2010 Soul! is boxy, safe and way cool from Kia

• By STEVE WHEELER
• Advocate WHEELS editor
• Published: Sep 25, 2009

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Let’s face it, if you’re a Baby Boomer, the 2010 Kia Soul was not really designed for you.

Kia officials might argue that Baby Boomers are always looking for ways to re-live their youth, but I’m not thinking it’s all the way back to Leo’s Roller Rink and the flashing lights of Friday night frivolity.

The Soul reminds me of Friday nights at Leo’s. The music was loud, the lights flashed with the sound, and it was as much fun as a teen-ager could legally have.

And so it is with the Soul. The music is loud, the speakers flash bright red with the sound, and the Soul is as cool as Drew Brees in a safety blitz.

Kelly Blue Book named it to the “Coolest New Cars Under $18,000” list, and Autoweek said it is one of “Ten Great and Safe Rides for Teens.”

Kia officials report Soul sales have been excellent since the model went on sale in March. Since that time, 21,778 units have been sold. August was the best sales month, when 5,571 Souls were sold.

The Soul — which comes in four models: the Soul, Soul+, Soul!, and Soul Sport — joins the Nissan Cube and the Scion Xb in the “box car” segment that is making lots of news in the car world.

Powered by a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that spits out 122 horsepower, the base Soul might be a parent’s dream come true: it’s not likely this car will be used for hot-rodding.

My test vehicle was the Soul!, with the upgraded 2.0-liter, 142 horsepower engine, and the power was fine for the daily commute. But you’ll need plenty of room if you want to power past an 18-wheeler on a two-lane highway.

Meanwhile, the Soul is a “top safety pick” from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and gets five stars in the government’s frontal crash tests for the driver and passenger. In side crash tests, driver protection is five stars and rear seat passenger protection is four stars.

Quality was evident in the interior of the test Soul!, which had firm seats covered in cloth. The top half of the seats had a hounds-tooth pattern that Bear Bryant would have loved. (Editor’s note to teen-agers: Bear Bryant was the football coach at Alabama during the years when LSU could never beat them).

Controls were well arranged, easy to use and nicely illuminated at night. The interior mood lighting and speaker strobes can be as bright as you want or they can be turned off.

The base price of the Soul! is $17,900, and the test vehicle had no optional equipment. Standard are air-conditioning, anti-lock brakes and stability control, advanced front and side airbags with full-length side curtains, AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio with six speakers, USB and auxiliary jacks, power doors and windows and mirrors, remote keyless entry, leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter, a power sun roof with tilt, privacy glass and a tilt steering wheel. That’s among the best packages available — if not the best — for the money.