With its boxy styling and a quirky name, the Kia Soul is hard to miss. Today offered only in electric form, the model has been on sale in the UK across three generations since 2008, and while it’s never excelled in any area, was one of the cars that put Kia on the map as a maker of more than just automotive white goods.
They make an interesting used choice today, with petrol, diesel and electric options, and that geometric body shape offering useful practicality despite taking up no more room on the road than a conventional supermini. While it’s nothing special to drive, its styling, space, and value make it appealing as a used buy.
When the Soul debuted it was closest in spirit to the short-lived Nissan Cube, but today you’re more likely to compare it with compact crossovers like the Nissan Juke and Renault Captur, as well as other funky small car shapes like the Citroen C4 Cactus and the slightly larger but similarly chunky Skoda Yeti.
The first generation Kia Soul arrived in 2008 and was a novel proposition at the time. Neither MPV nor crossover, it was something in between, closer to Japanese oddities like the Nissan Cube. But it’s become a familiar sight since then, with Kia launching a second generation in 2014, and a third in 2019 - which the UK received only as an electric vehicle.
The chunky, upright styling has remained pretty consistent over the years, as has the range of bright colours that show it off the best. It won’t be for everyone, but the Soul still stands out among more conventional crossover alternatives, which is impressive given just how much the market has grown over the last decade and a half.
The boxy lines contribute to a spacious cabin too. The interior design is nothing to shout about, particularly next to Kia’s more recent, futuristic shapes and features, but the shape does make for plenty of headroom and good visibility. It’s spacious front and rear and the boot isn’t bad either, and Kia’s infotainment systems have always been pretty straightforward to use, so even though the software may have dated by now, it shouldn’t be a hardship to live with.
The Soul has always been pretty nondescript to drive. It’s neat and tidy, and from the second generation onwards it rides decently too, but you’ll get a better drive from several rivals. The engines do the job and no more too, though the T-GDi has a surprising turn of pace (though its standard automatic gearbox doesn’t add to the fun factor), and the electric models are naturally brisk off the line.
While slightly different in shape, crossovers like the Nissan Juke, Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008 are the Soul’s closest rivals. The electric model shakes things up a little, with direct rivals like the Peugeot e-2008 only recently hitting the market, but on the used market, you might consider anything from a Nissan Leaf to a BMW i3 as alternatives.
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In the last few years, the Soul EV has been your only option, and of those you’re most likely to find the early ‘First Edition’ cars, which had a high level of specification to try and draw people into showrooms. If you’re looking at the EV, the larger 64kWh battery pack is definitely the one to go for, with a range of well over 200 miles.
As for the combustion-powered models, the 1.6-litre diesel makes the most sense unless you’re spending all your time in town. It’s frugal and performs well. You’ll want to look for models in ‘2’ trim and above, in terms of equipment - the equipment levels on the basic ‘1’ feel a little mean, though all models get air conditioning, at least.
Kia Soul 1.6 GDi: The Soul was offered with a naturally-aspirated 1.6-litre petrol from launch, making 130PS and getting from 0-60mph in 10.6 seconds. Combined economy was 43.5mpg.
Kia Soul 1.6 T-GDi: A turbocharger really gave the 1.6 petrol a kick up the tailpipe, boosting power to 204PS and cutting the 0-62mph run down to 7.5 seconds. Economy was only a touch behind the 1.6 GDi, at 40.9mpg combined.
Kia Soul 1.6 CRDi: The 1.6-litre turbodiesel in the Soul produced 128PS initially but was soon upgraded to 136PS. Along with 58.8mpg economy, it could get from 0-62mph in 10.8 seconds.
Kia Soul EV: There are actually two power outputs for the Soul EV, one with 136PS and the other with 204PS. The former gets from 0-62mph in 9.9 seconds, the latter in 7.9 seconds, while thanks to different batteries, the 136PS car with its 39.2kWh pack can do 171 miles on a charge, and the 204PS, 64kWh model offers a claimed 280 miles.
The second generation Kia Soul was on sale between 2014 and 2018, with an electric model available since then. Kia offered several trim levels over this time, so below we’ve separated out the ones you’re most likely to find on the market, including two trim lines offered more recently on the Soul EV.
The Kia Soul 1 kept things simple with 16-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, air conditioning, a six-speaker audio system with Bluetooth, and fabric upholstery.
The Kia Soul 2 upgraded to 17-inch alloys, heated door mirrors, automatic lights, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and gearknob, cruise control, privacy glass, rear parking sensors, and a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
The Kia Soul 3 went up another inch in alloy wheel size, added front parking sensors, got leather seats with heating for the front pair, a cooled glovebox, and 8-speaker JBL audio. The infotainment system also went up to an 8-inch touchscreen.
The Kia Soul Sport featured a sporty look inside and out, with unique body styling and twin exhaust tips, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, automatic high beams, and heating for the rear outside seats, among other details.
The Kia Soul EV First Edition was the well-equipped debut model for the electric Soul, with 17-inch alloy wheels, a 10-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, a head-up display, active cruise control, LED headlights, an 8-way power adjustable driver’s seat, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration for the 10.25-inch touchscreen.
The Kia Soul EV Urban features much of the same kit as the First Edition, but trades the leather seats for fabric, and goes back to an 8-inch touchscreen, befitting its more affordable price tag.
The Kia Soul’s dimensions are:
Length: 4140mm (EV 4220mm)
Width: 1800mm (without mirrors, EV 1825mm)
Height: 1600mm (EV 1605mm)
The Kia Soul’s boot size is:
354 litres (EV 315 litres)
1367 litres with the rear seats folded, to roof (EV 1339 litres)
Looking at a Kia Soul EV? Then you won’t pay a penny in VED or ‘road tax’, just as you won’t with other electric vehicles. Post-April 2017 combustion models are all subject to a flat rate of £180, while prior to this, VED is based on the car’s CO2 output, making the 1.6 CRDi with a manual gearbox cheapest, currently attracting a £150 yearly bill.
The electric Soul EV is most expensive to insure, sitting in group 18 - about the same as a Mini Electric, and less than the groups 25-29 of a Honda E. Petrol Souls can be found in groups 9-10, and the diesels in 10-11, so combustion models shouldn’t be too expensive to insure.