Kia Soul PS Si (2014-2018)

Good value for your money – After owning many different cars over 50 years .. (variety!). I decided on a 4.5 year old KIA Soul PS 2018 Automatic (2.0 Ltr engine) with 78,000 km. Year of manufacture 2017 Compliance year 2018 There were only a few services recorded in the logbook. As (non dealer) services are not always recorded. I had to go by the general condition of the… Read more

car which looked as new.

The KIA SOUL is more SUV than a hatch back - with ground clearance 150 mm and you sit a little higher than in a regular hatch back or sedan.

The car shape, great all round visibility, easy to get in and out, and the easy-to-use controls were deciding factors, and the fact there are only a few KIA Soul on the road.

Everything works fine and the car runs and idles quietly (sometimes need to check the tachometer to see if the engine is actually running). I calculated petrol consumption 9 L / 100 km. The car uses no oil or water between services.

Good - The car is built very solidly - the doors, tailgate and bonnet close with a nice solid sound like a VW. Suspension is tuned for Aussie roads. Good Mirrors The Aircon works well. With the seats I had to buy a lumber support from SuperCheap to get comfortable. More than sufficient power for city and highway. Good pick up. responsive. Tight turning circle. Good all round visibility.

Transmission- A 6 speed torque converter gearbox (which I prefer over a dual-clutch DSG as have had bad experience with a VW DSG in the past. (may have improved since).

Good overall design - The engine is easy to service. Engine uses a timing chain and not a timing belt therefore less future maintenance. Engine has no turbo - therefore the engine runs cooler, there is no turbo lag, and performance is still very good.

Back seat passengers have good legroom although this reduces boot area.

The boot is small, however, I don't regularly carry large items, and when I do I can fold down the back seat to make a large cargo area.

It has limited electronic gadgetry, which I prefer - with no stop/start, no auto parking, no lane assist warnings, and no satellite navigation.

The radio has tactile on/off volume and tuning knobs which I prefer to pressing icons on a screen.

What could be improved . .

There is little road feedback through the steering - typical of many Asian cars,

The brakes are adequate but not brilliant, however, the brake pads last longer than softer VW ones.

I replaced the thin spare wheel/tyre with a full size one that I purchased from a wrecker,

Some less common parts may take a few 3 days to get but they are available.

So far, have driven 50,000 km, and apart from routine maintenance, have replaced a wheel speed sensor and a starter solenoid.

Would have to say it the best COMPROMISE car i could buy. (in terms on maintainability, reliability and with still more than adequate performance).

A European car would have better handling, however, the maintainence costs would be higher. Temptation to go faster is less in this car and it is equally happy not going fast. (Many BMW and Audi drivers always seem to be in a hurry as do many tradies).

Hope this review helps someone.

Bang for your buck – I bought my KIA soul brand new. It's a smooth ride, economical and has some funky looks and features. The heater works a treat. Seats are really comfortable. Very roomy and comfortable when travelling. I have done one long road trip and thoroughly enjoyed the ride and comfort it provided me.  Show details

2018 model not up to standard – I had a 2011 model soul is LOVED it, i then bought a Kia Rio si and loved all the technology, especially the large screen for gps, live tracking and reversing cam. I had a child so wanted to upgrade and wanted a soul again. I bought a demo interstate over the phone and although i love the look and drive of the car there are a few disappointing… Read more

features.

There is a small screen for reversing cam and radio but nothing more. No GPS, sat nav, live features like telling you, your in a 60 zone, school zone etc. The cheaper kia models have this! disappointing. The other downfall is the boot size. The earlier model boot was huge, nice and deep. This model seems to have sacrificed the boot size for more space in the back. I can only fit my pram in the boot, no groceries. So with a baby, i will have to put shopping in the back seat. Besides these 2 things which are quite big things i still love the soul, especially the 2tone colour options.

Now i have to buy an external gps device because i definately miss knowing what the speed is when i'm driving and school zones etc.

Perfect for what we wanted – We looked at a variety of cars and we settled on this. It's quirky, but then so are we, and it's distinctive look appealed to us. We picked the white body/red roof version, and frankly the single colour versions don't look as distinctive. The Australian choice range is nowhere near as good as the overseas models, and we might have bought a diesel… Read more

with a sunroof if it had been available.

As it is, we got the roof racks, front sensors, extra paint protection, and window tinting as well as the carpets.

Sure, it doesn't have inbuilt SatNav, but I have a Pixel 2 and always prefer that, and it works perfectly with the Bluetooth, and with the new Android P OS, it automatically connects, and enters Android Auto mode as soon as we switch on the engine.

The console is fine, and we leave a USB full of music in the USB slot or use my phone for it's music. Of course there's the radio, and with the Bluetooth I can make or answer calls either by the wheel mounted buttons, or my preferred method "OK Google, call <>"

The car is the right size for us, it's high enough so that we don't have to bend down to get in, or climb up to get in and we are both older citizens.

The boot space and setup is perfect for us, we can easily do our weeks shopping and more.

We both really like the footrest, which is large and generous compared to previous cars we've owned.

In summary:

It's distinctive and quirky

7 Years Warranty was a plus

Economical for us

Sized right for our needs

Responsive

Has all the features we thought important

Awsome! – I loved this car. Loved the quirkiness, the ride height, the features, the comfortable seats and the originality of it. This car was designed by Peter Shreyer who formally designed for Audi. Though there is NO resemblance to ANY Audis there isn't trying to be either. It's just a great design. I loved the deep boot, it had an awesome storage… Read more

container under the lid and a usable space saver spare wheel. People would comment that there was no boot but you had to think vertically instead of horizontally like most other SUV's. The seats were wide and comfy and everything worked well. It was quiet too and smooth. It is disappointing that KIA Australia doesn't bring in the full range of KIA Souls. In the USA where they are very popular there are a variety of models including a turbo. The engine in the Soul is good but a little lacking. It takes off quickly, goes up hills well but just lacks that feel of power. I traded my Soul in for a Golf 7.5 which has amazing take off (given the fact that it's a turbo). I like to change my cars every two years because I love cars. I'd change them every 6 months if I could afford to. I'd buy another Soul though - especially if it came with more power and the groovy sunroof you can get in the US.

Pretty car – I have had soul since Dec. 2016, it is so nice to drive, responsive, quiet and more power than i expected. Dashboard is well laid out with easy to red dials, bluetooth and cruise control on steering wheel for easy operation. Boot space is good even better when both seats are folded down. Good fuel economy, excellent head room in front and back.  Show details

I would not buy this car now – I have had 3 Kia souls they are a great car but kia does not sell them well at all in Australia and I think over the next year or so they will not come here anymore because they don't sell I would not buy another in fact I have not I would go for something that sells well here in Australia it means you will always get parts and there be no trouble fixing it  Show details