The 2010 Kia Soul is one of the “Top 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000″ according to Kelly Blue Book’s kbb.com.
Isn’t it cool to be one of the coolest cars around? Ask Kia’s 2010 Soul. Kelly Blue Book’s kbb.com just named the Soul urban passenger vehicle as one of the “Top 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000″.
Kelly Blue Book’s kbb.com is a popular and respected site for the information it gives out on new cars and used cars in the market. Kia Motors America (KMA) recognizes the significance of kbb.com’s citation. Michael Sprague, KMA’s vice president of marketing said, “It’s reassuring to know one of the largest and most credible automotive consumer sites recognizes Soul for all it has to offer to a wide array of consumers, including design, practicality, technology features, fuel economy and the Kia brand’s core, standard value package.”
The Soul has caught people’s attention for its fun and funky design. It has personality, versatility, and techno-savvy, as it is affordable. Mr. Sprague also said, “Soul continues to draw more customers into Kia showrooms because of its cool factor and overall value package.”
The criteria to be included in the list of Top 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000 are the same things that people look for when purchasing a car. These are safety, interior size, comfort, fuel economy, technology, and the X-factor, something that cannot quite be quantified but sets a car apart from the rest.
The 2010 Kia Soul has all of the above, according to the editors of Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com who did the selection.
The X-factor, or specifically for this list let’s call it the “cool factor”, is what makes a car fun to drive and fun to own. It’s just that feeling of pride and satisfaction that a car owner gets after purchasing a cool car.
During the selection, the editors used Kelley Blue Book’s “New Car Blue Book Values”, which are values that show actual transaction prices in the market. These are more practical and useful data for comparison than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP).
Based on data gathered about the Soul, the editors of Kelly Blue Book’s kbb.com were quoted saying, “The 2010 Kia Soul combines the versatility of a sub-compact cargo van, the confident style of a fashion model and tech-friendliness rivaling the Geek Squad’s® … It’s one modern mix of cool, with a standard equipment list that includes Bluetooth® wireless phone connectivity, an auxiliary audio input and iPod® integration.”
A standout in its class and truly a high-achieving vehicle, the Kia Soul has also received the following accolades: “Best Hatchback of 2010″ by Cars.com; “Best Family Cars for 2010″ by Edmunds.com and Parents Magazine; and “2010 Top Cars for Families” by Motherproof.com.
For a truly satisfying joyride, the 2010 Kia Soul features an Audio Upgrade Package that includes pulsating speaker lights, funky black cloth seats with a “glowing” Soul logo (for Soul+ ), a stunning sand-black interior (for Soul!), and a dashing red-black interior trim with red cloth seats and metal finished interior (for Soul sport).
Kia recently unveiled a special edition, the Soul Ghost, which features a moon-roof, fog lights, sport trim spoiler, black 18-inch alloy wheels, and leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob. To find more information and images about Kia Soul Ghost click here.
May 26th, 2010 at 11:50 am
I think its very cool, but really cool when it gets GDI.
May 26th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
I think that the Soul is cool, but that timing belt driven, bad gas mileage, underpowered, iron bock, dinosaur engine needs to become extinct. That garbage engine give the Soul the same reliability of the Spectra. I mean, some of them aren’t all that bad, but the Spectra’s overall reliability was bad. Now that they are making the new Sportage at Gwangju, I would think that Kia would want to streamline their line, and only have the gas 2.4, 2.0, and 1.6; and the diesel 1.7 and 2.0. They will probably keep only the 6 speed manual and automatic transmissions, too. Now that the Rondo is out of production, Kia can build the Soul’ster, which would benefit from a GDI 2.0L turbo (think Sportage SX) and the 2.4L. I am imagining a 1.6 Gamma GDI and a 2.0L Theta (GDI?) in the Soul for 2011.
May 26th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Greg it was announced that the Rondo is done? I didn’t know that, do they plan on re-doing it or stopping it completely?
May 27th, 2010 at 12:06 am
With the new Sorento and new Sportage, the Rondo is obsolete. Back in January, I did a Sorento vs Rondo comparison, and the Sorento is almost exactly the same dimensions. Engine-wise it is the same, but the V6 in the Sorento has 80 HP more, and 3 MPG better. Those who wanted an AWD Rondo finally got it, just with a different name. In all reality, the new Sorento does not replace the old Sorento, but the Rondo instead. Kia has no vehicle that replaces the old Sorento. Have you not noticed that in the USA there are no 2010 Rondos?
May 27th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
I have noticed some disappoint over at Edmunds.com concerning the demise of Kia Rondo production, yes.
June 7th, 2010 at 3:01 am
I don’t know why you think the Sorento is a Rondo replacement. It is far higher in price and is a different vehicle altogether.
Why do you think Ford is coming out with the C-Max (pretty sure that is what it is called) and I believe another manufacturer is coming out with a similar design.
And the Mazda 5, along with the Rondo, is everywhere where I live.
The new Tucson, which will be the new Sportage for Kia, is already much higher priced than the outgoing model.
The Rondo is the general people and cargo mover that doesn’t need to be built to handle AWD.
If it is not refreshed, or Kia doesn’t bring out the next generation Rondo, I’ll be shocked. It was their number one seller here where I live until the Forte just started edging it out.
I think we’ll see a new Rondo in 2012. It is a totally different vehicle than what the new Sportage will be.
And when comparing the 2010 Sportage with the 2010 Rondo, with 4 large people inside, the 2010 Sportage felt small in comparison. It’s just the way the Rondo is designed, both exterior and interior dimensions.
Kia would be crazy to stop producing the Rondo as a “mini” mini-van. It’s the larger mini-van that they don’t need as much.
And since I live in Canada, and we have quite different buying habits in a lot of areas, that’s probably why I do see a LOT of Rondo’s around, where you don’t.
We see a huge number of the Matrix, Vibe, Soul, etc. up here too. It’s our mini-SUV segment.
Again, with the Mazda 5 selling so well, and For coming out with the C-Max, I can’t see why Kia would step right out of that market.
The Sorento and Rondo might have the same dimensions, but the overall characteristics are quite different, in my opinion. Not to mention the big difference in price.
I do have to agree with you, Greg, that the engine in the Soul is terrible, terrible, terrible. I hope that in a couple of years when it comes time for me to buy, that they have it replaced with the newer ones you are talking about.
Cheers!
Greg