2014 Kia Soul Review

STI – The Drive Experience Company loaned me the Kia Soul for this review. No additional compensation was received.

I got sold on the Soul! I was a bit skeptical when STI arrived with my car delivery – the 2014 Kia Soul in Latte Brown. Sure, those dancing hamsters are pretty funny, but I wondered how it would fare during our long road trip. We became accustomed to our minivan….I can’t believe I just said that. LOL! I totally did not see myself driving one – ever, but here I am!

So where were we headed to in the 2014 Kia Soul? Palm Beach! I’ve lived in Florida all my life and have been to many places in the state at least once, but not Palm Beach. This upscale oceanfront community bodes double-digit million dollar homes and Mercedes and Bentley’s at every turn.

We loaded up the Kia Soul trunk with a large suitcase and several bags and headed for the coastline. The Soul doesn’t have a large trunk, but it fit everything we needed. Something that immediately caught my eye was the 8″ touch screen with backup camera, navigation system, and audio controls. It was large, easy to read and use.

The Infinity® AM/FM/MP3/SiriusXM Audio System is killer! The system features six speakers with A-Pillar-Mounted tweeters and offers amazing sound. You can’t help but sing and dance when seated in the 2014 Kia Soul! The speaker lights change colors offering “mood lighting”, especially visible at night.

I really appreciated the panoramic sunroof with power sunshade that is almost the entire length of the vehicle. It was open to enjoy the Florida sunshine during our entire road trip. And that “bug catcher” (3rd picture below) came in handy. It stopped some big bugs from making their way into our car. That was a great call by Kia.

Because safety is of the utmost importance, I checked out the safety features of the 2014 Kia Soul. I do have precious cargo after all. Here’s a run down of what you can expect in safety features:

• Dual Front Advanced Airbags
• Dual Front Side Airbags
• 4-Wheel Antilock Breaking System (ABS)
• Electronic Stability Control
• Side-Impact Door Beams
• Lower Anchors and Tethers for children (LATCH)
• Rear Child-Safety Door Locks

The interior of the Soul is sweet. It’s packed with gadgets, clean lines, and tons of features. The steering wheel mounted controls are convenient and easy to operate. The Push Button Start is in the front console and requires you to put your foot on the break to start the car. Not only are the 2014 Kia Soul seats beautifully crafted, but they are comfortable too. They included both seat warmers and coolers. I hadn’t come across a seat cooling option, but it totally makes sense in states like Florida where it’s warmer weather almost year-round. Even the steering wheel is heated, although I found it a little rougher material than I’m used to in my minivan. 

We really enjoyed our mini getaway and experience with the 2014 Kia Soul. We picked up the boys at Papa’s, who also lives near the west coast of Florida and took the boys for a ride on the beach. They loved the sunroof, and while parked we let them stand up and wave to beach goers. They also loved the navigation system and wanted it to talk all the time. LOL!

The 2014 Kia Soul has average gas mileage of 26 MPG combined, 23 city, and 31 highway. It does have a small tank so we found ourselves filling up fairly quickly. The base model begins at roughly $15,000 in our area. The model we had the opportunity to test out retails for $24,000.