Faults:

On occasion the automatic transmission shifts hard, and continues that behavior for a few days. It then goes back to normal. Dealer doesn't know what to do about it.

Tire pressure monitoring system keeps giving false readings, when tires are in fact inflated properly. Dealer has offered to fix this for an outrageous charge.

General Comments:

Nice car for the money, and other than the faults above it's been very reliable. However, this is a tough car to drive on the highway. The steering is extremely light and has no feedback at all, and the suspension doesn't feel like it will keep the car pinned down to the road at highway speeds. Ride is jiggly even when on smooth pavement. We bought it as we needed a cheap, reliable car for our business, but wouldn't buy another one primarily due to the handling issue. If Kia could get the European handling down, this car would be an unbeatable value.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

So far, this has been an excellent car.

We bought it to replace a wrecked 2007 Ford Focus that we bought new. We looked at all kinds of small cars, and were just really impressed by the total package of the Soul. In fact, we liked it so much we bought a second one for commuting (we both have jobs). Mine, which I will do another survey on when I get more miles on it, is manual.

What I like about the car: it is ridiculously compact for daily use, yet has a lot of interior space. You ride like an SUV, but with small-car economy. Even the base models are loaded out with power everything, Bluetooth, satellite radio, keyless, etc. It's reasonably comfortable for a small car. We have been getting about 30 MPG city in this car, with the automatic. It has a 100k mile warranty on the drivetrain - actually, ours has a lifetime warranty from the dealer. Very inexpensive for a brand new car (about 16k including all the fees for the automatic).

What I don't like: it's a little sluggish with the automatic compared to the manual (now that I have both to compare). There are large blind spots because of the way the windows are designed. The Bluetooth system seems a little schizophrenic sometimes.

All in all, I think Kia really hit a home run with this car. I've had plenty of foreign & American cars, and I'm really impressed with this car's overall package.