Kia Soul - Vote Now

kmick

well whats the verdict?
http://www.kiasoul.ie/

Have to say I love it.

Drummerboy08

Meh. Think i prefer the Citroen C3DS.

Zube

Meh. Slightly interesting when Nissan did it 10 years ago.

Cookie_Monster

Looks like it was designed by retards imo

Eoin

I saw one of these on display last weekend - it looks as weird in real life. The lines around the roof and windows remind me a bit of the swift.

unkel

The one think it lacks is.....




..... you guessed it

Drummerboy08

unkel wrote: »

The one think it lacks is.....




..... you guessed it

Hair???

EPM

In fairness, they had the b*lls to do it.

I reckon it could sell quite well but I do think the price is a little on the steep side (c. €20k). If it was priced slightly lower I think it would do very well as a cut-priced MINI alternative. Bit too close in price to a MINI One they way it is. Apparently you can customize a lot of the car just like the MINI. I saw one outside Mallow Road Motors in Cork last week - well specced black one and it didnt look at all bad.

Kia are churning out some decent stuff these days. Pro-ceed, this and the new Sorento are some of the nicer looking cars in their class.

kmick

I think its more of a scion than a Qashqai. Like the scion too though.

alias no.9

A qualified Hell Yeah for me, it does the small, functional but funky thing very well.

Saab Ed

Like every other Kia its just about on par with whats expected when its launched and then goes off faster than raw meat under the sun. People always seem to want to find reason to call this stuff good, but its not. The Koreans never moved the game on before and they sure as hell havent done this time either.....

PS can you please put an extra 5th option at the bottom of the poll so I can vote

unkel

The same money buys you a Subaru Impreza permanent 4WD with the new boxer diesel engine

Cookie_Monster

unkel wrote: »

The same money buys you a Subaru Impreza permanent 4WD with the new boxer diesel engine

another fugly car thou:pac:

hebejebees

I actually like it, to look at its a bit out there, either you love it or hate it kind of thing. I drove one, loved it, has a cracking engine, ride is pretty hard but i'd live with it, nice interior and pleanty of features. Although the flashing speakers did my head in after turning them on for like 3 secs.
Probably appeals to a small market and in these times its hardly going to sell loads

Eoin

Some more pictures, in case you don't want to load the flash website in the OP:

philstar

I think its funky, ya i like it.......Kia are coming up in the world

dosen't it come with different colour interiors??

liam7831

Its a kia so in other words its a bucket of s**t

Matt Simis

We need to out and shoot the 11 people voting this "Hell Yeah".. You people blind?

drver1

Here are some proper pictures,

only €150 to tax, and 5 year warranty

http://www.carzone.ie/search/KIA/Soul/...WEVE-/200910192030546/advert

cantdecide

Gimmicky, plagiarised and ultimately, forgettable.

Meh and double meh

gpjordanf1

Its certainly unusual, I like the work Kia are doing, moving in the right direction.

In these times its going to be hard to argue with their pricing & warranty.

Would I buy one, probably not, well not a brand new one anyway.

Mr Benevolent

Kia have parked one at the 2M entrance into the carpark in Dundrum Shopping Centre. I pass it every day, and it gets worse each time.

crosstownk

The one thing it probably lacks most is 'Soul' :pac:

I saw one at a Kia dealer last month and it had drum brakes at the rear :eek: Granted that the model I saw was a preproduction model so maybe discs are standard.

It will sell - maybe not in any great volume but it will have a certain appeal to some people.

I voted Meh. It's not my thing.

Eoin

Matt Simis wrote: »

We need to out and shoot the 11 people voting this "Hell Yeah".. You people blind?

No we don't. I'm not mad on the design, but I am glad to see different looking cars in the market. It's depressing how similar cars are getting.

Saab Ed

Hold on hold on €23,295 is real money for a car that looks like the love child of a basketball boot and a storm troopers helmut. Highandrys and Kias have there place in the world and its called " I know f**k all about cars" cars , the likes of Accents and Rios for 90 pence that old folk buy new and people who dont care about cars buy second hand. Dont be fooled people you can buy a proper car for this money. Kias are better than they used to be but thats not hard because they were the crapest of crappy. So in fairness just stepping up to the mark quality and design wise of what was expected from the out going Fiesta say for example does not allow Kia to ask proper money. This should only be bought if its discounted harder than German sausages in Aldi and even then theres not a hope in hell I'd buy one over a 3 year old Golf / Scenic / Focus etc etc......I bet the indicator stalk is still on the wrong side :mad:

niceirishfella

Its had a very good write up on the honest john website.....but with the 18" wheels it'll ruin the ride on our roads.
Whilst its a break from the norn, I'd rathger spend 20k on something else.

Matt Simis

eoin wrote: »

No we don't. I'm not mad on the design, but I am glad to see different looking cars in the market. It's depressing how similar cars are getting.

I appreciate what you are saying, but no one should get a cookie just for the sake of making something ugly, but different. Thats super easy to do, just stop trying.

Meh, this sums it up:



Its not even that different, there is a Scion and Nissan that have a similar style-less box look. Infact, isnt Postman Pats van eerily similar?

bazz26

crosstownk wrote: »

The one thing it probably lacks most is 'Soul' :pac:

I saw one at a Kia dealer last month and it had drum brakes at the rear :eek: Granted that the model I saw was a preproduction model so maybe discs are standard.

It will sell - maybe not in any great volume but it will have a certain appeal to some people.

I voted Meh. It's not my thing.

There are still some cars sold with rear drum brakes, the Ford Focus for example.

As for the Soul, I'll pass thanks.

DanGerMus

Shouldn't it be Seoul...






:pac:

mumhaabu

I would like to drive a tank over this vehicle like Mr. Bean did to his mini. Who in their right mind would buy this bucket of crap?

fricatus

DanGerMus wrote: »

Shouldn't it be Seoul...

Gawd daymmm! Got there before me...

They might be well advised to change the name if they're selling it in France:

soûl = adj, drunk

Although in fairness they do refer to "la musique soul" for instance...

I like the way it looks from 45 degrees at the front, but the interior is a little grey-plasticky and gimmicky looking. I'd say it will date very quickly. As for the rear view though, it is horrible looking, like a van. In fact I think I see something of the old Renault 4 or Citroen 2CV in it at the rear.

I certainly don't see in it any of the class that the Mini has though.

furtzy

I think its looks the biz. Seen a cream coloured one the other day and it certainly stood out. Nice to see a bit of individualism in this world of Auris type blandness

liam7831 wrote: »

Its a kia so in other words its a bucket of s**t

My Dads on his second one now with not one complaint or fault. Strangely enough the worst and most unreliable car he ever owned was an A4 never bought another German car after that.

EPM

liam7831 wrote: »

Its a kia so in other words its a bucket of s**t

Before anyone accuses me of being a Kia fan boy (shudder) is there anyway you could back this up? I know the old ones were brutal (had an old model Rio while my car was being serviced once...woeful) but I've driven a new Rio which was fine for what it is and the C'eed and Pro'ceed which apart from the daft names are on a par with most of the rest in the class. That 1.6 115bhp diesel is a cracker of an engine too

pburns

EPM wrote: »

Before anyone accuses me of being a Kia fan boy (shudder) is there anyway you could back this up? I know the old ones were brutal (had an old model Rio while my car was being serviced once...woeful) but I've driven a new Rio which was fine for what it is and the C'eed and Pro'ceed which apart from the daft names are on a par with most of the rest in the class. That 1.6 115bhp diesel is a cracker of an engine too

Spot on, anyone who calls a Kia a 'bucket of s**t' is clerly showing their ignorance. C'eed is on a par with anything in the class, ahead if you factor in value and equipment and those confidence-inspiring warranties. The 1.6 diesel engine is very good, at least on a par with the PSA 1.6 HDI.

The Soul seems more R4/2CV than MINI. I guess it's kinda like a funkier Nissan Note with hints of SUV?

Zube

I think the Kia Soul belongs on the list with the Mitsubishi Carisma and the Suzuki Swift.

Eoin

Zube wrote: »

I think the Kia Soul belongs on the list with the Mitsubishi Carisma and the Suzuki Swift.

In what way? The carisma is the dullest car in the world, and the swift is a very smart looking car that gets great reviews. I don't see how you can lump the two of them together, let alone the Kia.

kmick

The most unreliable car i ever owned was a Volkswagen polo. Those who say they would much prefer the bland, underpowered, under specced golf are showing their mettle. Maybe its not for everyone and I have never driven a KIA before so it may be a awful. I just think it looks well from the outside. Agree the interior is plasticky though.

zod

reminds me of this :

Zube

eoin wrote: »

In what way?

Their names. The Mitsubishi has no charisma, the Suzuki is not swift and this Kia is a soulless rehash of ideas that were new and hip 10 years ago.

Eoin

Zube wrote: »

Their names. The Mitsubishi has no charisma, the Suzuki is not swift and this Kia is a soulless rehash of ideas that were new and hip 10 years ago.

And the Mitsubishi Colt isn't a young male horse.

Zube

eoin wrote: »

And the Mitsubishi Colt isn't a young male horse.

The Golf on the other hand, is perfectly named: it makes you think of something middle-class, slow, and dull with a hint of snobbery.

Stark

The red and black seats remind me of Star Trek uniforms.

Don17

I really like it,
but as I have said before on a previous post about the Kia Soul we are being ripped off on the price!!
its only 9K in the UK , approx 11 euro
Why would you pay double the price over here.
As others have said you could get a cracking second hand car for the same money or even a new golf/focus.

EPM

Well it seems like a big gap at the moment but a lot of that is down to exchange rate differences, plus VRT...

Still, its a bit pricy for what it is

Matt Simis

Kia's are now poll winning awesome and a 1.6 Diesel is a cracker of an engine.. I remember when this used to be a motoring enthusiast (sub-)forum. Good god.

Zube wrote: »

The Golf on the other hand, is perfectly named: it makes you think of something middle-class, slow, and dull with a hint of snobbery.

Stop trying to make it about German vs Asian cars. There are a lot of good looking Asian cars, this isnt one of them, nor is it anything special. Are we loving on Qashqais and new Avensis's now too?

galwaytt

Matt Simis wrote: »

Stop trying to make it about German vs Asian cars. There are a lot of good looking Asian cars, this isnt one of them, nor is it anything special. Are we loving on Qashqais and new Avensis's now too?

...so true. Pity the Germans, though - they've just sent millions (re-)inventing the E-class to make it look .....Korean. Does that make it the worst of both worlds ??:p

Stark

Matt Simis wrote: »

Kia's are now poll winning awesome and a 1.6 Diesel is a cracker of an engine.. I remember when this used to be a motoring enthusiast (sub-)forum. Good god.

To be fair, if you total the "Ow my eyes" and "Meh" results, then the nays win out.

EPM

but the meh's aren't really an opinion so you cant really count them;-)

Zonda999

Prefer the new Skoda Yeti myself. Will be around the same price point i'd say and should be a lot more practical than this. Its 110bhp 2.0 TDI should be in the 150e road tax bracket too and it has an interesting 105bhp 1.2 TSI as well.. Nice interior in the yeti too

Don't particularly like the Soul(Cant see anything "soul"full about it tbh), especially the interior, looks much too cheap IMO

mumblin deaf ro

I thinks it looks quite different so hurrah for that but it's way too expensive. Is it supposed to be competing with that Nissan Cube that was in the magazines a few weeks back?

PS: The golf is named after the gulf wind.

colm_mcm

Fair play for bringing some Asian style models to Europe. this type of car has been around for a long time in Japan, with the likes of the Nissan Cube and Toyota bB, Daihatsu Tanto. With upcoming models like Toyota's Urban Cruiser, Skoda Yeti, and the new generation Nissan Cube likely to become more familiar on Europe's streets, it's something we're gonna have to get used to.