[georgia liz]

Thinking of buying a Soul+ (which I test drove last year when my husband was shopping - I loved it, he ended up[ with Toyota Rav4). I drive a 2010 Nissan Versa and the front bumper is so low I am just sick of it! Constantly scrapes curbs, and I have to inch it out of some driveways due to dips between driveway and road surface.

So, is the Soul higher off the ground? I know it's a taller car and very comfortable for me to drive and ride in - but is the bumper higher off the ground than most compact cars?

Also, I drive 70 miles a day on interstates. I am thinking of getting a 2014 or 2013 - but safety is very important. Are there significant safety differences between say 2012 and 2015 that I should think about? Again, looking at Soul +. Thanks in advance.

 

[conwelpic]

from a safety viewpoint a 2012 and a 2015 are both very safe vehicles but you can check out the official ratings at the Vehicle details, but the 2015 has a better rating for the small front overlap test.

The 2012 is a Generation 1 Soul (I used to own that year of Soul) and the 2015 will be Generation 2 (which came out with the 2014 model) which was all new from the ground up (I now own a 2016 model), there is quite a difference in the two generations.

You'll have to park your Versa next to a Soul and judge for yourself. I can't say I've ever encountered a problem with scraping curbs, etc but then again it could be different where you live. I know the Soul has decent ground clearance and very little sticks down underneath the vehicle, here a a shot of my 2016 (which will be the same as a 2015) looking underneath from the front to the back



and under my 2012 looking from the back to the front

 

[georgia liz]

Thanks, that's helpful. Since you've owned cars in both generations, what about generation 2 made a big difference to you?

 

[conwelpic]

absolutely, it felt like I was going to a more upscale vehicle but still felt very familiar, however I also did go to a slightly higher grade model too so gained quite a few features but lost a couple. Immediate was the ride improvement and quieter vehicle vs the 2012 but still retained all the versatility that I enjoyed in the G1 version. If the improvement was sufficient I wouldn't have traded as I did not have a lot of kilometers on my 2012, but got a good deal so went for it.

 

[The Sradiator]

F.W.I.W...I slide right under my Gen 1 soul to do oil changes with no ramps/stands so clearance is ample for most everyday driving.
Unless you are offroading it or curb jumping, you should be fine.
Also the higher stance gives it a suv feel without the suv bulk of a full sized.
Very nimble, very easy to park & navigate, great view of the road.
Bigger on the Inside than on the outside, I always say!

 

[sube]

Thinking of buying a Soul+ (which I test drove last year when my husband was shopping - I loved it, he ended up[ with Toyota Rav4). I drive a 2010 Nissan Versa and the front bumper is so low I am just sick of it! Constantly scrapes curbs, and I have to inch it out of some driveways due to dips between driveway and road surface.

So, is the Soul higher off the ground? I know it's a taller car and very comfortable for me to drive and ride in - but is the bumper higher off the ground than most compact cars?

Also, I drive 70 miles a day on interstates. I am thinking of getting a 2014 or 2013 - but safety is very important. Are there significant safety differences between say 2012 and 2015 that I should think about? Again, looking at Soul +. Thanks in advance.

I had a 2010 Mazda3 and 2015 KIA Forte5 SX before getting the Soul I had your problem with bumper scraping in both, in fact I scraped the underside of the FORTE the first day, it was even lower than the Mazda. I can confirm that the Soul is a good bit higher as it rides comfortably over the curb I scraped on the previous cars. Also I would recommend the 2014 over the 2013 the second generation is much improved in just about all areas.

Pat.

 

[tmport]

My previous daily driver (which I still own) was a 2006 Kia Spectra5 with an OEM body kit--the front spoiler is quite low and always scrapes on the bottom of my driveway. Even with the spoiler removed, the Spectra5's bumper still scrapes a little because of the angle of the driveway. My 2016 Soul, by contrast, does not scrape at all. I don't have exact measurements, but the bumper is definitely higher than a lot of other new cars out there, based on the eyeball measurements I made while car-hunting last year.