The other was the Soul's cheerful chassis. We wouldn't normally go on about a CVT like this, but it was one of two key aspects that made this relatively plain Soul surprisingly fun on mountain roads around San Diego. When you are ready to shift, the change comes smoothly and responsively. This not only reinforces the feeling of having real gears, but it makes the powertrain feel more responsive and lets you take advantage of engine braking.
#Kia soul xline manual
Popping it into manual mode lets you shift through predetermined ratios that never fluctuate. The engine may be average, but the CVT impresses, partly because it spends its time simulating a silky smooth automatic. Choosing a manual in the Soul brings fuel economy down to 25 in the city and 31 on the highway. The EX version of the Soul manages an impressive 29 mpg in the city and 35 on the highway, coming close to matching the Nissan Kicks that gets 31 mpg in town and 36 on the highway. That puts it ahead of the Toyota C-HR and tied with the CVT-equipped Subaru Crosstrek. Fuel economy for most CVT-equipped Souls comes in at 27 mpg in the city, and 33 on the highway, which matches the old naturally-aspirated 1.6-liter model's city economy and improves on the highway by 3 mpg.
Acceleration is sluggish with plenty of noise, but throttle response is snappy, and the sounds it does emit is pleasantly growly. The four-cylinder engine is about par for the segment. We don't think most buyers will mind, too much, since most Souls will probably never leave pavement anyway. Despite the quasi-crossover looks, there's no extra ground clearance nor the option of all-wheel-drive.
#Kia soul xline plus
That's a $4,000 step up from a base, manual LX, and the price difference is attributable to styling tweaks – plastic fender flares and silver-painted trim meant to evoke skid plates – plus the addition of blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic warning.
The Kia Soul X-Line is roughly a mid-level model, starting at $22,485, and it features the powertrain that the vast majority of Souls will have: a 2.0-liter inline-four making 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque coupled to a CVT. What we discovered was a spunky, funky hatch that's a great choice all-around in one guise - and a questionable choice in another. We tried out two versions of the new Soul, the crossover-inspired X-Line with a new naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine, and the sporty GT-Line with the optional turbocharged 1.6-liter engine.
#Kia soul xline skin
Under the skin is a new standard engine, and the lineup features additional trim lines, each with unique styling. The new generation is completely redesigned from the ground-up, sporting bold but recognizable looks. The xB and Cube are long dead, and the Soul is on its third-generation, ready to take on the latest crop of subcompact crossovers that have replaced the old boxes. We're not sure, of the three, we'd have put our money on the Soul to outlast the rest, but here we are.
It's hard to believe, but the Kia Soul first went on sale a decade ago, hitting the market for the 2010 model year to challenge the new-to-America Nissan Cube and the wheeled box pioneer Scion xB.
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