Seattle Soul: Tripping In the Just Right Exclaim Trim
A recent vacation in Seattle had me behind the wheel of a Kia Soul decked out in the Exclaim (!) trim. Having penned the test drive on the Kia Soul Sport, I'm already a mild fan, as it's one of the few runabouts in the burgeoning cubic-class that puts a priority on passenger space and comfort. After a few days in the Exclaim trim, I think I've found the best Soul.
The Sport trim we tested had the slick looking 18-inch wheels and sport suspension tuning, which made for a frisky and responsive around-town errand runner. The nimble and eager tuning paid great dividends when slicing up surface streets, but gave our Soul Sport test sample a slightly nervous and almost twitchy high-speed demeanor, making it less relaxing for freeway slogs or long trips.
Our Soul Sport also arrived with the five-speed manual transmission, which exhibited an incredibly light clutch pedal and equally low-effort shifter. The five speed made it easier to get the most out of the 2.0-liter mill (the standard engine on all but the base model, which makes do with a 1.6-liter), but it keeps you busy in traffic.
The Soul Exclaim ($18,195) we ran around with for a few days in the Northwest sits at the top of the Soul lineup with the Sport, but its less aggressive suspension tuning and 4-speed automatic made for a far more relaxing ride. The Exclaim's "Sand" interior trim and hounds-tooth seats accents were also more calming than the Sport's red dash and seat flares.
The Exclaim's use of color is a great example of making the most of your materials. The plastics that coat the dash and interior of the Soul are rock hard, but thanks to the texturing and color choices, you end up with a pretty pleasing place to spend time, and durability it's unlikely to lack.
The Soul's 2.0-liter mill had plenty of grunt to get us up Seattle's hilly quarters and near the front of the pack in the stoplight grandprix, but this motor gets quite buzzy as it nears redline. Fortunately, the four-speed automatic had the aurally pleasing attribute of hanging on to top gear as much as it could around town, locking into a barritone pull more often than knocking down a gear or two and making a racket.
We ran into a Kia Soul owner while loading up on one of Seattle many ferries, and she said she loved her Soul (in Plus trim), and was most impressed with the space and fuel mileage. My fave attribute is the backseat space for real adults, who enjoy the rare combo of headroom and an elevated seating position. With a compact cube footprint, this equates to limted storage space behind the spacious back seats, making passneger comfort or (folded seat) cargo capacity an either/or proposition. In the real world, I think this is a savvy compromise that will probably rarely catch you out.
If you can swallow the $2K price jump from the Plus (+), the Exclaim (!) with the four-speed automatic is the trim likely to soothe the most souls. The sand color accents help brighten up the otherwise coal-mine dark interior, the 18-inch wheels look sweet but deliver a more livable ride than on the sharpened Sport, and the automatic makes it a less involved partner in keeping the 2.0-liter mill in its sonorous sweet spot.
The interior of this car always struck me as looking a bit dated. I don't think I'd feel like I bought a new car if I was driving this around every day.
I love my Soul. The sand/tan interior is not the best option, imo. I have just the standard black and I think it looks the nicest. I also have the 'soul' insert seats, rather then the houndstooth.
5-speed manual for me, please! ;-)
I found the Plus with the manual transmission much more pleasant than the Exclaim. Two reasons: (1) the 16 inch wheels provide a softer ride with very little sacrifice in handling, and (2) the "soul" shadow effect upholstery is a lot mroe subtle than the part-houndstooth, part-plain upholstery of the Exclaim.
Oh, and the manual is pretty nice. I don't think I could take the lackluster autobox.