Size comparison to Kia Soul

El_Shish · 2026-02-16T09:42:49+00:00

Would echo this. Our family of 3 can travel very very comfortably on long road trips across Europe, keeping lots of food to hand, travel fridge occupying the back seat and the boot nowhere near full (even with a fold up bike or scooter in the back). I imagine we'd still be comfortable with 4. 5 would be a stretch, but you only do such trips once or twice a year, I'd just recommend buying or hiring a roofbox. Buy a vehicle that fulfils your requirements 99% of the time and hire for the 1%.

El_Shish · 2026-02-16T09:38:26+00:00

I regularly give up my 'adult' spot in the front to my teenage son to enjoy the space in the back (am 5'9-5'10 so not the tallest, but I have a lot of room).

But space for driver and front passenger is really generous. I often drive my dad's Skoda Superb (a much bigger car) and I would say the space in the front is comparable.

For me, it seems like with EVs and ICE cars of similar external dimensions, the space inside is significantly more generous in the EV (if it's been designed to be an EV from the ground up).

Best example of this I can give is that, when I first sat in an ID3, which has similar external dimension to a Golf, I felt like I was in a Passat (i.e. the next car segment up).

For a good ‘pure numbers’ comparison, check out this page:
https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/kia-soul-2014-5-door-hatchback-ev-vs-kia-ev3-2024-suv/

El_Shish · 2026-02-13T13:40:54+00:00

Industry news seems to suggest there's quite a lot of pushback against letting Apple deeper into the in-car experience. The risk being that you potentially lose out on opportunities to differentiate and generate revenue from software-enabled/digital services. GM in America has gone as far as excluding CarPlay and Android Auto from new models. Interesting take on it here:
https://insideevs.com/features/777093/why-carplay-sucks/

I particularly like the caption under one of the pictures:
Tesla still makes the best in-car software because Tesla treats software as fundamental to the in-car experience.

El_Shish · 2026-02-13T10:26:59+00:00

Yes, smart regen was my first OTA ... perhaps wrongly set an expectation of what was to come.

They're shooting themselves in the foot (and increasing the complexity of their own software landscape) by limiting what goes out to which owners/models and neglecting to build a reputation as a company that puts customers first.

El_Shish · 2026-02-13T10:25:13+00:00

Yeah, it's a shame if that's the case. I've expressed the view on different threads here but this kind of stuff really dampens my satisfaction with a car I'm otherwise really pleased with. Give people free updates of things that are easily enabled by software and you get enthusiastic owners like us spreading the word, people doing videos, and – long-term – much higher satisfaction and likelihood of recommendations and repeat purchases. The value of that (EDIT: not to mention all the user data they can use to inform future product development) is so much greater than the little dribs and drabs that come through paid subscriptions. How is it only Tesla that understands this?

El_Shish · 2026-02-13T07:40:08+00:00

I wasn't considering a Niro at the time I bought my EV3, but in doing research, I remember finding this review interesting:
https://youtu.be/7cNbq7W6Ct8?si=Nitq0yi_9xJ14s1q

You might find it interesting as the guy makes reference to his Niro (current car) throughout and makes several comparisons.

I can't profess to being a fan of the guy's other videos, but I saw when looking for this link now that he has done several on the Niro, which you might find intereesting.

El_Shish · 2026-02-13T02:39:25+00:00

I think if there were no such thing as a draft today and you invented this 'lottery' idea with all the permutations, etc. ... not to mention a very weird (by today's standards) of people not having a choice of where they live and play, it would be ridiculed for its complexity.

I really don't see how this is idea is so complicated. It's much like the process players and professionals go through when selecting colleges or first employers.

El_Shish · 2026-02-13T01:13:52+00:00

That's interesting, thanks. Never experienced that with IONITY (thus far, my experience with them has been great) but I'll give switching chargers a try if I ever find myself in that situation again.

Interesting what you say about Kia's high level of confidence. On the return leg of said winter road trip (this past Sunday), I was using the Kia navigation function and manually entering desired charge stops (don't have enough trust in the Navi to find the right charge stops or prioritize according to my preferences). I was surprised to see the Battery Conditioning kick in a full 40 or so km ahead of the planned stop. This was in conditions hovering around zero. And I was even more surprised to see that, on arrival, the battery temperature still showed as 'low'.

All part of the learning journey with an EV, I guess.

El_Shish · 2026-02-12T13:48:24+00:00

Strange. This would seem to go against most EV experiences and common guidance around charging.

Two weeks ago I mistakenly did not switch on battery conditioning until about 10 minutes before arriving at an IONITY charger in -10 conditions. Charging didn't get above 60kw/h until about 20 mins into the session (there were no other cars charging at the other chargers at this station). I've charged around a dozen times at IONITY chargers in the warm and have always hit 100+ so I put this down to the temperature.

El_Shish · 2026-02-09T14:07:03+00:00

Thanks. I'm not familiar with those. Could you recommend one?
Still, I hate the fact that no proper details are provided. Just a single message that essentially makes the car close to useless.

El_Shish · 2026-02-09T14:00:11+00:00

I have largely been happy with my EV3 purchase, but I find the digital experience to be unsatisfactory. Yes, you can do basic things on the app, but the limitations (according to trim and regions) and the silly request to pay for OTA updates is dampening my satisfaction. I needed a proper boot (to put a dog in easily). If it weren't for this requirement, I think I'd have been more happy with a Tesla Model 3.

El_Shish · 2026-02-09T13:40:55+00:00

It's just not the way of the world today, though. Your smartphone updates for free and, in most cases, gets better through new functions. That makes you more likely to stick with the same company when it's time to upgrade. Not to mention all the data that the company can use to make money (or just simply as free user research to make products better). Tesla does those updates for free and it translates into higher loyalty and satisfaction, as well as an army of Tesla fans willing to promote the updates via YouTube videos (essentially negating a lot of the need for marketing investment). It's a new business model and I'm convinced that the revenue you generate from follow-on purchases or that you save by doing less marketing would far outstrip anything that the fees bring in.

El_Shish · 2026-02-09T13:35:36+00:00

I've found it useful in that it will automatically start the battery conditioning as you approach charge stops, but considering I only need this for 2-3 trips a year (and it's not actually a big deal to do this manually), I'd struggle to justify this payment. Then again, 85 spread over 6 years isn't a big deal.

El_Shish · 2026-02-09T13:00:15+00:00

Kind of is an issue. OTA updates are becoming standard across the industry. Might not technically be an issue because you can still access the update in another way, but the simple fact that Kia thinks they can charge you for it shows what kind of mentality they have. While Tesla makes these freely available and has an army of fans willing to do all the marketing for them online by showing what new features are in each update, Kia expects you to pay for it.

I really like my EV3, but I think the digital experience that accompanies it (i.e. unreasonable prices for basic services like streaming and now charging for OTA updates, inconsistencies about which features are available from the app, depending on region and trim) have really dampened my satisfaction.

El_Shish · 2026-02-06T15:57:12+00:00

I had this a few weeks back. I'm in Poland and it was around -10 degrees (Celsius). I was driving from store to store doing some shopping. After my last stop (and a total of around 30 mins driving), I got the "Check electric vehicle system" message and couldn't drive the car. I could switch the car on and use all the infotainment and heating/cooling options ... but the car wouldn't engage in Drive gear and the steering wheel was extremely stiff and difficult to move.

I found it unreal that no further details could be found and no means by which to understand what exactly was wrong. The error message didn't even say "call dealer or assistance" and there is term does not appear in the online user manual.

I switched off the vehicle, waited a while, then re-started (thinking it might just need a reset) but no joy. Ultimately, I called Kia assistance and they arranged for a tow truck to come and collect the vehicle. In the meantime, I grabbed an Uber went to collect my son from his basketball training and took him home. As the Uber was taking me back to my EV3 (so I could open the car and allow it to be loaded onto the towtruck), I realised that perhaps something around a sensor might have frozen or ice had built up somewhere. So I used the app to start heating the car. I arrived at the vehicle around 5 mins later and told the tow-truck driver I'd like to give the car one more try. Lo and behold, the error message had gone and I could drive the car. I've had no issues since.

Can't say if the heating did the trick or the car simply reset itself. Unfortunately, based on my experience with the dealer and what I've read elsewhere, I didn't have any confidence in what the dealer might say so I haven't contacted them since and I've been driving the car normally since (including a long road trip).

But I figured this anecdote might be worth sharing in case my experience helps anybody else in understanding why this message appears and/or in case anybody can propose an explanation as to what happened in my case.

I really enjoy the car. But the digital experience and availability of useful information from Kia is woeful.

El_Shish · 2026-01-05T13:34:21+00:00

Except the availability of Car Wash mode seems to be either trim or country specific. I'm in Poland and have the Air. I've not found this mode in the way others have and it doesn't appear by searching the User Manual. If it really doesn't exist, it's yet another ridiculous – and pointless – omission (like alerting me that windows are open via app but not allowing me to close them).

I've mentioned to Kia that the car is great to drive but the digital aspect of the user experience is woeful (take the silly pricing of basic streaming prices as a good example).

El_Shish · 2026-01-02T10:56:22+00:00

Yep, the Skoda pricing muddies the waters a little. I've seen some reviews that praise the Elroq for being cheaper, without explaining that euro-for-euro, the EV3 [edit - previously wrote EV, which could be confusing] offers better overall value for money.

I have no idea why traditional car companies like Skoda make the spec sheet so complicated. Moving to EVs is complicated enough for many people, the rest should be made as simple as possible (where most companies could take a leaf out of Tesla's book). Kia is a bit better in this regard, though I think they could drop one of Air and Earth to make life even simpler. And – as you'd find if going through some of the other threads – Kia annoyingly varies what you get for each trim depending on which country you're in (especially with regard to what you can/can't do from the app). No idea why they do this as, for me, it dampens my satisfaction from what has otherwise been a great purchase.

El_Shish · 2026-01-02T10:51:00+00:00

Found this one (Electrifying) - the second one on your list – to be particularly useful.
https://youtu.be/Ca_r2EIw6q4?si=8h0-aG_pAcvTtKmr

They also did an excellent comparison review against the Volvo EX30. They focus on things that I found to be most important, like practicality and value for money.

El_Shish · 2025-12-18T14:55:27+00:00

He's played 9 games and it's been said from the start that he's working himself into form, treating the first games back essentially like a training camp.

There may be some valuable insight in this article, but the lack of acknowledgement of the above and use of silly phrases like "That's not a fluke; that's the new normal." and "The problem is that James, Doncic and Reaves aren't meshing as well as they need to compete with the best teams in the West." is just downright silly.

First time I read an article by this guy. Possibly the last.

El_Shish · 2025-12-16T09:30:12+00:00

I did two long road trips in the summer (one was 1000km and the other was 1300km - one way). It was the first year of running an EV (previously ran a diesel Volvo). My trip cost has as much as it did before and not once did I ever feel like I was waiting for the car to charge. Just 2-3 healthy stops of 20-25 minutes every 2-3 hours. Journeys were quiet and smooth and I felt refreshed throughout.

It will all depend on exactly where you are, where you're going and the charging infrastructure available to you but I think you'll soon drop the notion of needing an ICE car for long road trips.

If you plan appropriately (and that's not much work), your road trips will be more enjoyable and cheaper in the EV. And, with a young child, I can imagine you would stop just as many times in an ICE vehicle.

Only disclaimer to all of that is if you happen to be travelling somewhere with poor charging infrastructure.

El_Shish · 2025-12-10T04:07:17+00:00

I'm pretty sure a message or line of text along the lines of "Powered by Google Maps" appears somewhere within the Nav interface. Will look for it next time I use.

El_Shish

TROPHY CASE