Kia gets Soul!

[kostby]

Quote »Kia will build a production version of the Soul crossover concept in 2008 for the 2009 model year, the company announced today.When the small off-roader debuted a year ago in concept form, Kearns, chief designer for KMA said, "the Soul really was a collaborative effort between our design studio in California and our design studio in KoreaSo why does every copy of the Vibe/Matrix et al 4-door wagon/hatchback now get labeled 'crossover' these days?Link to brief Leftlane News Story -->http://www.leftlanenews.com/20...-2008/

[VforVIBE]

eww... I just threw up a little in my mouth

[MRCN RCE]

Quote, originally posted by VforVIBE »eww... I just threw up a little in my mouth yeah i do that w/ every kia i see kostby: i remember when our cars were first called "sport wagons". i wonder why they dropped that label. maybe the "wagon" part sounded too 70s. i still call mine a sport wagon tho

[ColonelPanic]

Well, being that people actually buy those god awful xb's and elements, I'm sure people will buy these too.

[drunkenmaxx]

not to mention, if it wasn't a kia, it would instantly have more approval. people hear that or hyundai and instantly assume it's a turd, which use to be the case, but has changed.

[ColonelPanic]

You know, I think that's pretty much how it goes... If that thing had a Toyota/Scion/Honda logo on it, people would be lining up at dealer to get on a waiting list for 6 months to buy one and end up paying well over M$RP because that car is HOT!. But naturally, tis not a Toyota/Scion/Honda and instead is a Kia... So, it's pretty much a piece of crap.

[drunkenmaxx]

+1 that is p1mp. lol!!111, omgz, roflmao

[Atomb]

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »... instantly assume it's a turd...i thought that's what TRD stood for (TuRD) heh don't know if what you said is true about hyundai anymore....and kia is just where hyndai was a few years ago!

[bodhi_tree777]

Bumping an old thread. Has anyone driven one of these yet? Its actually getting pretty solid reviews as far as I can tell.

[kowell]

Quote, originally posted by MRCN RCE »kostby: i remember when our cars were first called "sport wagons". i wonder why they dropped that label. maybe the "wagon" part sounded too 70s. i still call mine a sport wagon tho In the last 6 years every manufacturer invended 1 or 2 "new segment" for their car to be the best in so it's gotten pretty hard to pinpoint car segments, specially in the hatchback department. you got sport utility compacts, cargo utility vehicule, sport hatchback, hell I saw some PT-cruisers advertised as full SUVs while a Rav4 was advertised as a smaller CUV.Then you get stuff like the Toyota Venza or Ford flex, created to bridge the gap between hatchback and CUV but the CUV was already created to bridge the gap between hatchback and SUV but the SUV was created to bridge the gap between the station wagon and 4x4.Remember the good old days when you had a CAR, a TRUCK and "that thing inbetween". As for the Kia Soul well it's a logical answer to the Scion Xb. It worked well for Toyota to attract young buyers, Nissan is importing the Cube from japan (which is basicaly a versa with different esthetics) and Kia created the Soul which will fill-in the gap for the spectra5 once the Forte replaces the spectra sedan. The Chevrolet Groove and Track concepts were also very similar in size and shape to these cars. The korean's quality and reliability went up in the last years and it really can't be compared to the Pony these days. I kept a Sorento for 5 years trouble free and I loved this thing. I rented it in 2004 for 5 years because I wasn't too sure about reliability but now I would get another new korean product without any concern for reliability. Although I'm not trading in the vibe any time soon... too fun and I like paying under 30$ for gas every week.

[joatmon]

I won't buy one of these. There's something about the name "Soul" on a car made by the Killed In Action company. I want a car less oriented on death.

[ColonelPanic]

I didn't like these things at first, but now that the Kia dealer by the house has a front row full of those things, I am kind of interested. Which is very odd, since I can't stand the Xwhatevers and Elements. My favorite color thus far is the Envy / snot green sort of color. It's pretty cool how close to the concept the final product became.It's got some neat features, like the cool LED lighting around the speakers. Takes little to impress me. And the fact that hamsters can drive it is pretty cool too.Haven't driven one, but underneath it's riding on a modified Rio platform (which my Hyundai Accent shares the Rio's underpinnings and mechanicals.) With that said, I wouldn't look for too much excitement unless they've really tweaked the suspension. Like my Accent, behind the wheel it probably has all of the personality of a toaster (might as well since the Soul already looks like one!) but makes up for it by being a reliable daily driver that you don't have to worry about. (until it's time for costly services like timing belts and such every 60k. )I'd definitely give this one a look if I wanted a small refrigerator box to drive around in. It's weird, but the styling isn't as goofy as the Cube.

[breezd]

I am actually planning on test driving one tonight. I don't really plan on getting one soon (since I only have $5k left on the vibe), but I just wanna check one out, for future reference... I've been checking them out online, and I wanna drive either the Soul! or the Soul Sport. I'm just having a hard time finding a Sport around here in ManualColonelPanic> yeah it is pretty cool that hampsters can drive it! One KIA dealer around here offers a complimentary Lifetime (Limited) Powertrain Warranty on all KIAs on top of their 10yr/100k mile warranty.

[ColonelPanic]

Very cool, looking forward to seeing what your thoughts are. I'm half tempted to go drive one myself just for giggles.I recently learned that a guy I used to work with now is in sales over at the Kia place... And last time I saw him he needed gas but was broke so I helped him out. I say he owes me.

[Tubaryan12]

I sat in one of these a few weeks ago. I'm a big guy and I had to admit I liked it. The car has very limited back seat room though.

[Vibe_dude]

I dont even want to look at one...it hurts me eyes to much.......just a scion rip off.and I hate that car too.lol.

[ColonelPanic]

Which I guess the Scion either ripped off the Element or the original Cube that dates back to 1998 in Japan. Certainly is a polarizing design, you'll either throw up in your mouth a little bit or think it's alright - no inbetweens.

[PlatinumVibe08]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »Well, being that people actually buy those god awful xb's and elements, I'm sure people will buy these too.I saw an ad at the movies the other day and couldn't resist stopping by the KIA dealership on the way home to take a little closer look. I can't say I was all that impressed but I'm sure they will sell. What's scary is the dealership had marked up the price $2,000 over MSRP and there are some idiots out there that will pay it or think they got a great deal because they got a $2,000 discount and bought the car for sticker price.

[ColonelPanic]

I wonder if that's because they're new or if it's because the dealer is a slimeball? I vote the latter seeing how the one here has to mark everything up like that too. Theirs is always in the form of a crappy proximity card security system that they install on every car and force you to have it on the car whether you want it or not. But hey, it's only $1200.. What did the $2,000 markup consist of on the ones you looked at?We probably saw the same ad at the movies tonight too... (was it the hamster one?) So cute.

[PlatinumVibe08]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »What did the $2,000 markup consist of on the ones you looked at?If I remember correctly, it was for a "Platinum Protection Package" which I can only assume is some kind of paint sealant/undercoating ripoff. Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »We probably saw the same ad at the movies tonight too... (was it the hamster one?) So cute.Yep, same one. Here it is ----> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFHCfwF87_o PlatinumVibe08

[isaaclud]

haha i got you man....Remember the good old days when you had a CAR, a TRUCK and "that thing inbetween". you mean the El Camino / Ranchero?good one

[KNINE]

I saw my first Kia Soul today. I was disappointed that no hampsters were driving it.

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by K-NINE »I saw my first Kia Soul today. I was disappointed that no hampsters were driving it. Need to look under the hood...

[keithvibe]

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »Need to look under the hood... it has more hp than my awd vibe... so i must have mice in mine

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »it has more hp than my awd vibe... so i must have mice in mineLoss due to the routing of the exhaust on the AWD compared to the Base?

[ColonelPanic]

LOL! I'm lurking on a Soul forum and saw that they had a pic of a Soul with a gigantic hamster in the driver's seat. I so want one of these... In the snot green color.

[lowincash]

i saw a black kia soul the other day and it actually doesn't look too bad. i think it looks better than the scion xb. it's a funky little car. i wish it was another brand other than kia tho =/

[KNINE]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »LOL! I'm lurking on a Soul forum and saw that they had a pic of a Soul with a gigantic hamster in the driver's seat. I so want one of these... In the snot green color.If I was in the market for a new car, I'd certainly take one for a spin. So how do the people on the forum like them?

[kowell]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »LOL! I'm lurking on a Soul forum and saw that they had a pic of a Soul with a gigantic hamster in the driver's seat. it's from the TV adds that have been runing for a few weeks.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFHCfwF87_o I would seriously consider leasing a 2.0L model as a second vehicule. It looks a lot better then the Scion and Nissan Cube.

[ramenboy...]

Quote, originally posted by lowincash »i saw a black kia soul the other day and it actually doesn't look too bad. i think it looks better than the scion xb. it's a funky little car. i wish it was another brand other than kia tho =/+1 i'd definitely pick one over the xb. and yeah, the 'snot green' color is kinda cool!!!

[bull77]

i see them all the time b/c theres a nissan dealer across from where I work. they look good on the road and come with a huge list of standard items.

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by K-NINE »If I was in the market for a new car, I'd certainly take one for a spin. So how do the people on the forum like them? They seem to like them pretty well from what little I've lurked.. There's a member that bought two at the same time. http://www.kiasoulforums.com/Some of those guys are really tricking them out with the graphics and various other add-ons... There's a TON of OEM thingies you can put on those things.

[Whelan]

I've seen a few lately, they look too tinny for me and odd proportions as they use the similar reverse wedge from the original Vibe/Matrix, but with such a tall stance it just doesn't work for me.Saw one pulled over on the side of the highway with a statey behind him. Couldn't have been speeding, maybe he was being cited for animal cruelty with all the hamsters under the hood. Thank you, I'm here all week!