Non-members can see only five Kia Soul reviews per section.
Join us and see them all.Why the Kia Soul?
Driving position & visibility: The car is fun to drive. It's like a little go-kart. You also are very comfortable just on your 1st test drive. You feel like you been driving the car for months. Also very limited blind spots.
Safety & braking: The braking is very good, the car also has a very great crash rating. I will feel safe in this car.
Warranty, scheduled maintenance cost: I enjoy that that the standard warranty is
Basic 5 yr. / 60,000
Drivetrain 10 yr. / 100,000 miles
Roadside 5 yr. / 60,000 miles
Rust 5 yr. / 100,000 miles
Available features: I enjoy how soul + has many features such as, Audio controls on the steering wheel, as well as bluetooth. The two cigarette lighters are good as well for using gps's and other things.
Insurance & depreciation: I love how the Soul has a great saftey crash rating, which ends up making the price of insurance cheaper.
Why Not the Chevrolet Cruze?
Price or payments: The cost of the base model is more expensive.
Available features: The base LS base model of the Cruze has hardly no features. Which makes it a least fun car to have.
Warranty, scheduled maintenance cost: The warranty is like only 3 year 36,000 miles. Not a good warranty for a 18-19,000 car in todays age.
Why the Kia Soul?
Front seat room: I'm a big guy, and the front seat of the Soul has a lot of room, more than even my dad's Toyota Tacoma.
Available features: It has a lot of features that are standard, which is surprising for a car that's under $20,000.
Price or payments: It's a very reasonable price for a great car with good features and styling.
Exterior styling: It's distinct and turns heads without it being too gimmicky.
Fuel economy: Good fuel economy, which I was looking for. I used the CARS Program so I needed a +10 mpg improvement.
Why Not the Scion xD?
Front seat room: It's a little crowded.
Front seat comfort: It's a bit stiff and hard to adjust properly.
Price or payments: A little too expensive for the car.
Driving position & visibility: It's a little hard to see through the windows.
Why the Kia Soul?
Handling: While the ride is 'tight', the suspension is not so hard that you feel every single bump/crack/hole in the rode.
Audio & nav systems: I LOVE that Soul has Satellite Radio!. The upgraded audio system is wonderful!.. the speakers are great and fun to see when lit.
Front seat room: I am a big man (with arthritis) and while i feel snug and safe in the front seat, there is also room to move around. The driver's seat has 3 different controls (front and back/up and down/recline or straight up)..makes it very easy to adjust for comfort.
Ride smoothness: The Soul is a very 'solid' feeling car for the size. I am a big man (6'1", 230#) and it is very easy to get into and out of this vehicle. The vehicle height and layout provides good visibility. I feel safe in this car.
Powertrain performance: When entering onto an Interstate and hitting the gas the car picks up quickly and is easy to integrate with the traffic flow.
Why Not the Honda Fit?
Ride smoothness: The Honda Fit has a terrible ride. It is very 'hard'. You feel absolutely everything. It is almost uncomfortable to be on a long trip because of the constant banging and slamming you feel sitting in the car. When you hit a pothole you feel it!. Big Time!
Powertrain performance: The Fit had no pickup. When entering into an interstate I found out (the hard way) that you had to wait until there was an open space where you didn't have to merge too quickly. You'd hit the gas and the car just didn't move quickly at all. Tin Box feel!
Quietness: Not so much quietness, as rough riding. When the windows are up the car was quiet enough. One very disturbing this was that if the doors were closed and windows up and you had the radio/stereo on, you could hear the music (hardly muffled at all) outside!
Materials & workmanship: The car seemed to be made out of very low-grade material. The seat covers, the body panels, the carpeting. You could hear the radio outside of the car even with doors/windows shut tight. The seatcovers never could stay lint/hair free.
Handling: It is a very rough ride, the U-Turn circle was extremely wide for such a small car. The car had absolutely no pick up at all.
Why the Kia Soul?
Cargo capacity & towing: Seats don't fold 100% flat, but they are flush to the cargo area. Very important. Interior is about the size of most small SUV's. Very comfortable and roomy.
Rear seat room & comfort: Tons of headroom. My daughter has lots of visibility in the back while in her car seat. Full size adults can sit back there in comfort.
Price or payments: For what you get, you feel like you should be paying over $20k for it all. I felt like I was robbing the dealer. Kia has come a long way.
Exterior styling: Stylish and unique. Most 'normal' of the box-like vehicles. Very appealing to the eye.
Quietness: Rock solid. Runs almost silently. Didn't even know it was running after starting it the other day. Really smooth. Engine noise is almost absent.
Why Not the Ford Fiesta?
Front seat room: A little cramped and no center arm rest. I'm not a big guy, and I still felt a little awkwardly seated.
Rear seat room & comfort: Very tiny. Had to squeeze in. Not very comfortable for long term. Feels a bit crowded.
Cargo capacity & towing: Rear seats don't fold flat. The bottom of the seats cause larger packages to tilt backward into the hatch glass. Takes away from the storage area. Main reason for not purchasing the vehicle.
Price or payments: A little pricey. Breaks $20K when you price it competitively.
Available features: You get navigation, but it's turn by turn only. No maps. Stereo is very meager (6 speakers and not very spectacular sounding.) Push button start is nice at this level, but again, it pushes the package price up considerably.
Why the Kia Soul?
Safety & braking: Included safety features as standard. Smooth and sure brakes. Outside mirrors leave no blind spots. Crash tests results are great. My insurance went down.
Exterior styling: Love the boxiness. Easy to see out of. Easy to wash. I hate the styling of almost every new car. The Soul is the best looking vehicle on the road.
Front seat room: Chair high seats. Heigt adjustable driver's seat.
Color choices: Love the names. Hues accent the body lines.
Ride smoothness: MUCH smoother than I had anticipated. The equal to the 2010 Equinox I traded.
Why the Kia Soul?
Price or payments: I was planning to buy a stripped down Soul, but for grins asked the dealer what a fully-equipped model would run. When he came back with the number, I was pleasantly surprised and bought the tricked out Exclaim model.
Warranty, scheduled maintenance cost: 5-year bumper-to-bumper, and 10-year/100,000 mile powertrain. Considering I drive less than 7500 miles per year, I intend to get the full 10-year powertrain warranty.
Exterior styling: I find the car visually appealing.
Front seat room: I am a larger man, weighing about 330 pounds. There is sufficient room in the front for two people. My wife tells me that she had enough room in the back seat as well that she didn't feel cramped.
Safety & braking: The Soul is rated high in safety by NHTSA and includes a lot of extra safety features as standard equipment.
Why Not the Kia Soul?
Cargo capacity & towing: The Soul is still a compact vehicle. There is enough room for a row of grocery sacks and that's about it. If you have a big family or need more cargo capacity than that, the Soul is probably not going to fit your needs.
Why the Kia Soul?
Exterior styling: Fresh.. its a box but smooth.. looks different from other cars on the road
Available features: MP3/Ipod/Satellite ready standard, stability and traction control standard, good cargo capacity, great warranty, lots of add on options, easily customizable
Price or payments: Payments under $350 for all the things I want in a car except fog lights
Fuel economy: equal to my current nissan sedan, good for trips when we need to take gear but doesnt require a full size SUV that gets 20 MPG
Why the Kia Soul?
Available features: For $20K, you get all the bells and whistles.
Fuel economy: So far it hasn't proven to be totally economical. I think all the parts are still getting to know each other. Only at 1600 kms right now.
Front seat room: I am over 6 feet tall and even with the moon roof, I have a ton of headroom and leg room.
Rear seat room & comfort: My kids are tall too and with my seat adjusted to my liking, there is a ton of head room and leg room in the back. Love the folding rear seats.
Driving position & visibility: The windows are great for visibility. Especially the winshield...it is huge and has a great sun shade around the mirror that the visors don't reach.
Why the Kia Soul?
Safety & braking: Electronic skid control and ABS. More airbags than Zeppelin.
