thinking about a new kia soul lx

Sucks about Kia’s radio/infotainment system warranty.

Hyundai went to 5yr/60k mile warranty on radio/infotainment systems for MY2016+.

Yea-try to get Ford, GM ,etc., to replace your radio at 4 1/2 years and get back to us......
 
The OP was talking about buying new......
OP said "i usually buy used but crazy car prices for even a beater lead me to buying new this time. " OP and anyone else reading this might consider a barely used model and needs to know they won't get that full 100k out of it. Don't buy it just for the warranty, buy if you like the car.
 
Yea-try to get Ford, GM ,etc., to replace your radio at 4 1/2 years and get back to us......
Chrysler just replaced a failed Uconnect radio on my brothers Dodge. It’s 4 years old and Chrysler has been replacing them no questions asked.
 
I really like them a lot!
Ingres/egress is very easy.
View from inside is great.
Interior is very spacious and well put together.
Both engine options (2.0 [147hp] and 1.6T [201hp]) are excellent. The IVT (cvt) in the 2.0 is probably the best performer on the market. The turbo gets a DCT.
Some will like that the 2.0 is MPI vs GDI.
Drives smoothly and handles well.
Great pricing.
...and I love the square shape.
 
Chrysler just replaced a failed Uconnect radio on my brothers Dodge. It’s 4 years old and Chrysler has been replacing them no questions asked.

So-they realize they become defective at some point and are replacing them. Kudos for them for doing the right thing.
 
Parts availability is horrible for Kias right now. Whatever you do, do not get in a wreck. I don't know why so many new Kias are getting wrecked so often, but it seems like a lot of the cars we supply parts for (or attempt to supply parts) haven't even made it to their first oil change. If you wreck a Kia right now though, you are in a bad situation. I can't really speak on them from an owner perspective, but do not wreck it whatever you do, and keep up on oil changes.
 
Parts availability is horrible for Kias right now. Whatever you do, do not get in a wreck. I don't know why so many new Kias are getting wrecked so often, but it seems like a lot of the cars we supply parts for (or attempt to supply parts) haven't even made it to their first oil change. If you wreck a Kia right now though, you are in a bad situation. I can't really speak on them from an owner perspective, but do not wreck it whatever you do, and keep up on oil changes.
Everyone is short of things - but at the rate that Korean companies flood markets it can be compounded
Maybe they can get N Korean parts like the old man did …
 
While I don't like their looks, my adult son's 2013 Soul was a very solid car. Excellent build quality and he drove it past 200,000 miles with very few problems. By my standards (low) it drove well and was a comfortable ride for its size.

Having said that, I would spend some time on their forum. It seems that quality problems crept in during later years. You need to investigate if these have been resolved. It's getting tough to find cars without any problems.

Parts availability is horrible for Kias right now. Whatever you do, do not get in a wreck. I don't know why so many new Kias are getting wrecked so often, but it seems like a lot of the cars we supply parts for (or attempt to supply parts) haven't even made it to their first oil change. If you wreck a Kia right now though, you are in a bad situation. I can't really speak on them from an owner perspective, but do not wreck it whatever you do, and keep up on oil changes.
We just had to replace the roof and antenna on my wife's 2021 Forte from her backing up and hitting the garage door as it was going up. Took about a week to get the parts which seemed pretty reasonable to me. The work was done at a Mazda body shop since they are right by our house. I don't know if that means that parts availability is getting better or what but it could be a positive sign.
 
We just had to replace the roof and antenna on my wife's 2021 Forte from her backing up and hitting the garage door as it was going up. Took about a week to get the parts which seemed pretty reasonable to me. The work was done at a Mazda body shop since they are right by our house. I don't know if that means that parts availability is getting better or what but it could be a positive sign.
Availability varies from part to part. Every now and then I'll get a several thousand dollar order from a body shop where we have everything and it's such a relief. Unfortunately, that isn't usually the case. It's been a little better I guess, most things are getting into the weeks timeframe instead of months, but we still have hundreds of parts on backorder. My oldest is an air box resonator from April of last year. What's really bad is when you can't get a radiator support or something like that for months and it holds up an entire job. I thought GM's strike situation was bad a couple years ago, but it was just a taste of what Kia has put me through in the last year.

Just remembered, our very first Telluride got wrecked being pulled off the truck. Supposedly the sales manager insisted on driving it and smashed the side up. That was a really bad omen. 😂
 
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The Kia Soul ranks as one of the worst new non sport cars in terms of ride quality.
Maybe the generation before this one but the current one's ride is praised by almost all respectable publications... The caveat being the Turbo may not be for everyone because of the stiffness and torsion beam in the rear.

During that comparison, MotorTrend contributor Derek Powell said, "The Soul has astonishing ride quality that belies its price point. The steering, in particular, is fantastic." It's fair to say that the Soul offers a reassuring level of driving performance when pushed, which, for the most part, just isn't found in similar vehicles. At speed, the steering is weighted nicely and is nimble and direct, helping point the vehicle exactly where the driver intends to go. And although the competent handling might contradict the Soul's unconventional shape and its purpose of intended function, it is a welcomed addition and makes the Soul greater than the sum...


The GT-Line rides slightly firmer, yet every Soul we drove exhibited good body control, improved ride quality, and better isolation from wind and road noise. So composed and planted is the Soul, in fact, that the X-Line clung to our skidpad to the tune of 0.91 g—on all-season tires no less (Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2, sized 235/45R-18). That lateral grip figure places the humble Soul on the grippier side of the Honda Civic Si (on its standard all-season tires) and the last Volkswagen GTI we tested.


Soul driving dynamics aren't anything to swoon over, but it's a predictable, easy-to-pilot car with excellent visibility and enough power to keep you out of trouble. It's obvious the brake and steering inputs were designed to appeal to the "vast middle," delivering neither sharp responses nor mushy delays. The Soul is perfectly adequate, which is exactly what it should be.



 
I was going to post that I sure do see a lot of souls rolling blue smoke out the pipe.
And in all the years they have been on the market, I've never seen such a thing. Actually, seeing a smoking tailpipe in the areas I've driven the past few years has been a real rarity.
 
All of our point/counterpoint opinions given here reinforces that the OP needs to really dig for reliable current information. I.E., the parts availability discussion above - my coworker's recent 2019 Silvarado brake system rebuild took 5 weeks to get all the parts in.

Good luck!
 
The ride is praised by the magazines and online reviews.
Maybe the generation before this one but the current one's ride is praised by almost all respectable publications... The caveat being the Turbo may not be for everyone because of the stiffness and torsion beam in the rear.

During that comparison, MotorTrend contributor Derek Powell said, "The Soul has astonishing ride quality that belies its price point. The steering, in particular, is fantastic." It's fair to say that the Soul offers a reassuring level of driving performance when pushed, which, for the most part, just isn't found in similar vehicles. At speed, the steering is weighted nicely and is nimble and direct, helping point the vehicle exactly where the driver intends to go. And although the competent handling might contradict the Soul's unconventional shape and its purpose of intended function, it is a welcomed addition and makes the Soul greater than the sum...


The GT-Line rides slightly firmer, yet every Soul we drove exhibited good body control, improved ride quality, and better isolation from wind and road noise. So composed and planted is the Soul, in fact, that the X-Line clung to our skidpad to the tune of 0.91 g—on all-season tires no less (Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2, sized 235/45R-18). That lateral grip figure places the humble Soul on the grippier side of the Honda Civic Si (on its standard all-season tires) and the last Volkswagen GTI we tested.


Soul driving dynamics aren't anything to swoon over, but it's a predictable, easy-to-pilot car with excellent visibility and enough power to keep you out of trouble. It's obvious the brake and steering inputs were designed to appeal to the "vast middle," delivering neither sharp responses nor mushy delays. The Soul is perfectly adequate, which is exactly what it should be.





Kia might deal with the for profit publications and other review means to spin the crappy ride it has in real life.
Regardless, I like the usefulness of the car and what it is.

This is what Consumers Reports says on the 2022 Kia Soul:

Unfortunately, Kia hasn’t improved the Soul's ride. The car feels stiff and jittery even on smooth pavement, and it jolts over bumps and potholes.

Ride comfort

The Soul’s ride is the car’s Achilles’ heel. Its stiff suspension fails to absorb sharp bumps and potholes, and even on smooth roads it picks up the pavement’s texture and transmits it too faithfully to occupants.
 
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The ride is praised by the magazines and online reviews.


Kia might deal with the for profit publications and other review means to spin the crappy ride it has in real life.
Regardless, I like the usefulness of the car and what it is.

This is what Consumers Reports says on the 2022 Kia Soul:

Unfortunately, Kia hasn’t improved the Soul's ride. The car feels stiff and jittery even on smooth pavement, and it jolts over bumps and potholes.

Ride comfort

The Soul’s ride is the car’s Achilles’ heel. Its stiff suspension fails to absorb sharp bumps and potholes, and even on smooth roads it picks up the pavement’s texture and transmits it too faithfully to occupants.

I see, "they paid those publications". The same ones who opined how bad the ride was in previous generations.

 
What are 3 competitors to the soul? Not that many boxes on wheels anymore 😁
Jeep Renegade [if you need the boxy styling]

other direct competitors in the segment would be:
Chevy Trax
Buick Encore
Nissan Kicks
Toyota CHR
Honda HRV

I would look at any of these over a Kia Soul, although I have heard the Toyota CHR is pretty bad overall.
 
Interesting reading through this thread. I think the soul is an interesting vehicle so whenever i meet someone that has one i ask them about it. I've only ever heard that owners love them. For many years they have gotten great reviews as a practical affordable vehicle. Then you come to BITOG and they're iffy at best. Makes me chuckle.

Never buy Korean and use thick oil, its the BITOG way.
 
This is what Consumers Reports says on the 2022 Kia Soul:

Unfortunately, Kia hasn’t improved the Soul's ride. The car feels stiff and jittery even on smooth pavement, and it jolts over bumps and potholes.

Ride comfort

The Soul’s ride is the car’s Achilles’ heel. Its stiff suspension fails to absorb sharp bumps and potholes, and even on smooth roads it picks up the pavement’s texture and transmits it too faithfully to occupants.
This. This is almost a 100% perfect description of what I mentioned in my earlier post. It’s like the Kia Soul has no suspension absorption capabilities. It’s not a nice car to ride in on a long highway trip.
 
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