2019 Kia Soul X-Line, GT-Line First Drive Review
At 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque, the turbo Soul is welcome in a class of serious slow pokes. And numbers aside, the engine is quite smooth, and the strong mid-range torque is highly entertaining in town. It's about all the Soul can handle, too, as we were noticing some torque steer when tramping on the throttle. Power goes to the front wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that's good, but not exemplary among similar transmissions. Gear changes are prompt and smooth, but not as fast as German units, and at take-off, clutch engagement isn't quite as quick. On the plus side, this Soul improves on its predecessor with the inclusion of steering wheel paddles. It'd be improved more with a manual transmission, and a Kia representative left the door open for one if the market demands it. Sadly, we doubt the market will demand it. Kia also claims that the turbocharged GT-Line gets sportier suspension, but we didn't notice much difference in how it rode and handled. As we discussed with the X-Line earlier, that's not necessarily a bad thing, since the regular models strike such a good balance already.
The GT-Line's other attraction is that it has basically every possible feature available for the Soul. It has a standard sunroof, heated seats and steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, Harmon Kardon stereo, power driver's seat, heated mirrors, (deep breath) heads-up display, keyless entry, push-button start and dual-zone automatic climate control among others. It also gets the massive 10.25-inch infotainment screen that operates about the same as the smaller one, but, you know, bigger. All things combined, this is certainly the nicest Soul available. You may have noticed that we hadn't brought up pricing yet, and that's because it's what makes one type of Soul a solid value, and the other quite questionable. 22,485. As such, any 2.0-liter Soul is right on par in pricing with most of the subcompact crossover competition such as the Toyota C-HR, Nissan Kicks, Ford EcoSport, Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, and many more. 28,485. That's a lot of money, and whether it's worth it will depend on what you're looking for in a vehicle.
If you just want a loaded small crossover with healthy power, it's a good choice, especially considering that you can spend just as much money on much less powerful options such as the EcoSport and C-HR. But if you're looking for an entry-level hot hatch, it's a terrible deal. That same money could get you a Volkswagen GTI, Ford Focus ST or even a Hyundai Veloster N, all of which offer more power and better handling. If Kia decides to offer the turbo engine on a more bare bones Soul GT-Line, it might be more appealing to enthusiasts. The subcompact crossover segment is so crowded it may be in violation of fire code, so it's difficult to stand out. But the Soul does stand out - a stylish little crossover with enough variants to appeal to just about any buyer. Not only that, but it's highly functional and it's surprisingly fun to drive. The only gripe is the Turbo's poor value proposition compared to some more fun vehicles at roughly the same size and price point - and that's partially forgiven by its ample power and standard equipment. But otherwise, the Soul line represents some offbeat fun and a good value.
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