Kia’s e-cars are great vehicles, but so far they have been missing essential software, which the Koreans are now rolling out with a free update: The most important innovation is a route planner that automatically integrates charging stops and is already part of the latest updates for the EV6 and the Niro EV .
Other improvements, which also affect all other models, include the integration of the music recognition app Soundhound. After tapping the touchscreen button, it shows which song is currently playing on the radio. As part of the update, the graphics and menu structure of the user interface have also been revised. The EV route planner automatically inserts charging stops into the itinerary if required. It analyzes real-time vehicle data as well as the route entered into the navigation system. If the calculated range is not sufficient to reach the destination, a pop-up will appear on the navigation screen suggesting possible charging stations and asking the driver if they would like to add these stopovers to the route. On cold days, the EV route planner works in tandem with battery preconditioning. The battery is then preheated in good time as soon as the vehicle heads for a fast charging station. The suggested route is based on an algorithm that takes into account the vehicle’s charge level, real-time information about charging stations and current energy consumption, which is influenced by many factors. This includes the topography of the route, the weather conditions, the traffic situation as well as the individual driving style and the selected driving mode. The information for route planning is retained even if there is a change from server-based to integrated route guidance due to network problems. In this case, the system performs recalculations taking into account the recommended charging points and the given distances. As soon as you switch back to server mode, all data is automatically updated. List of favorite charging stations Another new feature of the software update is that frequently used charging stations are prioritized in the search (display under Navigation > POI categories > Charging stations > Nearby current position). The system shows a list of nearby charging stations, highlighting those that have been visited several times recently. In addition, the data of the preferred charging stations is now also synchronized between the central control unit and the smartphone app. The software update is available for many already registered Kia vehicles and will be standard equipment on all new models from the EV9 onwards. The innovations are available over the air for vehicles from model year 2022 with a factory navigation system. As part of the free 7-year Kia navigation map update, the update can still be carried out in Kia workshops. (awm)
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