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.