It depends on what you are going to use it for. If you are driving mostly in the city, the Soul is at least a foot shorter which makes parking much easier. I still have an old Honda Element which gets pretty poor fuel economy for the engine size, but which makes a pretty comfortable city car because of it’s short length relative to what it can carry and hold.
Best advice I can give you is to buy a copy of Consumer Reports car rating. They show repair history, problems, etc. for current cars. Read it and judge accordingly.
Yeah, car shopping 
I’m up to my eyeballs right now comparing makes/models with various dealer websites and comparing those on the KBB site.
My criteria, I thought, was simple: Used, under 100K, preferably a little smaller than my current Jeep Liberty (we’ve got two huskies and I’m their transport, but they actually don’t need THAT much room as my Liberty has, plus there’s the gas mileage issue). Don’t want to pay past a certain amount. I’ll be trading in the Jeep with the full expectation I won’t get much for it, but every bit helps.
The choices out there make my head spin. I’ve been narrowing down my choices but still…AAAACK
I have a subscription. Here is some of what they say about their “small cars” category:
Best sedan – Subaru Impreza Premium
Best budget car – Kia Rio EX sedan
Fuel efficiency – Toyota Prius 4
Sporty – Mazda3 Grand Touring
AWD – Subaru Impreza Premium
Some specifics about the Soul–
It is “Reccommended”.
Ride comfomfort is stiff and uncomfortable
Handling is good.
Mileage is average for an SUV.
It is underpowered even with the bigger engine
Excellent braking
Yeah, but consistently in the top 10 year after year is the VW Golf/GTI/TDi.
Just buy that. 
The thing about the Soul is that the boxy shape that hurts fuel economy is exactly why I need it, to make it easier to get a baby in and out of a car seat.
This is an astonishing statement. 24/30 is not “average”, it’s “did they leave the ebrake on” bad, even for a real SUV which the Soul is nowhere close to being.
The Subaru Forester, which is a much larger vehicle - over a foot longer and 600lbs heavier, with standard AWD, 8.7" of ground clearance (5.9" for the Kia) with a much bigger more powerful 2.5l engine gets better fuel economy than the FWD Soul. The Honda CRV, with FWD but also a much larger vehicle with a much larger engine, gets significantly better fuel economy. The comparable Honda HRV, which is about the same size with FWD and a similar engine with more power, get’s MUCH better fuel economy. The Range Rover Evoque, with a much more powerful 2.0l turbo engine, standard AWD, and * is a fucking Range Rover*, gets similar fuel economy.
I don’t know what kind of car seat you have but it would be again astonishing if it fit easier in a Kia Soul than a Subaru Forester, a boxy shaped car that is also much larger.
All four vehicles selected for comparison are CVT-equipped. My Golf GTI only gets 24/32.
They call those “short buses” around here. It’s not really flattering.
I’ve never owned a Subaru but it’s definitely one I’d consider if I was looking for a newer car, especially if I lived in a snowy or wet climate. In fact, If I lived in such a climate, I’d probably just shop Subaru.
Not sure why it matters that they have CVTs, here’s 4 that don’t
All are either similarly sized with significantly better fuel economy, or similar fuel economy but significantly larger and more powerful.
The Golf GTI is a significantly more powerful car, and no doubt you are aware that those are VW ponies on the spec-sheet which are different from Audi ponies. The S3 sedan, with essentially the same engine, rated at almost 300hp and AWD, still gets 23/31.
Well, yes, but I want a small car. I mean, it’s trivial to get a baby in my husband’s Explorer but I don’t want a big car. I also want a cheap car, which rules other things out too.
I liked the Honda Fit a lot but the shape of the door and roof mean it really isn’t that much better for rear facing car seats.
To revisit this thread again, I finally bought a car yesterday. After looking and test driving, and as much as I liked the Soul to drive (and I really, really did), I ended up with this used Honda Civic. Sure, the Soul has very good reliability ratings, but Honda does as well. It’s a 2013 with just under 20,000 miles on it, under factory warranty for another year, so in many ways a new car, and I figure if take care of it well I can expect at least 100k more from it. I pulled all the reports I could: no wrecks and regular maintenance reported until it was repossessed. I’ve not done a lot of driving in it yet, but I really do like the way it feels. I am going to take it in to have it checked in the next week or so because carmax will fix any existing problems within the first 30 days. I don’t expect any to be found, but it will make me feel better.
I also got a very good interest rate, better than the dealership was talking about for a new Soul, and that played into the decision as well.
You can’t go wrong with a Civic. Like I said earlier, I had one that I drove for 10 years and it was the most reliable car I’ve ever owned. Nothing but Hondas since.