'Don’t race a Prius, You will lose'
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/26/automobiles/video-review-kias-soul-ev-is-a-new-age-car-with-an-electric-vibe.html?_r=1 Video Review: Kia’s Soul EV, a New Age Car With an Electric Vibe DEC. 25, 2014 By TOM VOELK [video flash Driven | Kia Soul EV The Soul EV is among the growing list of affordable electric cars, and while it’s not particularly fast, it packs a punch in city driving. Video by Tom Voelk/Driven on Publish Date December 25, 2014 ] I believe Timothy Leary would have embraced electric cars, with his mantras to “turn on, tune in, drop out” and to question authority. Perfect for the electric car mind-set. The new Kia Soul EV fits right in. Introduced this year, it is on the growing list of affordable electric cars, a group that includes the Fiat 500e, Volkswagen e-Golf, Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Spark EV and Ford Focus Electric. Although it is available only in California, the car’s availability is expected to widen in 2015. Shaking free of gasoline’s grip satisfies the soul. Electric vehicles are clean, quiet, have good zip, and, when mooching power from outlets at work and free public charge stations as I do, cheap to operate. What’s more, the electric car community sticks together. A Leaf owner let me use his account at a Blink charge station once I found it wouldn’t take a credit card. I charged much longer than anticipated. Garrett, I owe you a latte. Stuffing an electric motor and substantial battery into an existing gas-powered car generally obliterates the trunk. But the Soul EV dodges the Frankencar feel by mounting the pack under the cabin floor. The battery cells are encased in protection, stiffening the body structure and actually increasing ground clearance by a half inch over the gas version. Soul EV packs on an average of 500 pounds, making it one hefty hamster. In corners this mass is felt — generally in a good way — because of a lowered center of gravity. Acceleration is punchy and satisfying in city skirmishes, though over all, Soul EV is not particularly fast. Going from 0 to 60 hovers in the 11-second range. Don’t race a Prius. You will lose. The downer is range. Most affordable electrics are Environmental Protection Agency rated to travel around 82 miles on a charge. Soul EV scores 93. Still, it’s like having a four-gallon gas tank, one that takes five hours to fill on a 220-volt current. Prices start at $33,700 before tax credits. With refined dynamics and a save-the-planet ethos, Soul EV delivers good vibes. No mind-altering substances required. [© 2014 The New York Times] For EVLN posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html#nabble+template%2FNamlServlet.jtp%3Fmacro%3Dsearch_page%26node%3D413529%26query%3DEVLN%2Bbrucedp2%26days%3D0%26sort%3Ddate http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1095982_bmw-i3-rex-road-tripping-with-72-electric-miles-1-9-gallon-gas-tank BMW i3 EV w/ rex-option: Road-Tripping w/ 72 e-mi L2-6kW L3-css +ice http://www.newsday.com/long-island/towns/electric-vehicle-charging-stations-planned-along-the-lie-1.9717264 $625k for building a corridor of EVSE across 8 Long Island NY towns https://www.longislandexchange.com/press-releases/long-island-cleaner-greener-communities-projects-announced-as-part-of-redc-2014-awards/ + EVLN: Click-n-Clack don't know how to put a PbSO4 battery in storage {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Soul-EV-a-New-Age-e-Vibe-Car-NYT-Video-Review-tp4673312.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
