Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong so far.

General Comments:

After one week of ownership, here are my impressions:

It's got personality AND it's affordable. I got the designer edition with the red top and white body. The designer editions are only available in the + (plus) trim range, which is disappointing since I would have liked to added a manual transmission (available only on the base model) and the high end UVO radio with Infinity audio package to it.

For being a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder I would have expected fairly decent pep. I don't care for the acceleration at all, but the Sportmatic shifting that lets me sort of choose the shift points makes it bearable. It's definitely no Mini Cooper. Lot of body roll, probably because of the softer suspension and all season tires. It's a smooth, quiet ride though.

The radio in there now, with 4.3" touch screen is meh. The features are cool enough, but the sound is terrible. The highs are tinny, the lows bottom out and make the speakers rattle in a low-fi, cardboard way and the mids are muddy. Overall very flat sounding and extremely underwhelming. I will be replacing the OEM radio as soon as I can afford it.

Overall, I love its personality, the features it comes with, the polished and well assembled interior that doesn't feel cheap, and how affordable it is. There are lots of customizing options for the future when I can upgrade/mod as I can afford it.

Honestly, and I know this is silly, but I wouldn't expect the mid-level trim to have such a basic sounding radio. It truly sounds like an 80s AM car radio. I don't know if it's crappy speakers, or a radio where you can only adjust the bass, mids and highs with no EQ. If anyone has any ideas or experience with this model, I'd love to hear it.

I plan to update this review in 6 months, if I remember!

Faults:

None.

General Comments:

I love my new 2016 KIA... I love all of the new features from the panoramic sunroof, and the amenities not found as standard in other more expensive autos.

Good on gas, and you have to get in one to see just how big it is inside.

Drives great, with good handling.

Faults:

Nothing, absolutely nothing!

General Comments:

I bought my Soul in spring of 2010 in exchange for a Mazda LX that was well over 12 years old. I was tired of climbing down into the car. The ads on TV for the KIA SOUL made it look like a fun car to drive; I'm now 57 and I still think it's fun to drive. I slide ride over to the seat, no more lower back aches, and she fires up for me every time.

Got two car seats in the back for my grandchildren, and I feel perfectly safe with them in my car. Love the hatch back; no more bending over for groceries.

Any issues with the car have come from the manufacturer for preventive care. I have never had such a close relationship with a dealer like I do with KIA. It's bright red, easy to clean, and shines so much people assume it's brand new. 5 stars from me.

Faults:

I haven't had it long enough for anything to go wrong with it.

General Comments:

At first I was looking at a 2010 Soul and was leaning towards buying it as the price was good, it had low miles on it, and other than the previous owner being a dog lover (claw scratches on the plastic door panels), I was OK with it. Then I decided before buying it that I should really try out a Sportage just to see if I'd like it better. The Sportage was definitely a step up and at brand new, would have had a much higher price. So after I parked the Sportage, my friend says, "Hey, what about that new Soul?" Why don't you try that one?"

So we did, and I drove it 3 km and there was no question that the 2014 Soul was for me. There were a few things that set it apart, but the one thing that stood out miles beyond anything else was the massive improvements to the interior over previous models. After my Dodge SX, I'd pretty much gotten used to plastic everywhere, and in the Soul, yes, there's still some plastic, but there's a lot less of it. It just feels comfort and quality from the moment I get in.

I give it a 7 on performance, because let's face it, there is no 300HP beast under the hood. The 165HP 2.0 isn't exactly a snail either; I think it balances performance and mileage into an acceptable mix.

It's brand new so I give it the full 10 for reliability, because with the 5 year warranty on everything from stem to stern, I have no worry about mechanical failures at this point.

I'd give the extra point for Dealer Service marks because when I was shopping for it, the dealer made all kinds of promises about free car washes and free oil changes for as long as I own it. I'm not due for the first service yet, but I did go in for a free car wash only to be told I'd have to make an appointment if I wanted that. Nobody said anything about appointments at sales time, so they lose a mark for that. There was no need to promise anything they weren't 100% committed to giving, so I felt they misrepresented that. Any time I find a business that misrepresents anything I always ask myself, "If they misrepresented that, what else weren't they exactly truthful with?"

Considering this engine is brand new, I was surprised to get 28 MPG out of it. I wasn't expecting that good. I'll check often to see where that's going to go.