Heart and Soul
The boxy Kia Soul hatchback is redesigned for 2020 with added style and substance, but no less charm
The Kia Soul has long been a standout among subcompact hatchback cars as an affordable, practical and reasonably fun-to-drive ride. Kia redesigned the Soul for 2020 and infused it with added sophistication, all the while retaining its inherent funkiness.
Slightly longer than before, the Soul retains its boxy profile, but with a more aggressive look. It features slim headlamps/running lights and a massive grille at the front, with muscular wheel arches and deep angular creases along the sides. There are upward sweeps at the rear windows that Kia says is meant to resemble airplane wings. The hatchback is adorned with slim boomerang-shaped taillights.
The 2020 Kia Soul is now offered in no fewer than six trim levels, including the more rugged-looking X-Line and the sportier-trimmed GT-Line version we tested.
Most versions come powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with a sufficient 147 horsepower that can be mated to a sixspeed stick shift or a gearless continuously variable automatic transmission. There’s also a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that sends a stronger 201 horsepower to the front wheels via a sevenspeed dual-clutch automatic transmission. This combination truly enlivens the Soul with brisk acceleration, but it’s only available on the top GT-Line model we tested.
Fuel economy is at 27/33 mpg with the standard engine and 27/32 with the turbo-four.
Engineering upgrades minimize noise, vibration and harshness, and while it’s still no sports car, the Soul delivers reasonably entertaining ride and handling qualities. The base model rides on 16-inch steel wheels, while the rest of the line get alloy rims at 16, 17 or 18 inches.
A freshened interior makes extensive use of high-quality materials for a top-notch look and feel. Our tester came with a 10.25 touchscreen for the car’s eminently intuitive infotainment system. It can simultaneously display a small navigation map, audio system information and the local weather. There are also larger buttons and dials than before for the climate control system, though the temperature display is hard to read in sunlight. Mood lighting is available to tailor the interior ambiance via multiple selectable color schemes.
Rear seat head- and legroom is generous enough to accommodate four bona fide adults in comfort, and the Soul makes it easy for six-footers to enter and exit without suffering scraped heads, given its tall and horizontal roofline. Cargo space is limited to 24.2 cubic feet with the rear seats in their upright position, but it swells to a generous 62.1 cubic feet with the 60/40-split seatbacks folded flat.
As before, the Kia Soul comes well equipped and includes many avenues for connectivity including the Bluetooth, Android Auto and
Apple CarPlay interfaces. Depending on the trim level, it can be filled to the rim with amenities like heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a power driver’s seat, a premium 10-speaker Harmon Hardon audio system, wireless phone charging and keyless access/push-button start.
While they’re not available on the base model, higher
trims can be fitted with many of the latest driver-assist features. These include forward auto-braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, a lane-keeping system, a head-up display and blind-spot warning with a rear cross-traffic alert.
As with its other models, Kia sweetens the deal with a generous 5-year/60,000-mile comprehensive warranty and 10-year/100,000-mile coverage on the powertrain.
Starting at $18,535 (including a hefty $1,045 destination charge), the 2020 Kia Soul can get costly quickly, with our fully loaded GT-Line topping $28,000. Of course, that amount of money could easily buy a larger and perhaps more powerful model, though with fewer gizmos and far less personality.