Thursday, August 6, 2009

In The Driveway: 2010 Kia Soul


A four-wheeled house guest has arrived for review: A Molten Red Kia Soul. This particular vehicle has the 2.0-liter, 142 hp engine with a five speed, the 18'' wheels, and is basically fully loaded.

First impressions are good: I like the looks, the interior seems really well put together, and it's loaded with features.

A short jaunt to Kinkos yielded what seems to be decent in-city performance. And low and behold: I don't hate the shifter. It's the first Korean-made manual transmission that I have found decent.

The Soul is with me for a week; more updates later.

2 comments:

sleeksilver said...

You can call me jealous...

I test drove a Soul for fun about a week ago and enjoyed every minute of that 20 minute drive.

I agree, the interior is outstanding for an inexpensive vehicle and the shifter isn't that bad! It doesn't match the smoothness of the Fit but it isn't terrible either.

Andy Lilienthal said...

"...and the shifter isn't that bad! It doesn't match the smoothness of the Fit but it isn't terrible either."

That's what I think, too. I think it shifts better than the manual in the Accent/Rio, but it's not as smooth as the Fit/Yaris/SX4. It is, however, very easy to shift, and the clutch uptake is good.