2020 64kWh in Ontario - at last!

[gday]

Picked up my Neptune blue Soul today north of Toronto - amazingly quiet and very smooth driving.

Lots to learn about the software choices but as a retiree I have the time and since my background included computers, the inclination!

 

[J79guy]

Congrats! Sounds like we have the same car. (Neptune Blue, except I'm in BC!)

 

[gday]

Thanks

BC and Quebec have clearly been target Provinces, but Ontario may not have had many allocated.

One small wrinkle was that in Ontario we can get green plates that give us a few perks on highways with special lanes, however the current Ford government has put the process on hold (or cancelled?) so I have regular plates. Seems anything to do with helping the environment is not rewarded here - the rebate program was simply cancelled.

Well done BC and Quebec governments - you care about the future of the planet!

 

[Laurel1949]

Congratulations gday. Glad you are liking your E Soul thus far. We are waiting for ours and we have said we will take any colour that is available. We are retired too. Let us know any tips or tricks you learn as you get familiar with your new car. We are in BC.

 

[gday]

Had it a week and found some issues with the software. Solved by Kia!

Make sure your Soul EV has the updated software. Posted this message on Facebook group so just in case you prefer to not use FB here it is.

2020 Soul EV - for those who have had problems with Android phones (mine is a Samsung S7 Edge) that you need to re-pair each time and/or navigation settings being lost, when you turn the car off, plus Android Auto not working at all, Kia is on the ball! I just had a software update and everything has been fixed. Phone stays paired, the navigation settings and addresses are stored correctly and AA works. I have left the car when shopping and all is well. I will check tomorrow to be sure.

The original SW version ended: V001.001.190130

The updated SW version ends: V001.00.190508 Only the main software was changed.

 

[J79guy]

Our car is doing the same thing, not maintaining phone pairing and losing nav addresses. Unfortunately, we are 500+ km from an authorized dealer, so I may have to see if there is another solution.

 

[gday]

Yikes ! Hope they are willing to help you out - maybe make a deal with a Hyundai dealership nearby if they don't like parting with the software on the USB key? Or is that not possible either?

 

[bluelines1974]

Just ordered a 2020 Soul EV Limited from a Toronto-area dealer. Currently waiting for an allocation and sounds like it will be at least 10 weeks for delivery. Grey is our first colour choice, but we'll take white if that means we get the car faster. We'll be selling or trading in our 2018 Leaf SL, and very much looking forward to the new EV!

 

[gday]

Great bluelines1974!

They are amazing vehicles. I am keeping detailed notes about charging and efficiencies and I am saving about $100 a month on "fuel" (my last ICE car was about $110 a month) , and it costs around 1c per km by charging at the lowest rate (0.065 per kW) . I suspect that driving cost will increase when I drive with heat on most of the time. Already getting a taste of that as the days get colder.

 

[bluelines1974]

Great bluelines1974!

They are amazing vehicles. I am keeping detailed notes about charging and efficiencies and I am saving about $100 a month on "fuel" (my last ICE car was about $110 a month) , and it costs around 1c per km by charging at the lowest rate (0.065 per kW) . I suspect that driving cost will increase when I drive with heat on most of the time. Already getting a taste of that as the days get colder.

Sorry, missed this reply. Great to know about the charging costs. I'm curious to see how the heat pump will counter the impact of colder weather vs. the lack of any active battery conditioning on the Leaf. We get the car on Friday, a little sooner than expected.

On a positive note regarding the Leaf, I'm amazed at how well the values are holding up in Ontario. We have had our 2018 SL for about 18 months. We bought it used but with only 1,900 kms, from a Nissan dealer. Their customer had claimed the old $14k Ontario rebate so our price was just a bit less than the new price less the rebate. Long story short, we traded it in for only $4k less than we paid for it.

 

[gday]

Great about the trade in value. Hope the same happens for me.

Re. the cold:
- I have noticed a drop already - I will work out percentages at the end of November so it is more realistic, but I was above 460km and I am now much nearer 400km - I keep good notes
- I am changing to Nokian All Weather tires next week and that may affect readings on top of the cold effect.
- I am trying to find out from Kia more about the BMS when plugged in - if I charge it and it reaches the percentage set, does it keep the battery warm just because it is still?plugged in. No reply yet.
- I don't normally charge every night but if it helps the BMS I would do so. May do it anyway for now.