As most of my insights and opinion are already in other answers, I'll just comment on this detail. I've owned a lot of cars, tending to buy around every 3 years, and I'm old. The most recents include (in order) a Forester, CR-V, Nissan Cube, Corolla and presently the Soul LX IVT (base model with automatic). Up until my Soul the Forester was my fav, though I preferred the seats in the CR-V (but that stuff changes model-to-model). The Soul, the cheape$t of the bunch, is all around the best car for my values and needs, which include economy. Present day, the Forester is quite grown up and in a wholly different class than the Soul, by most any measure. But most others outside of Kia/Hyundai just don't make the grade. For example, I love the style of the HR-V, but just sitting in it and reading its stats I lost interest in a test drive, same as both the Toyota and Nissan competitors.
Aside from economy, there are some compelling reasons to go with the LX: I rented an S and hated all the safety systems, so much so that I learned quickly how to disable them. This is the main upgrade from the LX. There is also the matters of tire size. While larger tires have an aesthetic appeal, the smaller the tire, the better the (1) ride, (2) handling and (3) fuel economy (round town). I also prefer a manual air system over auto, which uses all sorts of programming where I want to decide, spur of the moment, my fan speed and temps, and what defrost does. For my preferences there was no other Kia or car that even came close, though I still miss, at times, my Corolla Eco sedan for a few of its coolnesses...
