Anyone have one? Thinking about getting one when I move back to the US.

6/16/2011 10:25:01 AM

I don't have one, nor have I ever driven one, but I do find them to be one of the more interesting choices among compacts. Between the Soul, the Forte Koup, and the new Optima, Kia is actually making some fairly compelling cars lately.

6/16/2011 10:30:09 AM

10 years, 100k mile warranty. why not?

6/16/2011 10:45:36 AM

if i'm gonna drive a sardine can it's gonna do better than 31 mpg combined

[Edited on June 16, 2011 at 4:35 PM. Reason : asdf]

[Edited on June 16, 2011 at 4:37 PM. Reason : DIESEL]

6/16/2011 4:35:12 PM

get the new Hamstar edition.

the Soul looks awesome. a million times better than the Element or the xB or the Kube. most probably, drives way better too.

yes, Kia/Hyundai are making some awesome cars lately, both design-wise and mechanically. doesn't hurt to have an ex-Audi designer on their (Kia's) team! (the designer of the TT)

6/16/2011 5:31:55 PM

Quote :

"if i'm gonna drive a sardine can it's gonna do better than 31 mpg combined"

$5 says head room and leg room in front and back seats are bigger than whatever you drive if its not a full size car.

6/16/2011 6:15:26 PM

I've driven a few as rentals. Decent interior room and good gas mileage for a box
Go for it. I don't think you will be disappointed.

6/16/2011 6:18:04 PM

^^^J. Mays is with Kia now? Or was he not responsible for the TT?

[Edited on June 17, 2011 at 12:20 AM. Reason : carrots]

6/17/2011 12:20:20 AM

from what we investigated for my girlfriend's car, they have more room, more power, more features, lower weight and a longer warranty than any other car in its price range.


how many 15k cars come with bluetooth, remote start, decent stereos and 140hp?

6/17/2011 8:13:13 AM

^^ You are right, I was partially right/wrong.

J Mays was the chief [co-]designer of the TT, along with Freeman Thomas.

Kia's current chief designer (Peter Schreyer) contributed to the interior design of the TT, along with 3 others. He is the one who has designed all the new Kias and given them a distinctive familial look.

6/17/2011 8:45:55 AM

They are nice, I was looking at one hard when we got our Sorento but we wanted something that had a 3rd row. Kia is making some great cars now. My sister-in-law used to have an M-class Mercedes and we let her drive the Sorento. She said it was very similar and has many of the same features. Assuming it doesn't die on my anytime soon I'm sold on Korean cars now.

[Edited on June 17, 2011 at 10:00 AM. Reason : .]

6/17/2011 10:00:11 AM

with a 10 year 100k mile warranty who cares if it does die

6/17/2011 10:03:29 AM

Why the hell do these things have such a high resale value? I can get a new one for 16k from a dealer, used are still 14-15k

8/16/2011 7:39:10 PM

I think they're hot, along w/the original Scion xB and the original Nissan Cube (not sold in the U.S.), the current cube's acceptable as well.

Anyway, I like them a lot, they seem well built. One of my riding friends has one, she loves it. Her sister just bought one also. I love seeing them somewhere (one's Black one's Silver, now just gotta get a white one)!

8/16/2011 10:07:03 PM

My wife's getting a red one in the next few months... once the 2012s start showing up (more hp better mileage & a 6 speed)

8/17/2011 2:36:48 PM

I have been looking around at them some... SO much for your money. Went through and basically got every option I was interested in and it came out to just over $20K


oh, and the new Optima looks REALLY damn good, especially from the front. LOVE the front end, kind of old Jag look to it

[Edited on December 7, 2011 at 10:16 PM. Reason : s]

12/7/2011 10:15:15 PM

I still have not driven a Soul. However, as of about two weeks ago I own a 2012 Forte Koup:



About 700 miles in, so far so good. Mine is the Koup EX, which uses the same 2.0 engine and six-speed transmission as the Soul+ and the Soul!. And it's a good little car, performs well, mileage is a bit shy of what the Soul gets (not sure how, maybe the Soul is lighter?), lots of standard features--bluetooth, XM, keyless entry, and a bunch of other stuff are all included. Interior is nice. Looks really good, in my humble opinion. And you can't go wrong with that warranty.

^The Optima is definitely sexy. There are a lot of Jag cues--you can tell they were borrowing some inspiration from the current XF and XJ plus some of the older models--but it's a damn good looking car. The Optima SX that was in the showroom when I bought the Forte would have come home with me if my budget were about $10K higher.

12/8/2011 12:29:43 AM