This is a brief review of the 2010 Kia Soul, written by our good friend known as JoshLofty here at our boards. On his way home, he visited one of the Kia dealers in his neighbourhood to check out the all-new Soul crossover. He got to see it up-close and even took some nice images with his mobile phone camera. Here are a few words about the Soul that he wants to share with you:
So i was back “home” (about 2 hrs south from where i currently live) and passed by the local kia dealership, which is part the biggest network of Kia, Hyundai, & Suzuki cars in the southern States here, just to see when they would have the new soul in & they had 3! There were 2 outside on stilts and there was a white one in the showroom which i took pics of.
It was a really cool car! The size is perfect! Its bigger than a Rio and smaller than a Spectra, which is perfect, IMO. I stand 5’8″ and the top of the car came to my shoulder, for comparison. It had a wide stance as well. The 18″ wheels also fit nicely with the car aiding in its amazing appearance!
Inside, the car was roomy, but felt sporty – looking out, it felt as if i were in a Hummer. the upright-ish windshield, the high beltline and low sloping roofline gave it a very unique, but good, aura. The build quality felt great! Much higher than implied by some of the reviews read.
There was plenty of room in front and rear as well as the rear storage areas in the car. I turned the key to play with the stereo and the trick LED red lights were very cool! The sound system truly is outstanding! It would benefit from a seperate subwoofer controller (through the head unit) but makes due with what it’s got; which is simple “bass”, “treb”, & “mid” settings.
But the stereo definitely did NOT sound like it was in a sub-$20K compact. Note: it did have the upgraded sound system. The feel of the controls was superb and the time I spent inside was very pleasing as well. Everything felt great. Kia definintely spent some time in the makings of this car.
I’d also like to add that I asked about the naming of the new Forte & Spectra and they (the salesman) claimed that Kia has sent letters saying that pamphlets would arrive soon & the car in the US at least should be keeping the Spectra name when it arrives in June. He also volunteered info that the SPECTRA COUPE would be arriving in December.
Thanks for the review, Josh!
February 26th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Josh-nice review. I thought we had gotten word that the new world order Kia Spectra was going to be called the Kia Forte in the U.S. Now we’re back to Spectra?
February 26th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Nice review. Oh, and since I can’t seem to get himi to post some rather interesting news, click my name to read it. It is quite interesting.
February 26th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
If it is a Soul in the USA, what is with the “2U” badge on the back?
February 27th, 2009 at 12:57 am
Yahoo!!! I’ve just read the Soul is making it’s Australian debut at the currently running Melbourne International Motor Show.
When released to the Australian market in early April 2009, the new Kia Soul will be available with a choice of petrol or diesel engines, with manual or automatic transmissions.
February 27th, 2009 at 7:16 am
The dealer in Henderson, NV where we bought our Rio has a Tomato Red Soul 2U in the showroom. It clearly states on the vehicle that it’s not built for the U.S. market and is not for sale in the U.S. Also, the salesman is totally wrong about the Spectra name. It’s definitely going to be the Forte. I’m disappointed that the coupe won’t arrive until December. It’s the car I really want.
February 27th, 2009 at 7:58 am
Oh, duh. It is the showroom model. I feel kind of stupid right now. Ours in Traverse City is a 4U.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:02 am
what the hell is that glowing speaker crap?
February 27th, 2009 at 9:07 am
It is an LED ring of light inside the speaker than can be continuously on, it can pulse back and forth slowly, or it can flash to the bass of the song you’re listening too. It is included in the audio upgrade package ($400 USA), and that package includes center dash speaker, subwoofer, and amplifier.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Oh, you can change its intensity, or shut it completely off too.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Actually it is kinda crap, as it does not work properly. When you switch it to music, it is completely off-ryhtm. It’s as if it is pulsing to the previous song or something…
February 27th, 2009 at 9:57 am
It only pulses to the bass, so if the bass is different from the rest of the song it acts funny.
February 27th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Greg, believe me:it IS off-rythm, ALL the time! I’ve had mine for almost two months now, and it ALWAYS has been off-ryhtm.
February 27th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
I wonder what is in place of the dash speaker if you dont’ opt.for the audio upgrade?
February 27th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
nothing prob’ly.
February 27th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
That is a Korean spec Soul in the pictures. You can tell by the 2U badge and the clear turn signals in the headlamps
February 27th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
All righty then, those that want a working pulsating red lava ring blinking speaker lighting system might just have to build their own after-market glow ring set. And yes, the Spectra will come out as the Forte in the U.S. Just as sure as we won’t ever have to see Dennis Rodman in an active NBA uniform again, nor Karl Malone or nor John Stockton. Good riddance. I meant that about the players, not the Spetra. Forte not Spectra, guys. Whoo-hoo!
February 28th, 2009 at 5:44 am
Bornloser where do you live? What country?
February 28th, 2009 at 10:19 am
@ Harry C. I live in Belgium (yes the country where they will race the pro_cee’d Silhouette in the BTCS!) and the Soul has been on sale here since beginning 2009…
February 28th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Visited my Kia dealer here in Nova Scotia, they had 4 on the lot, we drove the 4u and its an awesome ride, very upright, very cool mood effects on the speakers. I ordered a Burner in Titanium and the body decal in black. This is everything the Scion is not, sized right, powered right, comfortable and oh yeah very sweet on the eyes. I will post a video review in a couple of weeks once my car arrives. The green colour is very cool, but the Burner only comes in grey,black, titanium & red. The red & black interior is awesome as well. As a musician, this is the perfect vehicle to haul my gear to a gig, and the smoked windows don’t advertise what i have inside. The pep of the engine and responsiveness of the steering wheel are very nice, this is a great driving vehicle.
February 28th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Rich Wile-welcome to the site! Canada holds two of my favorite rock bands of all time…The Guess Who and The Tragically Hip. Those two are my number 2 and 3 all-time favorites respectively. I enjoyed your review of the Soul. I think Kia has once again designed and built a fantastic vehicle…one that a lot of dumbed-down-by-GM, Ford and Chrysler Americans would do themselves well to check out for themselves. For what ya get for a reasonable price this vehicle should suffice for new vehicles for thousands upon thousands of people wanting a hip vehicle with a great Long-Haul Warranty at a great price. I think that you’ll be very happy with how the car holds up over time, too. Although I’m driving an ’08 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS right now, my last two new vehicles before this were a 1999 Kia Sephia and a 2001 Kia Sportage 4 X 4. Both great rigs and both very fun to drive.
March 1st, 2009 at 6:28 am
I went to the auto show in Cleveland and saw the Soul and I got inside it. I was pretty impressed with the leg room in the front and back. It is one heck of a design. It is so nice. It was silver and it was a Soul 2U (whatever trim level that is). It didn’t have the red or brown interior and it was still impressive. Also for the first time so many people took Kia seriously. One guy even said to me the only real thing that was impressive for him was the Soul. I told him about the XD and Cube that it was the Souls rivals. I asked him which design did he like better (now he knows nothing about Kia) he said the Soul. There was so many young people there checking out the Forte and Soul. And during the test drive, the Borrego wait was the longest but it was worth it. The handling is so perfect and I didn’t even hear the engine at all it was so quiet compared to my 04′ Optima. There was some Kia sale guy seating in the passenger side. He told me when he says break really hit that break really really hard. When he said break, I forgot to hit it really hard enough like he said. I guess because I”m not use to slamming my breaks. There were like 8 speed bumps and I hardly felt it as I ran over them. I even forgot the Borrego was BOF because it doesn’t seem like it was when your behind the wheel. Lets see, the Forte was there too and man that thing is hot in person. It was white with very attractive rims. But I couldn’t get inside of it because it was on that spinning platform the one that says “keep off.” The sales man there though didn’t know anything. They were asking me things. One of them thought the Sorento was going to die off and the Borrego would be the only midsize SUV… NOT. The cars you could test drive were Sportage, Optima and Borrego. I’m thinking about getting another Kia really really soon. OH yeah, for the first time, Kia’s area was over crowded. Next year, when they show the Forte coupe, people are going to trip. OH yeah, I forgot my damn cammra sorry.
I saw the Nissan cube, it looks better on photo (I felt like throwing up)and no one got in it …not one Soul.
March 1st, 2009 at 6:35 am
Oh yeah, the Soul is on the Kia.com website now.
March 1st, 2009 at 7:04 am
JTZ thats good to hear, I am sure if the Kia people are reading this they will be happy too.. Tell your friends and family about the Soul. It is one fun car to drive and its a real headturner. People point or run over and take pictures with their cell phones.. its a real great feeling..
March 1st, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Nice read JTZ! I’m especially interested in the Forte as you said that thing looks even more impressive when seen in-person. It’s a pitty you didn’t take your camera!
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:09 am
I mentioned to the salesman that i read it would be called Forte as well but he was very insistent that it would forgo the Forte name & stay Spectra due to brand & model recognition. Which makes TOTAL sense. but I have no idea what will happen – who knows? kia could change their mind anytime! plus, we’ve seen the “forte” with “spectra” badging (it was a black spectra/forte SX, for reference) on this site. i’m not saying anyone’s right or wrong. but i’m just telling you guys what i was told. as for the LED light rings— i spent a good few minutes playing with it & it seemed to work fine. i’ll admit its not my favorite feature on the car but it is kindof cool. it also didn’t seem off-beat.
PS – i forgot to mention in the email, HIMI, that there was a button above the electric side mirror controls that, when pushed, folds the side mirrors flush with the side of the car. the salesman said the US model would have this feature as well. i don’t believe we’ve ever seen any kind of info on this feature in the past.
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:15 am
The US model does not have electric folding mirrors and the name Forte is the final answer..
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:10 am
we’ve seen the button for folding mirrors before in the official pics.
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:13 am
This feature (folding mirrors) is on our demo, but on our models for sales, it is not available. Just shows you how much salesmen know, or think they know. I have tried the mood light rings on a few different Souls, and it isn’t off beat. Maybe Bornloser just got one that was defective? All the ones I have seen, even our demo works fine.
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:23 am
“OH yeah, for the first time, Kia’s area was over crowded.” This was the way it was in Chicago, I stayed for the press days and the first public day. On the public day, they were raffling bulls tickets, and they had the “Loveabulls” the Chicago Bulls cheerleaders taking pictures and signing autographs. The Soul was a very popular attraction, and everyone kept wondering where the center console storage compartment was. I assured people that the console armrest/storage was a Kia accessory. (That’s a standard accessory at our place!)
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Maybe the mood lights don’t like Mozart, Ravel Haydin, etc… After a while they’re annoying anyway (especially in the dark) so I switchted them of…
I’m delivering another one today and will chek if this one knows anything ’bout music and rythm…
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:57 pm
You all are so lucky that have these cool model yet up to par quality cars…. I’m Malaysian and sad to say KIA Malaysia is su*ks… The QC are almost the same as our PROTON, sometimes in fact, WORST than PROTON!! Almost everyone i met who have a NAZA KIA model will told me a lot of problem found within their car… The popular problem among were the engine, fit and finish and material used… all su*ks … It was like 300 problems per 100 vehicle… You all might think I’m backstabbing KIA but I’m not. I own a KIA CARNIVAL 2002 so i know the differences. The on going model NAZA RIA (rebadge of KIA CARNIVAL) are so problematic that most of my friend sold them within one year time. and the resale value… RM 110K after one year will drop to almost RM 60K… Horrible…
My 7 years KIA CARNIVAL brought at RM 169K and after 7 years only worth RM 25K !!! sad…
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Naza is not known for their quality, and Malaysia’s Kia is about 3 years behind modern Kia.
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:22 pm
I can’t speak for the US however Canada will be calling it the FORTE.
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:11 pm
I’m going back with my digitial camera this weekend. So, I’ll show you the really attractive white Forte this time. So get ready Himi. As to Kit, I never heard about Naza but um, according to JD Power and Associates from last year, Kia was only one point away from being above average they tied up with Acura proving Kia’s quality has improved over the last few years. So your say just proves how Kia came a LONG way!!!. I expect them to be above adverage this year.
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:16 pm
And speaking of over crowded, Suburau just happend to be next door but everyone was bypassing it to get to Kia. I hardly seen anyone very interested in the Suburau’s section. Sure there were some people inside the cars but not like Kia’s section. But I’m coming prepard this weekend. You guys GOT to see the rims on the Forte.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:17 am
Aren’t they beautiful!Are you talking about that white SX with the black roof, etc? With the leather interior? Those rims are HOTT!
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:31 am
Greg, by any chance do you work for Kia? My next car will be a Kia but I’m waiting for the Forte Koup before deciding.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:40 am
I don’t legally work for Kia. I just stun the hell out of the execs with my vast knowledge of Kia, and in return they tell me things about up-and-coming Kias.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:27 am
Actually NAZA not only assembly KIA’s model, they also assembly Peugeot’s model and one or two from China automaker. The only model that i think are acceptable was the Peugeot 407 and the KIA Sportage. Others all su*ks… I just wish that KIA will come and control the whole KIA again. Just like what Honda did. Now Honda are so much better than ever. Even Toyota that handle by UMW make the local assembly Toyota’s quality go down. The latest JD’s research rate Honda City 101 problems while the Vios has 145 problem per 100 vehicle.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:18 am
Greg, Who are these people you stun? I’d like to know your sources..
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Yes that white SX is what I’m talking about. That black roof is hot.
March 21st, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Just to chime in I just bought my soul picking it up monday. They had a CRD on the floor but it was not for sale I did not get thew white version I asked them to go ge ta black one from another dealer. I noticed yu guy talking about the “burner” what does that mean. I was told the base only comes in b.w.s is the black diffrent from the rest?
Thanks.
April 27th, 2009 at 9:15 am
I’ve had my Soul for a week now.
So far, I love it. The build is solid, the ride is smooth but tight, the stereo kicks serious ass (upgraded version), I love that I can put a 4GB USB Key into it and it plays like a CD. I’m a big guy (240lbs, 6’1″) and it’s very comfortable. My 6’4″ friend, sitting in the passenger seat commented ‘man, this thing has serious legroom’. Add to that 2 6 ft tall guys in the back (with the front seats pushed all the way back).. and NOT complaining that they didn’t have enough leg room, and you’ve got to be impressed.
My Dad’s a die hard Toyota guy and after taking it for a spin he said ‘looks like they’ll give em a run for their money’. He commented ‘the build quality is great’. This from a quality obsessed old Norwegian.
Pick up is great for a small/middle sized engine. No problem getting up to 70 and plenty of pep to whip in and out of traffic. And yes, I have the automatic.
I’m trying to figure out why Edmunds puts the ‘cons’ as loud (it’s not) and not alot of room (the storage behind the seat is huge compared to the SX4 crossover I had, and the Scion xB I had before that).
Everything about it just ‘feels’ right. They put alot of good karma into this car. So far: love it.
July 5th, 2010 at 6:35 am
anybody knows what’s the price for kia soul in malaysia? so far they just soft launched the car..can u guys give me your input…what will definitely be worth for your money, suzuki sx4 crossover or kia soul?