2014 Kia Soul consumer reviews

I like this car. Its a smaller car than what I've owned previously, but seems bigger from the inside. It has a great upright and high seating position that's easy to get in and out of. Front and side visibility is excellent. Rear visibility is okay. The seats are supportive and comfortable, if not cushioned. It is deigned very well ergonomically and offers great value with everything you need even in the base model. Ride and handling and quietness are surprisingly good. Its a little noisy under acceleration but quiets down when you get up to speed. It does also hesitate a little at lower speeds when accelerating but is fine when you reach highway speed. Its not a race car. Value for the money is outstanding. If it had a little more cargo space it would be perfect. But passenger room is still great. Fit and finish and material quality are tops for the class.

Have to say the car has great fit and finish..... but the greatness ends there. I did not expect a perfect car when purchasing my Kia Soul, but I sure have a problem living with a noisy engine that once in a while starts up with a metallic zinging sound, has brakes the are super sensitive to the touch and coolant that seems to be disappearing from the reservoir. Of course my disappointment was further push to the limits by the service department of the dealership I bought the car from. Seems they found the brakes were OK and they did not find a problem with the coolant loss. They never could really diagnosis the noisy engine start ups, since it does not happen all the time. Although the engine still is very noisy when starting up and running, like the tappets are not adjusted properly. When I brought the car to the dealership to find out what the problems were, they took a total of an hour to check them out...... add an oil change and car wash to the time, and I doubt they really look all that close. So personally, I would never recommend the Kia Soul to anyone, and concerning the dealership....Well... no one should even buy any car from them. Recently I checked on YELP, and most people have rated the dealership a one star. If I only had checked that before buying my Soul...... I would have never gone there.

I left my pickup truck at the beach in Rhode Island (my second home) and drove back to Texas with my wife in her MB E350 Coupe. I needed a car for running errands back in Texas and chose this Soul+ Clearly, the Soul+ is no Mercedes but I am very surprised at the comfort of the ride, the relatively low noise in the cabin while driving, and the spaciousness of the cabin. I am going to mount roof top luggage racks on it and it will be my alternative to a pickup truck when I run to home depot. Next summer, I will take it to RI where it will serve as the family beach car. I've only had it for about 1000 miles but so far I am still very happy with the choice. I would NOT recommend the smaller engine in the base model. This car does OK with the 2 liter engine but less power would be painful for me to endure. I would recommend this car to anybody that wants something roomy, functional, and not overdone w/ electronic gadgets. Better still, it cost well under $20K and meets all my needs.

Initial impressions of this vehicle were good, but in a short amount of time, issues with the blower motor, wind noise, performance, and interior became apparent after only two weeks of real-world driving ownership. Firstly, the automatic transmission is too soft as it hesitates and loses power when shifting from 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th under normal acceleration. While the vehicle is rated at 164 horsepower and 151 lb. ft. torque, acceleration is surprisingly strained and underwhelming, suggesting rated numbers are likely inflated. Steering is vague, and although there are three different electronic steering options, being comfort, normal, and sport, selections only result in steering wheel weight change while there is no difference in actual steering responsiveness. Brakes are OK, but braking feel is vague and not linear. At highway speeds, especially between 50 and 70mph, wind noise/wind turbulence is very pronounced along the driver-side window area; surprisingly, this noise, reportedly normal, is not exhibited along the passenger-side window area. Overall cabin room/space is good although visibility is poor given large pillars obscuring views. Overall, the KIA Soul is an average vehicle whose low price benefit quickly diminishes when purchasing anything above a stripped down base model. The 2014 2.0L auto boasts 22 more horsepower and 2 more gears than the 2010, but the new 2014 model mpg is no better real world than the 4 speed, lesser powered 2010 model. Bottom line, the 2014 KIA SOUL is at best an average vehicle because it has truly lost some SOUL compared to earlier iterations that should have been refined and improved.

I bought a 2013 base soul with 6 speed manual and it is worth every penny. I have around 35,000 miles on it because I drive an hour to work everyday. I average 33-34 MPG and I drive 75 mph down the freeway. I have had absolutely no issues with this car. Only small complaint is the cheap tires they put on from the plant side. they are horrible in the snow and since I live in Ohio, I replaced with some good ol' Goodyear all weather tires and now I have way better traction. Also, I use 5w30 synthetic oil instead of the recommended 5w20. Anyone looking for a great deal, gas saver, and fun vehicle, I would highly recommend the Soul.

Initial impressions of this vehicle were good, but in a short amount of time, issues became apparent after only two weeks of real-world driving ownership. Firstly, the automatic transmission hesitates and loses power (lags) before accelerating when shifting from 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th under normal acceleration. While the vehicle is rated at 164 horsepower and 151 lb. ft. torque, acceleration is strained and underwhelming, suggesting rated numbers are likely inflated. Steering is vague, and although there are three different electronic steering ?options? (comfort, normal, sport) available, selections only result in steering wheel ?weight? change while there is no difference in actual steering responsiveness. Brakes are capable but braking feel is vague and not linear, meaning they require varying amounts of pressure because of inconsistent braking ?grip?. At highway speeds (50 ? 70mph), wind noise/wind turbulence is very pronounced along the driver?s-side window area; surprisingly, this noise, reportedly normal, is not exhibited along the passenger-side window area. Overall cabin room/space is good although visibility is poor given large pillars obscuring views. Overall, the KIA Soul is an average vehicle whose ?low price? benefit quickly diminishes when purchasing anything above a stripped down base model. The 2014 2.0L auto boasts 22 more horsepower and 2 more gears (when compared to its 2010 brethren), but the new & improved 2014 only yields 1 ? 2 mpg improvement in actual fuel economy. Bottom line, it's at best an average vehicle because it lacks some SOUL.

When you open your window in rain, water falls directly from the roof into the cab of the car. Also when you get out of the car in the rain and you open the door you get drenched. All this could hve been avoided by either having a wider roof than the base of the vehicle or a raised area on each side of the roof diverting the water off the back of the car. Outside of this it has been an excellant car for us, so far at 5,000 miles. Great milage and comfortable ride for a small wheel base light car.

My 2014 kia soul sucks! It lags between 1st and 2nd gear. I've taken it back to the dealer and they just made up reasons as to why it is alike this. It wasn't like this when I bought it, but got worse after 1000. I have to drive it like a bat outta h?ll and red line it every time I shift to even stay up to speed with traffic. I hydroplaned the first week I had it. I hate this car. I will never buy another kia ever again! EVER! The seats are also too long for someone of a 5'2 stance. I need to scoot up, but then I have no lower back support!

I haven't found anything about this car I didn't like with the exception of the spare tire replacement. I love the convenience and economy. I average between 38 and 40 MPG but I drive like a retired grandpa. My wife complains about my lack of urgency. I have the small engine with the 6 speed and I love to drive it.

I purchased my 2014 Kia hoping to increase my MPG from 18 to 28. Iam pleased to say that the 6-speed manual transmission has allowed me to get an average of 31.5 MPG in the last 45 days. The vehicle is very practical with few bells and whistles, but the media/satellite/phone connections are a plus. I would buy again in a heartbeat!!