bobpdxsoulev
New member
- Joined
- May 25, 2016
- Messages
- 2
(I didn't see an existing topic for Oregon, so I'm creating one here. Apologies if this is not the correct procedure.)
A bit about our situation, for the curious:
Last week our family leased a new 2016 Soul EV (with "fun & sun" package) from Kia of Gladstone, which is in the Portland metro area.
More specifically, my husband and I spend much of our time assisting our folks, who have various health issues, in maintaining their household, shopping, medial appointments, remodeling, etc. They don't drive. We're already hybrid owners (a 2006 Prius), while the folks had a 2014 forte that they purchased prior to being unable to drive. We found that the Forte had become too low for mom to get in and out of easily, and the gas mileage in our driving scenarios wasn't terrific (although it was a peppy car). We traded the Forte (we were going to private sale, but after a few rounds of negotiation got a really good trade for it).
It seems to be a financially good deal, too... The monthly payment is roughly $50 less than it was for the Forte (obviously, it's a lease vs. own situation), maintenance is greatly simplified compared to an ICE vehicle, and charging up at home is way cheaper than gas.
So far everyone is enjoying the Soul EV (and the sunroof is nice, even here in wet Portland). No single day of routine travels requires charging up until we get home. Hoping to take the folks to the coast, which will require some investigation as the distance to northern coastal towns from our house approaches the max range of the vehicle. There are some fast chargers along the way, but not enough to completely alleviate anxiety. A test run some weekend might be in order. We're also trying to minimize leisure trips, however, to stay comfortably below the 10K-mile annual lease limit.
As a Prius owner, this car is remarkably "Prius-Like" (in a good way, obviously a subjective opinion). Keyless entry without taking the fob out of your pocket, keyless liftback (the Forte had neither, quite frustrating when you're used to it), the nav and audio controls are very similar. There is a "B" mode with extra regen in both cars.
In fact, the car is so Prius-like that sometimes the differences cause momentary confusion. For example, in a Prius if you are stopped and your foot is on the brake, you can power-off the car and it will automatically go into Park. In the Soul EV, if you forget to move the shift lever into park, you can't power off the car. Parking brake is also handled quite differently.
A financial aside: Has anyone else noticed that, at least in theory, leasing and then buying afterward may actually be cheaper than buying up-front? On this particular vehicle, the down payment, all lease payments, and the baked in "residual value" at the end, should you want to buy, are less than $26K, on a car with an MSRP of $36K. The difference is even greater without the "fun & sun" as Kia has a lease special going. I believe in the case of leasing, Kia finance gets the tax incentives, rather than a buyer, but buyer's incentives don't add up to $10K difference, do they? Could a cash buyer, theoretically, walk in to a dealership, take out the bargain lease, then prepay everything including the residual in cash, and save over straightforward buying?
Haven't seen many of these on the road yet. Any other Oregon owners out there?
A bit about our situation, for the curious:
Last week our family leased a new 2016 Soul EV (with "fun & sun" package) from Kia of Gladstone, which is in the Portland metro area.
More specifically, my husband and I spend much of our time assisting our folks, who have various health issues, in maintaining their household, shopping, medial appointments, remodeling, etc. They don't drive. We're already hybrid owners (a 2006 Prius), while the folks had a 2014 forte that they purchased prior to being unable to drive. We found that the Forte had become too low for mom to get in and out of easily, and the gas mileage in our driving scenarios wasn't terrific (although it was a peppy car). We traded the Forte (we were going to private sale, but after a few rounds of negotiation got a really good trade for it).
It seems to be a financially good deal, too... The monthly payment is roughly $50 less than it was for the Forte (obviously, it's a lease vs. own situation), maintenance is greatly simplified compared to an ICE vehicle, and charging up at home is way cheaper than gas.
So far everyone is enjoying the Soul EV (and the sunroof is nice, even here in wet Portland). No single day of routine travels requires charging up until we get home. Hoping to take the folks to the coast, which will require some investigation as the distance to northern coastal towns from our house approaches the max range of the vehicle. There are some fast chargers along the way, but not enough to completely alleviate anxiety. A test run some weekend might be in order. We're also trying to minimize leisure trips, however, to stay comfortably below the 10K-mile annual lease limit.
As a Prius owner, this car is remarkably "Prius-Like" (in a good way, obviously a subjective opinion). Keyless entry without taking the fob out of your pocket, keyless liftback (the Forte had neither, quite frustrating when you're used to it), the nav and audio controls are very similar. There is a "B" mode with extra regen in both cars.
In fact, the car is so Prius-like that sometimes the differences cause momentary confusion. For example, in a Prius if you are stopped and your foot is on the brake, you can power-off the car and it will automatically go into Park. In the Soul EV, if you forget to move the shift lever into park, you can't power off the car. Parking brake is also handled quite differently.
A financial aside: Has anyone else noticed that, at least in theory, leasing and then buying afterward may actually be cheaper than buying up-front? On this particular vehicle, the down payment, all lease payments, and the baked in "residual value" at the end, should you want to buy, are less than $26K, on a car with an MSRP of $36K. The difference is even greater without the "fun & sun" as Kia has a lease special going. I believe in the case of leasing, Kia finance gets the tax incentives, rather than a buyer, but buyer's incentives don't add up to $10K difference, do they? Could a cash buyer, theoretically, walk in to a dealership, take out the bargain lease, then prepay everything including the residual in cash, and save over straightforward buying?
Haven't seen many of these on the road yet. Any other Oregon owners out there?
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