This quirky car really nails the basics
It’s always important to remember the basics. The basic facets of a good automobile aren’t exactly headline worthy or sexy, which is why vehicles with the strongest engines, coolest interiors, latest touch screens, and most advanced tech usually make the news. But sometimes the basics get lost.
The Kia Soul won’t make headlines for anything, but it nails the basics — something many of its more jazzy competitors don’t do.
It begins the moment you turn on the Soul and set off. The shifter is a basic PRND unit that we all know and are used to. As more and more vehicles turn to knobs, buttons, and other odd setups, it’s nice to see this one remain simple.
And look at the secondary controls! The climate control is handled by two large knobs and an array of clearly marked buttons. One needn’t go thumbing through menus on a touch screen to change the airflow.
Not that the Soul is low-tech. Our GT-Line Limited tester had a 10.25-inch touch screen, while lesser trims have a seven-inch display. The system is typically intuitive Kia fare found in other models.
One of the Soul’s best features is the three-window home screen, allowing you to keep three widgets of your choosing in the home screen. I chose audio, navigation, and fuel economy, but you could choose any three items you prefer, in any order. It’s a great little feature that makes driving easier.
The top-trim Limited also includes a Harman Kardon premium audio system. It’s good, but not great; the audio setup is heavily biased toward overpowering bass and the sound doesn’t fill the car as it should. I’m always aware of where the sound is coming from.
Slotting that refreshingly simple gearshift into D gives us another case of nailing the basics, with visibility. The Soul’s tall greenhouse and thin A-pillars yield incredible sightlines that are unimpaired when doing shoulder checks or parallel parking. Again, this is basic trait a lot of other cars miss.
Good visibility means you feel more confident driving the Soul and this is doubly important for shorter drivers. I honestly can’t recall the last time I drove a fourdoor car with better visibility.
In general, the controls of the Kia are easy to use. The wheel and pedal inputs are light and intuitive.
It’s a car you could hop in and feel at home driving in a matter of minutes. With most vehicles, I have to sit and fiddle with lots of settings before heading off, but not with the Soul.
The Kia Soul is offered with one drivetrain. You get a naturally aspirated 2.0-litre in-line four paired to a CVT, and that’s it. Our friends in the U.S. get an optional 1.6-litre turbo four or a manual transmission, but not in Canada. I really don’t mind the lack of a turbo or a clutch pedal, because the standard drivetrain has plenty of zip for passing and merging, and the CVT doesn’t noticeably drone.
The Soul is also surprisingly agile. It’s markedly wider on the bottom than the top, and I think this contributes to its nimble handling despite its notable height. Overall, the Soul is surprisingly fun to drive. Inside, the Soul gets high marks for practicality. With the seats up, the rear cargo area is taller than it is wide, a handy feature if one is transporting tall houseplants or a baby giraffe.
The 60/40-split rear seats fold down, but they don’t lie entirely flat. Even so, you still have plenty of space to load items. Inside there are cubbies aplenty, real cupholders, and the glovebox can fit 20 lemons.
But now, it’s time to get to the part of the Kia Soul I’m not so fond of, and that’s the price. As tested, the fully loaded GT-Line Limited rang in at $29,845. Luckily, the base LX starts at a considerably lower $21,995, and even the lowest trim comes with heated front seats, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and other bits. Somewhere in between those two trims lies the best value.
The Kia Soul is a car that sets no records but commits no fouls. Quite often I hear people say “I just want a good car that gets me from A to B.” Well, here is that car.
Kia has improved its offerings by quantum leaps in the past 20 years. How does it do it? By paying attention to the details, not getting bogged down in giving a car lots of fluff, and nailing the basics.