuiceBox charge EVSE and it doesn't need the fans and cooling. (this is common on every EV with cooling)

The SOUL EV just got ranked as the best EV value.
Kia Soul EV Named “Best Value In America” In Electric/Plug-In Hybrid Category

http://insideevs.com/kia-soul-ev-named- ... -category/

[hybridbear]

-One small issue is when you charge in our small hot garage all the fans and cooling start up and make a heat loop in the garage. We charge at night so I can park outside ,then move in later. I also can just reduce the charge amps from 30 down to 12 on my JuiceBox charge EVSE and it doesn't need the fans and cooling. (this is common on every EV with cooling)

Why don't you want the fans on to cool the battery while charging?

[tractioninc]

We have at least 3 of us that have the new SOUL EV in the greater Phoenix area. We ordered them from California. We will be doing extensive HEAT testing and measure the battery capacity to be sure it can take our HEAT.

I see that the high today in Phoenix is 112 F (44 C). This year has been a scorcher! Do you guys have an update on how your cars are coping?

[joy]

Hello from Sedona,

I am wondering how you went about ordering your EV from California? The local AZ Kia dealers just try to talk me out of even considering getting one. Do you call a dealer in San Diego? Visit there? Thx for any info, Joy

[inphoenix]

Hello from Sedona,

I am wondering how you went about ordering your EV from California? The local AZ Kia dealers just try to talk me out of even considering getting one. Do you call a dealer in San Diego? Visit there? Thx for any info, Joy

Hello Joy,

I am in Phoenix metro area and I really wanted to get the SOUL EV after seeing it. I talked to the dealers in California who were very willing to do remote paperwork and put it on a truck to be delivered to me here in Phoenix. Before I finalized the deal I decided to talk to local dealers about possible service issues. I visited two dealerships and spoke to service managers and spoke to one other on the phone. Here is the bottom line.....when you need service and it is a "minor tweak" they can help you with it (if they know what to do). If it is any thing that would need to be billed to KIA under warranty they will not touch it as they cannot bill any service for that car. Also, they do not have any diag tools for the EV system. So if you needed anything related to the electrical system your only option would be to put it on a truck and ship it to Cali. You would be paying about $700 for shipping and getting it back. I decided to drop the idea of buying a SOUL EV at this time.

Though, I am curious that what are the local SOUL EV owners doing about recent firmware upgrade which is impacting the charging of 12V battery. Can the local dealerships do that?

[JejuSoul]

The U.S. Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity for testing EVs on real roads is at the Intertek facility in downtown Phoenix. The results for this summer seem to show a dramatic loss of range in the heat. From 105 miles to 70. Did you have the same experience?
The discussion on AVT data is viewtopic.php?f=14&t=351

[tractioninc]

The U.S. Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity for testing EVs on real roads is at the Intertek facility in downtown Phoenix. The results for this summer seem to show a dramatic loss of range in the heat. From 105 miles to 70. Did you have the same experience?
The discussion on AVT data is viewtopic.php?f=14&t=351

No, not at all. It may be worth noting that while our daytime highs approach that of Phoenix, our nights (when most of us charge) are much cooler here in Atlanta.

Daily weather charts for June 1 - Sept 30 2015 (thanks Weather U!)

Atlanta, USA


Phoenix, USA

[jstack6]

Can't wait for the report.

So far all of our KIA SOUL EV vehicles are doing great. Range continues to stay better than we expected with all drivers getting 100 mile range even in COLD, HEAT with Air Cond on etc. Many of us had a LEAF and they all lost 10-15% every HOT summer. We have just had one hot summer and no loss.

I like to charge at night slow so the fans don't pull out heat and make the garage hotter causing delays in charging and wasted energy. In a closed space you get a heat loop, Pull out heat, garage is hotter causing more heat etc.

We all got our SOUL EV at Escondido KIA , http://www.northcountykia.com/search/ne ... tp-md2940/
They did everything on line and always seem to have 4 to 10 in stock. Very easy leasing.