Review: 2010 Kia Soul Sport

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Sitting between two highly conventional Rios on the Kia lot, the Soul Sport looks like a visitor from another planet. The Kia’s European styling not only refutes the bland mediocrity of its fellow Kias, but also challenges the toaster-oven aesthetics of its boxy competitors. At the same time, it offers a more unique approach than Honda’s low-slung Fit hatchback. That said, the Soul is more the product of a careful compromise between its competitors rather than a genuine automotive oddity. So what happens when you pick the least-compromising trim level, the Soul Sport with manual transmission? You develop a new level of appreciation for the art of compromise.

Inside, the Soul’s split-the-difference positioning really shines. Interior space won’t draw astonished comment (à la the first generation Scion xB), but the Soul’s interior creates a distinctly spacious feel. Up front it’s business as usual: plenty of room and great forward vision afforded by a commanding seating position. From the driver’s seat, you feel like you are part of traffic rather than a minor nuisance to “real cars.”

The Kia Soul’s packaging shines in the second row. Head, knee, leg and waist room abound in the Soul’s slightly elevated rear passenger area, even if you’re over six feet or 200 lbs.

Unfortunately, the Soul’s extra width does little to improve a fairly compromised rear cargo area. Pert packaging means that the Soul falls a few feet short of the Fit’s seat-up 20.9 cubic feet of cargo area. An underfloor storage compartment helps keep smaller cargo organized and out of sight (which is handy in a hatch). But if you plan on taking a road trip for five and their luggage, you’re going to need a roof box.

Interior quality is good (i.e great for a Kia), with restrained style and eminent function. The Soul’s far from the typical monochromatic penalty box, but styling trumps materials. Paradoxically, in base-model black, the Soul looks clean and classy for the price point. In contrast, the Sport model’s mandatory red-and-black scheme demands… recognition.

If you’re excited about the Soul’s red-glowing speakers which pulse to the beat of your tunes, chances are you’ll love the Sport’s loud interior scheme. Otherwise, you’ll probably be a bit embarrassed about it all. If you want the Sport’s “performance suspension” you’ll have to live with the attention-seeking aesthetics, whether you like it or not.

Which begs the question: how much fun is the sportiest Soul to drive?

Kia’s 2.0-liter four-banger is standard on all Souls save for the base model, which makes do with a 1.6-liter mill. There’s little to differentiate the Sport’s performance from the other Soul trim levels. With 142 hp at 6,000 rpm and 137 pound-feet of torque at 4,600 rpm, the larger of the two mills has no problem bringing the Kia’s 2,800 pounds to speed. If you’re expecting some eponymous soul from the engine room, don’t.

While the Soul’s fat torque band makes for lazy, grunty fun around town and in the passing lane, there’s nothing makes you want keep the thing at a boil. Which is fine, since the smooth-but-vague shifter and novocained clutch pedal are hardly a call to arms.

The Soul’s handling is extremely competent in the real world, but lacks the verve that the model’s moniker implies. At least in comparison to the Fit and its low-slung ilk. Tossing the Kia into a corner, you can’t ignore the un-car-like dimensions of the thing. Thankfully, thanks to extra track width and the Sport’s sharper suspension, the expected body roll never shows up. Understeer is a constantly lurking presence, but sharp, feelsome disc brakes keep things manageable between applications of grunt.

Tragically, both the Soul’s handling and the ride are compromised by Kia’s decision to shod the Soul Sport with 18 inch wheels. What appears to be an otherwise stable, quiet vehicle at cruising speed is hamstrung by the shudders and road noise; it’s the inevtiable price of bling-rim fashion.

Ultimately, the Soul’s appeal is born of compromise not passion. It’s big and substantial for a small car, but lithe and efficient for an MPV or crossover (or even a second-gen xB). It doesn’t perform the same handling and cargo miracles as the Fit, but it has more individuality and power. More importantly for compact-wary Americans though, the Kia Soul has a far more substantial presence in traffic.

Because of its essentially compromising nature, the Sport is not the Soul to choose. Firmer suspension and anti-roll bars are the headline attraction. Oversized wheels make the ride harsher and raise the MSRP, without offering the, well, soul of a performance car. Plus you have to put up with the extroverted interior.

Embracing compromise doesn’t necessarily come naturally to the Soul’s 18-30 year-old male demographic, but then compromises are rarely this desirable.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Gypsytda Gypsytda on Feb 20, 2010

    Demographics.. I do love the errors in Demographic Advertising Hopes. Jan 2003 I bought the Honda Element, (a 33 year old woman) April 2010 I bought the Kia Soul.. then a 40 year old woman. Hum.. I do not fit the male or 20 something demographic! Honda's error..they killed off their 20 something male perfect cars.. like the CRX.. they at least still have the Civic. And they killed off the Integra, which was another perfect 20 something male car. Kia.. just does not ring as a 20 something male brand period. Female maybe.. or seniors sure.. but not 20 something males. Oh well! I saw the other Kia Soul article.. which I also commented to, but just to state again.. I have been a long time Honda owner, I converted to Kia last year after not wishing to deal with any more of the dealer crap when it came to trying tp buy a car. When I bought my Element I lived on the opposite side of the country, I contacted dealers in 3 states and only one dealer was not arrogant & nasty. A few years after I moved across the country I was looking to buy the Honda Fit (last year).. and had such a rididulous hassle with dealers up to and well over an hour away from where I live now.. I just was sickened by it. There were alot of games going on with the dealers, and the arrogance was ridiculous. Yes Honda makes great cars, but they have horrible dealers! The Honda Fit is a great car, they made alot of great improvements. Sadly they do still seem to believe that the only beverages people drink are slim bottled water, while they have what a dozen cup holders not one holds anything more then a thin water bottle, it is ridiculous. They offer navigation system, but they hardly make any cars with it, so it was nearly impossible to get. (I found the same issue when I was looking at the Toyota Matrix, to the point the toyota dealers did not even know it was an option). I loved so much about the Honda Fit, I was looking forward to it.. but well over a month of waiting (what was supposed to be 2 weeks) plus the interim hassle.. sadly not worth it! I many never buy a Honda again. I still have my Honda Element.. and I love my New Kia Soul!

  • Zenith Zenith on Nov 03, 2011

    I wanted to like this thing, but can't.Aztek is in the shop for hood replacement/paintless removal of all the other hail damage. Enterprise got me this. It's "book week" when we do our run of 130+ outlets for Wheels4You. Just barely got 115 bundles in the back. NO EXTRA ROOM for cooler, recycling tote-ANYTHING. Under a full load, the little underhood hamsters howl in pain as the inappropriately shift-pointed transmission lurches from gear to gear. The Aztek swallows up the books and the discards tote leaving us with enough room to properly buckle in a grandkid. And the cooler is built in. Seats are too narrow, center stack too wide.Nice, clear radio and HVAC controls, though. We picked this up yesterday during First Snow and thought that because the dash lights came on at startup, we had automatic lights. WRONG! Not even DRLs. This thing booms and crashes over bad pavement. When I got gas, I went to set trip odometer, which hadn't been reset in 6400 mi. The avg gas mileage function said 26.5 for that period. The Aztek gets 22 in town and 26 on the highway. The mediocre gas mileage improvement of this Kia doesn't compensate for no room, no power, uncomfortable seats, uncomfortable ride, etc. Love the style. Hate the execution.Pity.

  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
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