2013 Kia Soul
28 highway MPG, 23 city MPG <- from AutoTrader.com
I like Kia cars, those who have read the introduction should
know that I own a Kia Forte, I think you get a nice little car for the
price. I have come across people who
absolutely refuse to rent a Kia though, and those people are entitled to their
own opinion, an opinion that is dumb and they are dumb for having it. With that I present the 2013 Kia Soul. Always remember that the model I know (and
love :* ) is used by a rental car company, therefore it does not have all the
bells and whistles and bonnets and flowers that you can purchase.
Starting on the outside it’s pretty obvious the first
feature you notice, the shape. It is one
of the “box” cars along with the Nissan Cube and the Scion I Don’t Know What
It’s Actually Called. It is also known
as The Hamster Car, which customers like to remind me about (I’m getting the
hamster car?!). The Soul and the Cube
are more similar in style than the Scion Whatever because the edges of the
vehicle are not as sharp. The Scion
looks like it will cut you if you get too close, which may or may not be the
best car invention ever depending on if it is the zombie apocalypse or not. But I can say Souls look larger on the
outside than most of the other cars in its class (compact), and looks can be
deceiving, I have had customers describe it as a small SUV; they were only 4
car classes off the mark. An exterior feature
I like is the fact that it has a rear windshield wiper, you don’t usually get one
of those babies in a compact.
*It comes in
many snazzy colors.
It also has very large windows, which is a superfluous
detail (which one of my details isn’t superfluous?) but I can appreciate that,
remembering all the times I have sat in a car staring out of the window.
Moving to the interior starting at the truck, which is
actually pretty small for a trunk these days.
Most vehicles I have come into contact with, even the small ones have pretty
big trunks because the trunk goes under the back seats. Hatchbacks are the exception because the
trunks never go under the seats, which is the problem here, so I suppose you
could call the Soul hatchback-esque. I think it’s pretty hard to really
categorize it as such because of its shape, there is really no other option for
the way the trunk opens, so hatchback by default? Either way, if you put the back seats down it
would make a pretty comfy night at the drive-in. You can safely assume by what I just wrote
that the back seats go down, I would honestly be surprised to see a car where
the back seats don’t go all the way down.
The seats are pretty small, that’s to be expected from a compact. The only things that are really even in the
back are cup holders in the sides of the doors which are only good for bottles,
and big, round speakers that are also in the doors. I am seeing a trend with these big round
speakers, they are popping up everywhere.
Apparently my generation cannot get enough of big, round speakers.
*Is default
hatchback even a thing?
The middle console is pretty standard with 2 cup holders,
emergency brake, and small lidded cubby hole.
Moving up towards the radio there are 2 AC adapter jacks, an AUX, and
USB port right in the middle and easy to get to. I like the simplicity of Kia designs because
they don’t usually try to get fancy with you, “this is what we have and here it
is” kind of attitude. For some reason
car makers like to hide these features, sometimes they are right in the front,
sometimes in the middle cubby, and other times in the glove compartment
(wtf?). I also like how there is two AC
adapter jacks, that’s nice and convenient and some cars that are supposed to be
“better” or “nicer” don’t have both the AUX and USB, which is just silly if you
think about it. The radio is pretty basic,
if you have been in one Kia and seen that radio then you have seen all of the
radios, I’m pretty sure they just use the same basic model for all of the cars
with little tweaks here and there. What
is funny about the radio and other display lights in a Kia is that they all
glow red when it’s dark so the car looks evil.
The Soul also has a surprisingly big glove compartment with 2 different
sections, useful for hiding your gold. I
don’t understand why this little compact car can have such a big glove
compartment while some larger cars and many SUVs have such tiny glove
compartments. I think people
underestimate the usefulness of a glove compartment, it is not just for your
gloves, people.
*You can see
it glowing evilly
Looking at the picture you can see a rectangle right above
the radio, it is a little compartment that opens and is somewhat deep. I think this is meant to be a potential place
for your sunglasses because it does not have the traditional sunglasses holder
on the top of the car near the rearview mirror, but I suppose you can put
whatever you want in there, if you want to be like that. Above that you see another large, round
speaker (seriously, car makers, knock it off).
The front seats are quite comfy and sit really high without being
uncomfortably close to the ceiling, and the windshield is very large, and
combining those two things makes you, as the driver, feel like you are in a
much larger vehicle. How the people in
the back seats feel might be another story.
It’s like one of those houses that look really small on the outside and
are actually really big on the inside, only with a car and hopefully you don’t
live in it. One last note about the
interior that can throw you, it says “SOUL” all over the sides of the doors and
the seats. I have seen this in every
Soul I have been in so it must just come standard. I’ll be honest (why wouldn’t I be, I don’t
know you) it can be a bit overwhelming when you get into a Soul for the first
time, but you really do just forget it and stop noticing it over time.
When you accelerate in a Soul it makes a funny “whirring”
noise and when you turn the steering wheel it makes a “whooshing” noise which
combine to make it sound like you are in a mini space ship, it’s pretty
fun. The noises are not loud and I only
notice them because I am not listening to anything, so if you have the radio on
I’m sure you won’t hear it, unless you want to drive around pretending you are
driving a space ship, if that’s the case then go for the gusto. The controls on the steering wheel include
the radio, volume, cruise control, and initiating the Bluetooth which comes
standard in the car and is a god send in a hands free state. I think the controls on the steering wheel
are very easy and you learn pretty quickly.
Again, I like the simplicity of the Kia controls, unlike the wheel
controls on the Ford Focus (another compact) which are all jammed together and
feel way too crammed. Although I did see
pictures online of a Kia Soul steering wheel all decked out with controls, too
gaudy for me. The physical wheel feels
great too, I’m not sure what the material is but it’s smooth, and strange, and
wonderful-feeling at the same time. My
Forte does not have this material on the steering wheel and it is my life’s
regret.
It rides nicely and you don’t feel the road as much as you
would in a Focus maybe because you sit higher, but really I have no clue, but
it’s actually not as smooth as other vehicles like the Dodge Avenger. Although
the Avenger is bit bigger (a midsize) and I’m thinking the Avenger might be the
exception to the rule because I haven’t been in another small vehicle that
rides that smoothly. The steering wheel
moves effortlessly (while making the space ship sound) with little to no resistance
– think of a shopping cart at IKEA but as a car; but the turning radius is not
as tight as might be expected, it is not at all wide but the Toyota Corolla has
a sharper turning radius and it is considered slightly larger (a midsize).
One last thing to note is the actual key, it’s not super
special, it’s just one of those keys where you press the button and it flips
out, but it is fun and as whimsical as you are going to get with a car key (for now...).
Overall I am a big fan of the Soul, it is a compact but does
not feel like one. If you can get over
(or even fall in love?) with the shape then definitely look into one, they are
zippy little cars.
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