Are (new) Kia Souls good cars? Anybody have experience with them? (Plus a car warranty question.)

In My Humble Opinion
41

Quick addition. The Toyota hybrids (which are now the Prius/Corolla hybrid (slow hybrids) and the Camry/Rav4/Highlander hybrid (fun hybrids) use an e-CVT.

Don’t let the CVT fool you, an e-CVT is a radically different design than a CVT, and by two different data sources*, the reliability is:

e-CVT>Manual>Torque converter>DCT/DSG>CVT

They almost never break, and are available almost for free on ebay, so if you break one, the repair/maintenance ordering is:

Manual>e-CVT>Torque converter>DSG/DCT>CVT

(if they *do *break, swapping one is more difficult than swapping the clutch which is what usually fails in a manual)

*my data sources are: Toyota is the most reliable manufacturer, and the Prius is their most reliable car, per both Mymechanic and Consumer reports. Also, the Prius “transaxle” is available on ebay for $300 from wrecked examples with ~60k miles on them. The reason it’s so cheap is that it fails much less often than people wreck Prii.

Here’s what an e-CVT looks like inside: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLNDGUISTYM

Notice there is no chain, there are two electric motors, the gears do not change states and are ever locked in a fixed orientation. These are the reasons it’s so reliable.

42

That eCVT looks to be a very impressive piece of technology, but also looks incredibly complex and intricate, so many gears and pinions, I wasn’t aware the eCVT used a clutch pak similar to a manual or DSG…

by means of comparison, the DSG looks a bit mechanically simpler than an eCVT, it’s basically two nested manual transmissions…

43

What are you talking about? Are you looking at the same video I linked? The eCVT is the mechanically simplest transmission in the world that has a variable gear ratio at all.

More than half of the complexity is in the electronics.

And just a 5 second glance at the video you linked shows that the DSG is more than twice as complex as an eCVT.

44

Maybe it’s just me then, my mind was visually disassembling the planetary clusters and such, whereas the DSG had most of the gear sets visible…

Taken as whole components, yes ,the eCVT looks much simpler

Does an eCVT feel any different driving than a belt-driven CVT (like the JATCO crap Nissan/Subaru uses)

Does it have the “rubber band” effect like the belt drive CVT? The sloppy feel of a torque converter?

The biggest problems I have with the DSG (aside from the fact that I’m a hardcore manual guy) is that it has a noticeable lag in D When starting from a standstill, and the mechatronic can sometimes (rarely) get confused as to what gear to preselect for the next shift, I greatly prefer the simplicity and precision of the manual, it shifts ONLY when I tell it to (also, I got almost 140,000 miles off my ‘07 VW Rabbit with the original clutch and transmission fluid, I sold it to a nice college kid who is still getting great life from it, still going strong on the original parts)

The DSG is an acceptable compromise for me, but it is a compromise

To get back on subject, I like the Soul, especially since it’s available with a manual, Kia has come a long way since the early days of the Sportage…

45

Another option for a nice small SUV on the used market is the Honda Element, the most versatile small SUV on the road, I think it was designed on Galifrey, it’s clearly bigger on the inside…

The interior versatility is unmatched, the rear seats recline, fold completely flat, can be folded up to the sides of the passenger compartment, can be completely removed, the floor is rubberized for easy wipe down, and both front seats, passenger AND drivers seats fold completely flat, with all four seats down, you have a huge (slightly lumpy) mattress, perfect for car camping.

The only downside is the abysmal fuel mileage (mid 20’s) and it has the aerodynamics of a brick

46

There’s no belt, so no.

In a Prius, the primary problem is that the electric motors are weak compared to the weight of the car. So at low speeds, the acceleration is extremely linear and responsive, but at higher speeds, most of the power is coming from the engine, and the engine can’t change speeds immediately. So there’s some lag.

Toyota fixed this problem with the Camry and Rav4 hybrids. (the latter is now the bestselling hybrid). They did this by massively upsizing the motors, and adding a rear wheel motor, and the engine is also bigger*. The drivetrain feels extremely immediate and responsive because the car is now closer to a true electric car in the short term (right when you mash the pedal) and it gets sustained power from the larger engine.

Both in the Camry and RAV4 you get ~220 horsepower in a sprint, and ~7.5sec 0-60 times. It’s the fastest RAV4 and the hybrid camry is more powerful than the 4 cylinder gas.

*but only 50 mpg for the Camry, and 40 mpg for the RAV4. Less fuel economy for more power.

47

They also stopped making them in 2011, so any used examples are going to be well worn by this point.

48

I have a 2014 and I love it. I’m tall, and find it more comfortable than similarly sized cars, like the CRS AND RAV4. My only regret is that it doesn’t have all wheel drive, since I live in an area that can get significant snow. I believe the models from 2017 and newer do have it, though.

49

I think lots of people who like these cars would love to see an AWD but in the interest of keeping prices down for the entire Soul model lineup, Kia has opted not to do so thus far.

50

I bought my first one after Googling “small cars for tall people” because at the time, I had a 40-50 mile round trip commute, and had to use my personal car for business.

People are always agog when I tell them what I drive. I have inches of headroom, and the seat is a notch or two closer to the wheel that it is capable of.

I’d love an AWD. I have to drive in poor winter weather for work, and I’ve gotten through some ridiculous shit on the way home from work, passing plenty of cars stuck off the road.

Still, going to put snow tires on this fall. Even thinking about getting stuck and waiting for a tow or push after a 12-hour shift is enough to piss me off.

51

I’ve got a 2016 base model with the 6-speed. Bought it used after hurricane Harvey submerged my truck. Haven’t had any problems with it so far, been getting 32-33 mpg, mostly highway driving. The 1.6 liter ‘Gamma’ engine is peppy enough, and uses a timing chain instead of a belt, so there’s one maintenance issue I won’t have to deal with down the road. Oh, the warranty is 10 years/100k mi for the original purchaser only, if you buy used it drops to 5 years/60k.

52

I realized I was wrong about the mileage yesterday when I was getting an oil change… I’m about to hit 92k.

53

Not sure why a KIA Soul is being compared to a Toyota Rav4? No way that a Soul is in the compact crossover class. It’s more of a hatchback and closer to the newer sub-compact crossover segment if you want to try and see it as a mini SUV. That segment would include the Toyota C-HR, Honda HR-V, or Nissan Kicks. Rav-4 is much bigger.

54

The Soul is really hard to categorize. A friend bought one years ago and apparently her insurance company classifies it as a “station wagon”.

55

According to Wikipedia, it’s a “compact car.” IMHO it’s in roughly the same category as the four-door hatchbacks of the 80s.

56

My friend has a 2016 Soul and we’ve been on two 1,000 miles road trips in it. It’s surprisingly roomy for passengers, although it could use a little more cargo room in the hatchback portion. It handles and drives well and is reasonably efficient, about 30 MPG highway. Visibility is good. Controls are intuitive. Seats are comfortable and plenty of leg and head room.

It has about 45,000 miles and it’s been totally reliable so far. I wouldn’t necessarily expect this to be a 200,000 mile car, but probably 150,000 or so.

57

Kia’s website, on the other hand, groups it with “SUVs/Crossovers.” That’s their story, anyway. Personally, I don’t buy it.

58

My SO has a Soul, and my experience with it leads me to agree with everything you’ve said. The main thing I don’t like about it is that, unlike my Taurus, it doesn’t have armrests where I can rest my arms while holding the steering wheel, so it’s not as comfortable to drive for long distances.

59

If you don’t need the higher seating position, increased ground clearance or AWD of the Soul (basically a tall hatchback/wagon), another great alternative is the VW Jetta/Golf Sportwagen

thre engine choices depending on if you go new or used…

2.5L Five Cylinder gasoline (used market), the 2.5 5 is an amazingly reliable engine, one of the most reliable VW has made, i had one in my MkV Rabbit, and i loved that 5 cyl., sounds like a baby Lamborghini Gallardo, one piston is always on a power stroke at all times, no dead points in the powerband, uses a timing chain, only downside is lackluster fuel economy (22-34 depending), but it’s so much fun to drive, torquey and fun

2.0L 4 cylinder TDI Diesel (Used market), even torquier than the 2.5, and amazingly reliable, diesels are tanks, 140 HP, but 236 TQ all under 2,000 RPM, fuel mileage from 35-46 depending on conditions and after the emissions update, puls like a freight train, and can (unofficially) tow up to 3,000 Lbs

1.6L TSI gasoline (New market) (or maybe the 1.4 TSI, not sure which), the current engine, i have no experience with it, but on paper it seems decent enough

Manual transmission is still available (yes, a station wagon with a manual!), as is a panoramic glass roof (be sure to keep the drain pipes clean though…)

They also have an AWD “Alltrak” version available in the gasoline 1.something models

my current daily driver is a '12 VW Golf TDI (unfortunately a DSG) and other than the DSG, i love it, i’m completely sold on the diesel, it has 55,000 miles on the odometer, and if you wipe your finger inside the tailpipe, it’s completely soot free (thanks to the Diesel Particulate Filter)

My price for a '12 VW Golf TDI with 50,000 miles and fancy DSG dual-clutch automated manual gearbox? $9000

Just another option.

60

I was reading along and formulating replies when I came across this, which may have already been addressed. This is a WAAAAY inflated percentage, and it varies a LOT depending on what the car is. Jeep Wranglers and anyone’s pickup trucks depreciate more slowly than the average car. It’s much closer on average to 20%. Still a lot, but worth noting.