in 2008. The Honda Element? Canceled. The Nissan Cube? No more. The Scion xB? Vanished. The Toyota FJ Cruiser? Gone. In the "quirky cube" category, only the Kia Soul remains.
The automaker could’ve used the lack of style competition as an excuse to phone the model in this year, but instead, Kia gave the 2022 Soul an improved infotainment display and access to more
Not a lot needed fixing on this year’s Kia Soul. The automaker had already introduced a 201 hp engine to the model’s top trim back in 2017.
Trim levels expanded and matured in 2020 from their original plus-signs and exclamation mark names to the more suitable, descriptive acronyms. Kia cut three from the list in 2021, but that still leaves three more options than what they offered from 2008 to 2019.
The 2020 model also came with a more powerful, 2.0-liter standard engine, boosting the crossover’s horsepower from 130 to 147.
The Soul’s tech specs have kept with the times. Starting this year, you can add automated emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, and blind-spot monitoring to the LX, the Soul’s base model.
The upper trim levels also have new features, with dual-zone automatic climate control, push-button start, a wireless smartphone charging pad, and two extra USB ports now standard in the GT-Line, X-Line, and S models.
The only unfortunate decision was to drop the manual transmission option from this year’s Kia Soul. Discarding the stick shift adds the Soul to a
ranks it third in the subcompact crossover category. Only the Mazda CX-30 and the Hyundai Kona rank better, both of which cost at least $1,000 more than the new Soul.
The Kia Seltos, the Soul’s slightly roomier cousin, landed right behind the Soul in fourth place. Besides the added leg and cargo room, the two vehicles are basically identical, so it’s no wonder they rub shoulders on Car and Driver’s list.
The only major feature some of Kia’s rival crossovers have over the Soul and Seltos are hybrid powertrains. The Subaru Crosstrek, which ranked sixth, offers a hybrid plug-in option.
Funny enough, the only other subcompact crossover on this year’s list with hybrid and EV options was the Soul’s other, younger cousin, the Kia Niro. It ranked right behind the Crosstrek in seventh place.
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