2013 Kia Soul Review, Hamsters Not Included

Urban Utility Vehicle? 4 giant hamsters clubbing it up? Mood light interior? Not necessarily selling points for a 40 year old engineer and stay at home mom with 3 kids, but we’re open to trying anything!  Although our kids would consider us the most unhip people on the planet, Kia has yet again surpassed our expectations when we tried out the 2013 Kia Soul!   Throw all the demographic specific marketing aside, the Soul is comfortable cruising on the freeway as it is slipping into a compact parking space and offers a wide range of utility for any driver.

What may look like a shoebox on wheels to some really is an agile comfortable and convenient ride, we were pleasantly surprised with its function, style and sense of fun.

Via my husband: During the commute I was pleasantly surprised to get roughly 30 miles per gallon and was even happier when I realized that a full tank of gas was only 12.7 gallons (half the size of my current car). The standard SiriusXM radio had more entertainment than I had time to evaluate. The sound system was pretty impressive, with speakers atop the dash, you really get a good surround-sound! Seating and driving controls all were comfortable and easy to operate.

Specs are as follows:

• 4-cylinder, aluminum block & head
• 164 hp @ 6,500 rpm
• Front engine, front-wheel drive
• Fuel tank capacity: 12.7 gallons
• Estimated city/highway MPG: 26/34
• UVO in-vehicle infotainment w/HD Radio™ technology, rear-camera display
• Driver’s 6-way adjustable seat
• Dual-level glove box
• Power sunroof w/tilt
• USB/auxiliary input jacks
• 12V power outlet
• Luggage under-floor tray
• Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
• Rear child-safety door locks

Mom’s Opinion:  When this bright red car pulled up, I immediately nodded at the color and thought how perfect is the “Molten” description, just like lava!  The car had a higher profile than I expected and surprised us on just how roomy it actually was.  With 3 kids in the back, they weren’t on top of each other.  Also, it fit so nice in our garage!

We enjoyed a weekend road trip to visit family with our 3 kids in the Soul. All 5 of us fit comfortably in the Soul and we enjoyed the speaker mood lighting while driving at night. The rainbow of colors changing was soothing and hard to look away from for the passenger.  It didn’t light up the entire car and make a scene as the commercials seem to lead you to believe, we were glad for that. Check out the lights in action:

For a small car, there is a decent amount of cargo area (even has a light) for the day trip, extra sweatshirts, a cooler, and some toys fit nicely in the trunk area, while the space around everyone’s seat was just enough.

PERKS! Heated seats, tons of music choices, hand’s free Bluetooth, color options on the speakers, back up camera, and USB ports for charging our gadgets were all used and appreciated, probably the hardest part about going back to our regular cars, we love those perks!  We found out what happens when you left the car running (keyless ignition) and the person with the key in his pocket gets away from the vehicle, an alarm noise sounds! Also the name stitched in the seats looked really nice, loved that touch!

Overall, short term, we adjusted to the car fine.  Long term with 3 kids and the amount of traveling we do, I believe we need more space both in the seating area and in the trunk for stretching out and carrying luggage.  It would definitely be something we’d look into as a commuter car-only for my husband,  the Kia Soul’s selling price starts at $14,400!

Once again we were impressed with Kia’s craftsmanship and attention to detail. The Soul is a truly fun car that provides an amazing amount of style. I’m becoming comfortable being and looking cool in these sporty cars, and after a week with the Kia Soul I was proud to drive something that stood out on the road. We recommend anyone considering a new car purchase to stop by your Kia dealer and see what they have to offer.

All opinions are our own, we had the car on loan for one week.