Kia Soul City Review – 2023 Kia Soul Review: A Mature Evolution Despite its impressively low starting price, the Soul has become a comfortable, feature-packed choice in the subcompact SUV class.
Since its launch in 2008, the Kia Soul has been an unusual model for the Korean brand. The third generation, which the automaker calls the “city runner,” debuted in 2020 and was updated for the 2023 model year.
Kia Soul City Review
Kia tweaked the front and rear styling slightly, but more importantly, it simplified the lineup from six to four trim levels and offered just a non-turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. The off-road X-Line and the sports GT-Line Turbo were launched.
Kia Soul Review: A Cubist Alternative To The Curvy Nissan Juke
There remains a more effective line of Souls, packed with features at an affordable price. Today we’re testing the third trim level, the GT-Line, which should offer a sporty vibe. There’s not much sport without last year’s turbo, but we still found the Soul to be an impressively refined ride for the premium price.
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Each generation of Soul design has lost some of its appeal. First, it was curvy and full of straw, giving a cute impression of wearing a backpack. Representing the model’s third-generation styling, the 2023 Soul is still boxy, but the sheet metal is smoother than any previous Soul. The intended “backpack” on the tailgate has become a wide, thin protrusion.
The problem is that Alma stopped being identified with dancing hamsters and started looking like an assault soldier’s helmet. Its ugly? Not at all, but it is less interesting and attractive than the original design.
Kia Soul Fuel Economy
The interior is another story. The Soul’s interior gets better with each generation, and the current model is the best yet, with a large 10.3-inch high-resolution touchscreen, all-digital gauge cluster, soft-touch plastics, and a bit of pop. seat inserts and seams. The details are a strange color that doesn’t match the exterior color – Neptune Blue, which is a missed opportunity for coordination.
The Soul has really stopped being a cheap econobox aimed at novice car owners. The new Soul is aimed at more mature buyers who value a comfortable ride and a quiet driving experience.
Despite the short wheelbase, this small car handles like a larger car on rough roads thanks to the adequate suspension. Likewise, the engine is impressively quiet for a car in this class. The level of noise and vibration suppression is impressive in this price range.
The seats are also large and spacious, capable of accommodating any lumbar or backrest size, and should be great for commuting and long trips. Likewise, rear-seat passengers get an impressive 38.8 inches of legroom for the class. Compare that to the 33.4-inch rear seat drivers found in the Nissan Kicks. When it comes to the comfort and performance spectrum, Kia has definitely turned the dial on comfort with this one.
Video Review: Kia’s Soul Ev, A New Age Car With An Electric Vibe
Buying a Soul has always been a way for people on a budget to access luxury features and technology usually reserved for more expensive cars. This new Spirit is no exception.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (although not wireless), heated seats, push-button start, radar-based cruise control, USB A and C ports, wireless charging, the list goes on. Noticeably absent, however, is a heated steering wheel – a major drawback that was previously available on the Soul and still offered by some rivals, such as the aforementioned and cheaper Nissan Kicks. It’s also missing a 360-degree camera option, which isn’t entirely necessary for a small car like the Soul, but could be useful in a car of any size.
The Soul wasn’t designed to be a hot hatch or high-performance crossover, and it never was. Although the engine is well behaved, it loses power when your foot is close to the ground. There’s enough capacity for 95% of situations, but having fun on a winding road comes down to the missing five percent.
Still, the continuously variable transmission works well, with smooth flights and none of the “rubber band” behavior that CVTs are known for. Braking, while not breathtaking, is well modulated with good linear application and pedal length.
Kia Soul 1.6 Manual Tested
All of this results in a vehicle that’s fine for highway cruising or errands, but too soft for enthusiasts to sink their teeth into.
Kia can’t be faulted for safety. Surprisingly, the Soul is available with an SAE Level 2 (Hands-On) driver assistance system that maintains a predetermined distance from the vehicle in front of you and steers within its lane. It requires hands on the steering wheel and the system offers little feedback about what it’s doing or seeing, but it’s the basic version of this technology we’d find in a $20,000 car.
Kia also rolled out an impressive list of standard safety features this year. This list includes camera-based forward collision avoidance assist, lane keeping assist, lane departure assist, driver attention alert, lane departure alert, high beam assist, and rear passenger alert.
The Soul isn’t the cheapest crossover SUV you can buy. That difference is between the Hyundai Venue ($20,985), the $21,225 Soul and redesigned Chevrolet Trax ($21,495) and the $21,775 Nissan Kicks (all prices include respective automaker’s destination charges). . . Our test car is the GT-Line trim, which starts at $24,815 and is the third of four trim levels below the top-of-the-line EX.
Kia Soul Suv Available At Thelen Kia In Bay City, Michigan
Although it costs a little more than other cars, the Soul is more sophisticated with higher-end features (just compare the Soul’s infotainment graphics to the Kicks’ and you’ll see what we mean). Although far from a luxury car, it offers frugal buyers a taste of the good life at an affordable price. The Kia Soul is a distinctive and well-rounded compact electric car, but it’s starting to show its age in some areas.
Kia, along with its sister brand Hyundai, has been at the forefront of the electric car market for years. The e-Niro was one of the first affordable but truly long-range models to hit the market in 2018, while the EV6 big hatch and seven-seat EV9 SUV are impressive offerings today.
However, this is certainly not the end. Coming soon, the EV3 small SUV and similarly styled EV5 midsize SUV will offer impressive technology and stunning looks. But aren’t we forgetting something…? Yes, another electric Kia called the Soul is still around.
Those who became interested in electric cars a decade ago might remember that the Soul was actually Kia’s first electric car. It was a niche model, initially limited to just a few hundred examples in the UK due to factory supply issues in Korea. However, Kia gained enough followers to follow up with another.
Review: 2023 Kia Soul Gt Line
The latest model arrived in 2020 and (at least in the UK) was only available as an EV, unlike its predecessor. The quirky design is love or hate for many, but it’s definitely different and has a left-leaning appeal. One of the reasons it hasn’t gotten much attention is that the similarly priced Niro EV is more traditional-looking and more practical.
We expect the Spirit to retire when Kia’s newest electric SUVs arrive. But this can mean great leasing deals for older or used models. Do you need to check before you go? Let’s find out in this review.
The Soul’s main appeal is undoubtedly its unique styling, but it also has a number of other positives. It offers plenty of room for passengers in its boxy body, while also being efficient, decent to drive, and surprisingly powerful in the long-range Explore trim.
We also like the functional approach to the interior, but you can’t get away from a little outdated technology. Although the download is not huge, the loading is also slower compared to the newer alternatives. We would be looking for some interesting rental deals as this is becoming a common model, but there are better alternatives for similar money as the case may be.
The Electrek Review: The Kia Soul Ev Shows How Easy It Is To Do Electric
Kia has been impressing lately with the efficiency of its batteries and electric motors, and the Soul is no different. Like the Tesla, it can use more battery power than many alternatives.
The base Kia Soul Urban isn’t a car intended for long, frequent trips, clocking just 171 miles in official WLTP testing. We estimate the hybrid will be capable of driving about 150 miles in real life, which is about 40 miles more than the Mazda MX-30 can handle.
If you have a longer commute or plan more regular cross-country tours, we’ll direct you to Spirit Discovery. Not only is it more powerful, but it also has a bigger battery
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