Kia Soul owners?

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by RP

Yeh, most of us told ourselves a lot of things when we were 19 - in my own life, very few of those things have played out...

Haha - you got that right!

[joe white]

I echo some of the others comments, Kia has come a long way in a short amount of time. I was considered an oddball locally among friends after confessing to liking the early Kia Soul and now some of those same friends agree that the Soul is cool. I think it's a great solo or duo musician's transport vehicle.

[Jeremy]

I don't own one, but every review I've seen and read about the new Soul has been positive. I know what my choice would be.

[_zedagive]

Drove a rental for a few days. Great car and loved the interface that had more features than a 2019 Lexus NX300 I also drove.

[RussL30]

What is the drivetrain on the Toyota? I’ve had my 2016 Camry for almost 3 years now and what I really love is the simplicity of the drive train. Basic 2.5l 4 cylinder and 6 speed automatic transmission. I love that it’s reliable, not fancy, and the gas mileage is very nice.

I don’t like a lot of technology in newer vehicles and I’m not crazy about the turbo engines and CVT transmissions.

I was always an American brand truck guy, but I have really come to appreciate the “boringness” of Toyota because of its simple reliability.

[fitness1]

I took a little road trip today and went to two Kia dealers and a Toyota dealer.

As sexy as the CH-R looked in pictures, I wasn't as enamored with it in person. It is a 2 liter 4 cylinder with CVT. Like you Russ, I don't like or require a lot of tech, and after the issues with my recent Honda, I'll be staying away from any turbo engines (the top dog Soul has that - but the reviews say don't bother)

I also thought I'd like the X-line Soul better than the GT-line....but in person I was having hard time deciding between the two. The X looks more "off-roadish" and the GT is more simple and elegant. I did like the wheels on the X better in person too.

The Honda dealer that I leased my Civic through (and the last 5 or 6 cars) is owned by the same family as one of the Kia dealers. I'm going to make another attempt at pleading my case and see if we can work something out.

Here's the not to subtle difference between the two....GT on left and X on right....

[RussL30]

Originally Posted by fitness1

I took a little road trip today and went to two Kia dealers and a Toyota dealer.

As sexy as the CH-R looked in pictures, I wasn't as enamored with it in person. It is a 2 liter 4 cylinder with CVT. Like you Russ, I don't like or require a lot of tech, and after the issues with my recent Honda, I'll be staying away from any turbo engines (the top dog Soul has that - but the reviews say don't bother)

I also thought I'd like the X-line Soul better than the GT-line....but in person I was having hard time deciding between the two. The X looks more "off-roadish" and the GT is more simple and elegant. I did like the wheels on the X better in person too.

The Honda dealer that I leased my Civic through (and the last 5 or 6 cars) is owned by the same family as one of the Kia dealers. I'm going to make another attempt at pleading my case and see if we can work something out.

Here's the not to subtle difference between the two....GT on left and X on right....

That’s a solid engine in the Toyota, but I’m not sure about the CVT.

I just googled the two and I actually think the X line looks better. I’ll be honest, I was thinking the Soul was ugly as sin, but the updates they’ve done actually look much better. I like the sporty look of the X line and you wouldn’t look like every other cookie cutter crossover out there.

I’ve always preferred sporty looking vehicles over the rugged off road look. I was really wanting the previous generation Accord sport back when I was in the market, just couldn’t find near as good of a deal as my
Camry. That was a great looking car though.

[HodgdonExtreme]

Originally Posted by fitness1

and after the issues with my recent Honda, I'll be staying away from any turbo engines (the top dog Soul has that - but the reviews say don't bother)

Turbochargers are, generally speaking, pretty awesome. They allow you to make a bunch of extra power, or, make same power with a smaller, more fuel-efficient engine.

Turbos on gasoline cars are kind of in their 3rd generation, currently. The manufacturers tried them back in the 60s - but quickly learned they are very problematic when coupled with a carburetor. They tried again in the 80s during the oil embargo days, when electronic fuel injection went mainstream. That worked out MUCH better than their first attempt. But the electronic control system wasn't quite sophisticated-enough to ensure everything was always working within its design limits.

This current turbo era is much, much better than the previous two. I'm sorry you bought one of the only faulty Honda products (ever), but frankly, the issue with your 1.5L Honda is really more on account of the direct-injection fuel system - and not so much the fact it is turbocharged.

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss turbocharging!

EDIT: I don't blame you for being salty over Honda selling you a product with a design defect. Don't blame you at all. However - you can be sure Honda is taking that extremely seriously, and won't let it happen again. As a gearhead, I have extreme respect for Honda - but everybody goofs, sometimes.

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by HodgdonExtreme

Turbochargers are, generally speaking, pretty awesome. They allow you to make a bunch of extra power, or, make same power with a smaller, more fuel-efficient engine.



I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss turbocharging!

EDIT: I don't blame you for being salty over Honda selling you a product with a design defect. Don't blame you at all. However - you can be sure Honda is taking that extremely seriously, and won't let it happen again. As a gearhead, I have extreme respect for Honda - but everybody goofs, sometimes.

I'm not intrigued by extra power as about 90% of my driving is around town, but the higher fuel efficiency is certainly a plus.

Problem with this current car is that it's gone down about 6 mpg in the first 12k miles. First summer I averaged over 44mpg, now down to 38.

I still have respect for their products, but not how they have handled it. Their "fix" was to give a little more warranty - instead of 5 year/60k, it's now 6 year unlimited. That really doesn't do me any good as a lessee. I just have to keep driving it for another year (probably) and polluting much more than I want. Also questioning the reliability - I don't keep new cars around so I can get stranded.

[FLRon]

I can totally relate Todd. As a long time Honda associate and now retiree,I have owned nothing but Honda's since 1990. And I've bought a bunch of them.
That said,for the first time since 1990 I am actually considering a different brand,the Hyundai Palisade. The Pilot now does nothing for me,even though I've owned six of them since they started making them.
I won't bash Honda,but suffice it to say that what is going on inside the plants now in regards to the way the associates are losing their benefits is showing up on the dealer lot in the form of poor quality.
One last thing. I still remember back in the very early 90's when we at Honda laughed at Kia for their terrible quality. Who's laughing now?

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by FLRon

I can totally relate Todd. As a long time Honda associate and now retiree,I have owned nothing but Honda's since 1990. And I've bought a bunch of them.
That said,for the first time since 1990 I am actually considering a different brand,the Hyundai Palisade. The Pilot now does nothing for me,even though I've owned six of them since they started making them.
I won't bash Honda,but suffice it to say that what is going on inside the plants now in regards to the way the associates are losing their benefits is showing up on the dealer lot in the form of poor quality.
One last thing. I still remember back in the very early 90's when we at Honda laughed at Kia for their terrible quality. Who's laughing now?

Interesting perspective - thanks for sharing.

My Civic Sport Hatchback was built in Great Britain (plant now closed I believe) and engine and transmission from India and Indonesia if I'm remembering correctly.

I was a bit hesitant about it when I read that on the sticker, but went ahead because I loved the aesthetics so much.

Still not sure what I'm going to do - I'm not big on confrontation, and with the current economic climate, I may be better off to just drive it for another year until the lease is up and see where things are then.

[RP]

Originally Posted by FLRon

...One last thing. I still remember back in the very early 90's when we at Honda laughed at Kia for their terrible quality. Who's laughing now?

And I remember when this late 1960s Honda N600 hit the US shores with its two cylinder 36 hp motor. Honda has also come a long way...

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by RP

And I remember when this late 1960s Honda N600 hit the US shores with its two cylinder 36 hp motor. Honda has also come a long way...

Come a heckuva long way since my '75 Civic Hondamatic hatchback with 1300 screaming CC's!

[Cabarone]

I'm way late to the dance here but I'll chime in...
I bought my wife a new 2012 Soul. She loves it. Recently turned 149K on it.
There's an issue, though. Last year I was about 300 miles past the time for an oil change (I'm a stickler about the 3,000 mile thing). On my way home from work, about two blocks from the house the oil light flashed on and off a couple times. It stayed off and when I got home and checked the dipstick was almost dry. Took it to the dealer and they had me bring it in every 200 miles (if memory serves) and they checked it, topped it off as needed and kept record for 1000 miles.
Here's the rub. Kia's standard for oil consumption is one quart every 750-1,000 miles is considered normal. Which means, if you don't add any, you'll run out of oil between oil changes. They're assertion is that, with cars using lighter weight oil (ours uses 5W20) they burn it faster.
I passed this info along to the manager of the Jiffy Lube I take it to. She said they've noticed the same problem w/Camaros and Chargers.
I'm sorry, but as much as we enjoy that car, adding a quart of oil every other gas fill-up is something I will do as long as we have this Soul, but never again...

[RP]

That's interesting, Cabarone. As I recall, the early Wankel rotary engine Mazdas also consumed oil as a normal part of engine functioning...