We didn’t look at many vehicles, mostly used ones which were much more expensive when they were new because at the time (18months ago) we wanted:
A small car but ideally with a rear tailgate instead of a sedan as the trunks in those are small and have a badly shaped opening.
Apple CarPlay
Reversing camera
Blind spot monitor
At least 3 years of warranty
these were our minimums but it was hard to find a small used car that had that set, so we decided to look new.
So no that we were looking new ideally we would also like:
Rear cross traffic alert
Automated collision braking
Auto headlights
Auto wipers
lane keep assist
And it would be nice if I liked the look of it.
While wanting to spend as little as possible it was really hard to find a car that had all these very latest safety features as a lot of new small cars are old models and manufacturers seem to like putting these things in larger models and not even as standard...
The Soul S checked every single box except auto wipers. I would have liked keyless entry/go on the EX as well as its climate control and larger touch screen (although frankly the base one is clear and fine on CarPlay) but it was too much extra money percentage wise and on what was already a more expensive than intended purchase, and where do you draw the line? After all I would then start wanting the LED headlights and probably a better radio but then the price moves up into a zone where a more premium built/finished car becomes a possibility.
So I decided to be really strict and just get what we needed with no additional conveniences/niceties.
Even got a 10/5 year warranty, love how it looks in white, it has masses of space inside and the tall roof really makes it feel airy and SUV like, the trunk is big enough for day to day shopping and if we fold the seats down we can put some pretty big stuff in from Home Depot and ikea just as long as nothing is too long.
It’s great on gas, cheap to service.
The lane keep assist works fine on the highway, the forward collision doesn’t activate too often (as in it has never needed to hit the brakes but I have gotten the warning buzzer 3 times in 18months but that’s ok). The blind spot monitoring, cross traffic and reverse camera are great.
it even gets a top safety rating!
The steering is good, too light but changes direction well, and the brakes are not grabby and easy to modulate.
And even though we only paid a little under MSRP for it back then as it was the new thing, it was still a great deal as there is nothing with that feature set and benefits even close to that price.
Nothing is perfect, especially when it comes to economy cars so the negatives are:
The headlights are beyond crap unless you get the LEDs ones on the top model.
There is a lot of road noise
The ride quality is poor even though we don’t have low profile tyres as the overall tyre size is small.
The engine has enough power that the car doesn’t feel dangerous and will keep up with and pass traffic no problem, but no more and you have to work it hard if you want to really make progress due to a lack of torque as there is no turbo on what is otherwise a small 4cyl.
The interior plastics are low quality (as in the main black textured stuff, but at least they brighten it up with some nice silver, not chrome, trim especially on the door cards.
The base radio sound quality is just ok.
Its a great car for day to day use locally. I wouldn’t want to go on a really long road trip with it unless I had to as the noise and ride would be tiring. But that’s the case with most small cars unless you buy something premium like a Mini but that’s a lot more money...
Overall I am extremely pleased with it, I still love how it looks, enjoy driving it and think it’s still a great deal today.
