Pros

• There are quite a few benefits to the price.
• It is more significant than many ultra-compact SUVs that are similar.
• Easy to understand.

Cons

• At highway speeds, wind and road noise are very loud.
• There is just one engine to choose from.

What moves the Soul? Even though the 2.0-liter engine’s top speed isn’t quite as fast as it could be, the Soul is a great city car. The way it turns corners is better than expected, and turning is easy. The CVT transmission feels the same as a standard automatic transmission. On the Invoice Pricing test track, it took the Soul 8.5 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph, which is good for a small SUV.

As you move away from the center, it gets harder to steer. The Soul can turn like the Mazda CX-30 and Mini Countryman, more sporty cars. The Soul’s only major flaw is that the brake button is soft at low speeds, which takes some getting used to, even though the car stops well in an emergency. The Soul doesn’t have all-wheel drive like some other small cars.

How easy does the Soul feel? The front chairs are lovely even after sitting for hours. Even though it is fixed, the angle of the back seat is comfortable. The ride is smooth, but it is also controlled and complex. The Soul doesn’t shake as much as some competitors when driven over bigger bumps.

At highway speeds, the vertical glass makes some wind noise that isn’t too annoying, and you can also hear some tire noise. Because the gearshifts are faked, the engine doesn’t hum like some CVT automatics do when it’s at full power.

How does the inside look? Because the inside is simple, little can go wrong with the mechanics. Touchscreen menus are easy to use because they have physical tools for high-level tasks and an easy-to-understand layout. The front seat can be adjusted for height, and the driving wheel can be changed in many ways.

Because of the high roof and wide doorways, the house, which looks small, is easy to enter from both the front and back. The headroom and legroom are significant enough that four adults can sit easily in the back and front. Except for the small window in the three-quarter view of the back, all the windows are tall and narrow.

How good is the tech? The technology that comes with The Soul and is easy to use works great. Most trim levels come with a massive 10.2-inch tablet built into the dashboard, which takes up most of the space. The built-in Harman Kardon audio system has excellent sound quality and enough bass response for various musical styles. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are now the norm for connecting smartphones to cars. There are options for wireless charging.

The Soul’s driver assistance systems are always suitable, and we never get a false warning while driving it. The adaptive speed control and lane-keeping system that can be added as options were the most impressive to us.

What about putting things away? The Soul has more space for storage than other small SUVs because its trunk is so deep. Even though it has a lot of space (24.2 cubic feet), it can’t fit more oversized items because there is a big bump at the base of the rear seats when folded down.

There is a lot of storage space for the class, with many bins and cubbies for the front seats. Even though the back seat is wide, it may be hard to place a car seat because the anchors are deep and hard to reach. Also, the ropes on the back of the rear seatbacks can’t be caught in the bare Soul because the rear headrests can’t be moved.

How well does it use gasoline? The EPA says that in a mix of city and highway drive, the Soul gets 30–31 mpg. That is about the same as most rivals. We have difficulty getting these numbers in our tests to see how well drivers do in real-life situations.

Is it a good idea to buy the Soul? The Soul is a good deal, even for a small SUV. Soft-touch plastic only gets used sometimes, but it doesn’t feel cheap. The place where your elbow rests is made of fake leather, and the steering wheel is wrapped in leather for a nice touch. The interior is primarily black, but there is a lot of patterned trim to break up the monotony. The Soul is a good deal because it has a long list of standard and optional features. This is a pleasant surprise for a car that, even when fully loaded, doesn’t cost much more than $25K.

As usual, Kia’s guarantee is excellent. The Kia Soul’s engine is covered for ten years, or 100,000 miles, and the whole car is covered for five years or 60,000 miles. Kia’s roadside help is good for five years or 60,000 miles so that you can feel more at ease.

The Soul takes advantage of its boxy shape by having enough space for passengers and goods. The Soul is an excellent example of how a cheap car can be fun, quirky, well-equipped, and practical while still having its unique style. The Soul doesn’t go very fast, but it’s fun to drive around bends and has a smooth ride.

As of this writing, Kia hasn’t said anything public about the 2024 Soul. We’ll change our suggestion if anything changes, but based on the Soul from last year, we’re sticking with the EX trim. Kia now has heated seats, heated side mirrors, and a more expensive cloth seat trim as part of the trim. There’s no doubt that these improvements are helpful, especially in colder climates.

Kia Soul models vary

The Kia Soul is a small car with LX, S, EX, GT-Line, and GT-Line Tech trim levels. All versions have a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine with an inline layout that makes 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque. Since the Soul doesn’t have all-wheel drive, its engine only powers the front wheels through a gear that keeps changing speeds. In the following few lines, we’ll talk about the standard and optional features of the Soul.