For Kia, the Soul should have wide appeal

The Kia Soul is an economical, stylish, roomy subcompact that can be highly personalized. It's a formula that's been used to great advantage by Toyota with the Scion and BMW with the Mini Cooper.

All three models are marketed to the young generation, yet appeal to wide swaths of the buying public.

So what are the Soul's advantages?

First, it's roomy. I can easily see young families going for this one. Only the Scion xB has as much space. Secondly, the Soul has a much lower price tag, starting at around $13,300. Minis and Scions can get pricey when you add a few options.

The Soul, which is a front-wheel drive, four-door hatchback/wagon, comes with two engine options: a base 1.6-liter, 122-horsepower four cylinder or a 2.0-liter, 142-horsepower four. Fuel economy figures were unavailable.

The Soul comes in four models: Base, Sport and + and !. Yes, punctuation marks are being used to designate two models.

Standard equipment for the base model includes 15-inch steel wheels, rear drum brakes, air conditioning, full power accessories, a tilt steering column, a 60/40-split rear seat and a four-speaker stereo with CD/MP3 player, satellite radio and USB and auxiliary audio jacks. It also includes antilock brakes and stability control.

Options include Bluetooth, an upgraded stereo with tremendous quality sound, a sunroof and cool two-toned interiors done in good quality materials.

You can personalize the Soul with the purchase of several exterior customization options.

The Soul+ has the bigger engine, 16-inch alloy wheels, rear disc brakes, cruise control, keyless entry, tinted rear windows, glow-in-the-dark upholstery, steering-wheel-mounted audio controls and additional speakers and Bluetooth as standard equipment, not an option.

The Soul! includes sunroof, foglights, an upgraded audio system, 18-inch wheels and two-tone upholstery. The Soul Sport includes niceties like a sport-tuned suspension and model-specific interior and exterior items.

This car, with its upright profile, eye-catching vertical taillights and unusual front end, draws attention. And it handles beautifully, and corners better than many subcompacts, such as the Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris.

On the downside, The Soul is noisy on the highway and it has been criticized for being sluggish -- although I did not think that was the case.

By Don Hammonds
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette