[Dave R]

Hi,Tempest is right it's not to good or not as good as Kia would have you believe.I do not drive slow with mine and it's got better,I am getting 45-48mpg with 8.5k on the clock.If you put the aircon on it takes it down a little but I suspect that if you are going to take it easy then 50mpg will be about the average.Don't have a problem with noise though tyre noise is present but I have Kankook tyres and I think these are slightly less noisey than some makes that Kia use.My car is the manual box with the diesel engine and even though I am having great problems getting it away from my wife I love the car.It's a car that seems to be more than just a car,you become very attached to it,it's great.I cannot recommend you to hit a brick with the 18" black wheels,I did that yesterday going round a roundabout ,someone had droppeda brickon the road.I have scuffed the edge of the wheel and the tyre,don't know if I have to replace the tyre yet but I hope not as I have just found out that it's rather expensive to replace.

 

[Dave R]

Hi Nat. I agree noise is not a problem what make of tyre do you have on it. I can't stop driving it hard but if it settles at 50mpg then I will not grumble.I find the reverse camera also very good even at night though my wife does not trust it.Assessing distance can be a problem until you get used to it,the pedal is also a good idea with the last bit of travel almost like a switch.

 

[Dave R]

Hi , a few names--ASDA, Morrisons, Tesco. never use branded fuel in my soul only supermarket fuel,what makes a lot of difference is how the pumps are set up,are they set to max minus or max plus that is allowed on the measurements,what temp is the fuel when it is pumped. The fuel is sold by volume and the volume increases when temp increases therefore the calorific value in the fuel at a higher temp is less therefore less energy per measurement of volume.Couple this with the pump that is set at the lowest setting allowed on throughput and you have a substantial difference in the amount of actual energy you are putting in your tank.Fuel expands just like water does when the temp increases,only way to measure it to be 100% acurate is by weight. It does not matter what the temp or increase in volume the weight stays constant and the calorific value is constant.I have found that most of the supermarkets are more likely to be checked and are set more generous , I have seen the road tankers queing to fill up all from the same storage tanks ,only the additives they put in are different.

 

[Dave R]

Wasit all downhill on the 300 miles Bilko , glad every body is liking their new Soul,it's worth waiting for Lisa. Ours is great and better as we use it, bluetooth would have been nice but I had a Parrot hands free put in so it's not to bad.I was saying to Tempest that I like the flip up chrome handles on my Tempest rather than the new type. Happy motoring everybody

 

[Dave R]

So it was downhill all the way Bilko I thought so !

 

[Dave R]

Got our 1st of March new on a 10 plate Bilko , booked in for a 12,000mile service on the 18th Oct.It will do over 100mph with little problem and you can keep up with most other cars if you keep the diesel engine on the turbo.I work my cars hard and in all the driving I have done I have not had a deal of problems.Use to drive a very high mileage but not as much now.

 

[Dave R]

I think the Soul diesel is a lot more up to date in design as really the last thing you want with a turbo engine petrol or diesel is big glut of power all in one go, it is more smooth and progresive. My son has a Skoda Fabia VRS diesel and that came in with aall in one go when the turbo spooled in.He has had it Superchipped and is now around 191BHP but the big difference is the smoother power curve. I have had a couple of petrol turbo's in the days when they were a little cruder than today's and in the wet they could sometimes be a handful.
Going back to deliveries of the Soul Tempest,there must be a big increase in sales/orders now as when I bought mine I walked into the showroom one Saturdayat the end of Febuary and they had just had one deliveried .As I arrived they had just cleaned and polished it and were putting it into the show room.I bought it and picked it up the following week,the first week in March this year.

Some of you are now waiting a really long time.

 

[Dave R]

Hi yes Colin is right there is a yellow "coiled spring" shape whichare the glowplugs,they only stay on for a few seconds then you can fire it up though it's best to wait for a short while for the turbo to get lubricated after starting before setting off and when you stop he engine leave it running on tickover for a minute.This is especially relevant when you stop after working the engine hard such as motorway work,it gives the turbo chance to cool down.

 

[Dave R]

Hi Taffy. to many Skoda's around,have you seen the Roomster that is a very aquired taste.Stick with the Soul you don't know what treat you have waiting.I have had that many cars in my time of all sorts and makes,I havenot added all the miles up that I have driven but it must be 7 figures by now and there is something about this Soul that just makes you smile inside.I have had cars twice the price that have not been as good as the Soul. My Tempest(or should I say my wife's Tempest) has 12k miles on it since March this year,had no problems at all apart from 4 or so very tiny stone chips on the leading edge of the bonnet. I expect stone chips with the miles we are doing and thought about getting a film on it but if it gets any worse I will just get it resprayed on the bonnet.My neighbour has a 3 series BMW not as old as mine with verylittle mileage with more stone chips and a big mark on the top where it stood with bird crap on it.He left it at the airport when he went on holiday and when he came backthe mark will not come off and BMW don't want to know.All in all the Kia Soul is a little gem.