[Dave R]

My son and I were out yesterday and we saw three Kia Souls which to be honest is the most I have seen in one day,what struck me is the fact that in many ways it's looked on ,at least by Kia I think, a younger person's car however all the three plus mine had drivers of a more mature age driving them.
It would be interesting to know what sort of age are the owners of such a radical car, we of a more mature age seem to have reached the conclusion that the Soul is good value,good looking and not just the run of the mill four wheel box that appears all over at the moment.How many cars could you take all the badges off and line them up and then know for sure which company manufacturers them.They are all the same,look at the shape of A4s,BMW,Toyota,Honda and many more I can think of,how boring can you get ? Just for the record I have not bought it because its easy to get in and out of being an old coger myself ,my other car is a two seater open top,not easy to get in or out ofat all.



Dave

 

[tempest]

Here we go!......when is an old codger not an old codger!!!.....when he buys a Kia Soul!!!. In the USA the car seems to attract all age groups from Students to Mums to the Codgers. This country seems to be more concerned with badge snobbery, with the "more knowlegeable" old codgers being the ones that realise what a bargain the Kia is design wise.

Lets not have a poll on age please.......im feeling my age already!!.

 

[ashtonyate]

You are right about seeing more Souls on the road in the last few weeks it was a standing joke between my Wife and me ours was the only one made as we never seen very many until now.I am just 65 but to me there are a few things about the kia and the Soul that makes it perfect for my age group one it has wide doors high seating easy to get in & out of and the reason I got mine 7 years warranty unbelievable good value.

 

[Chess]

Well Im 59, have a 13 year old son at home and all his mates think my Soul is very cool. Ive never felt uncomfortable driving it and often get second glances (at the car, unfortunately!).
Both my older children love it, the price was right, and it has a certain "funkyness" which seems to embrace all ages.

The nice thing is I don't feel the need to race away at traffic lights and am quite happy to let people overtake and have a good look at my car...after all its their fuel they are wasting!

 

[tempest]

I love the attention my Tempest gets.... i am fully aware its the car and not me. I dont drive fast and yes i too let people overtake to have a good old nosey. What i do like is that the car dosent create aggression in other drivers (usually)....cars that stand out on the road often do. I am curently driving a different but very nice VW based car too. And i have to say that the interior of my tempest is a much nicer place to sit. The quality and feel of the dashboard controls are more crisp and clean and precise. The VW based car is smoother and quieter on the road......but has much less presence than the Tempest.

 

[Dave R]

So many people get into the mindset of badge snobbery, we have more than a few where I live with BMW,Audi and such like .They don't know what they are missing driving in the same basic design tin box around. Tempest is driving a Seat which is another company that have a very modern take on the design of cars and don't follow the crowd as VW have done with the Passat which looks like all the rest.
I am 63 now and I think thatmost people around my age are completly different to older people that have gone before .We came through the 60s and 70s,all the people from that time grew up with a totally different mind set.

 

[davy]

Yeh there is a lot of badge snobbery about but hey they are having to pay for it at the start off and lose heavily on depreciation while we drive about in cheaper cars that cost less to drive. I just laugh at them

.
Oh hold on thats the wife back with the Roller must dash.

 

[tempest]

my previous car was a Fiat Doblo MPV. it cost £10,500 brand new and 8 years later i sold it for £2000. Total cost £8500. In that same time period my friend changed his Small Merc 3 times.......it cost him a total of £18,000 to cover the difference over the 3 cars. Admittedly the Merc was a far nicer car than my Fiat, but he had the cheek to look down his nose and say that he "prefered a car with good residual value".............and thats before we even went down the road of servicing costs..............

 

[Dave R]

Mercs are 10 a penny they have little real presence apart from the badge stuck on it ,some people even had to have a soup plate size star fitted on the rad to make sure that they advertised the fact that they had a Merc ,not even built that well since about 1989 when they cheapened them off.The Fiat Doblo has got real practical presence in some ways like the Citroen van based MPV, a bit different but real useful in size and design.
The Soul is of the same format but with a design flair thathas movedbeyond the practical into pretty/different without the run of the millstyle trends that seem to dictate most other cars.Bearing inmind what cars the designer of the Soul has done before it's not surprising.

 

[eggobako]

i feel some times that i get the odd look that says "oh another mid life crisis"!! but its the most comfortable car i have sat in for aages i actually didnt set out at all to get a soul i went in to look at the ceeds but found them too cramped and just like all the other hatchbacks and saloons i had to reject because of the poor driving position i then sat in the soul took it for a good test drive and decided it was for me! im not saying its perfect cos it isnt , im not happy with the ride which is a little harsh only over pothles though on a normal road its ok im nearly fifty by the wayand and amnot bothered by badge snobbery having seen some folks skint themselves just to put a beemer on the drive!

 

[Devonian]

Mercs are 10 a penny they have little real presence apart from the badge stuck on it ,some people even had to have a soup plate size star fitted on the rad to make sure that they advertised the fact that they had a Merc ,not even built that well since about 1989 when they cheapened them off.

In the past 5 years Mercedes have had to make 139 recalls whereas in the same period Kia have made just 14 - says something doesn't it?

 

[Dave R]

Kia now have a fantastic team behind them and are moving forward at a rate of knots,I predict that within 5 years they will be (inc Hyundai) one of the top 5 car manufactures in the world.
The guy who design the Soul I believe designed the VW Beetle and the Audi TT, not a bad set of credentials in off the wall car designs.

Quality has also improved at a fast rate as has the materials used and if it continues at this pace then look out all the others.They need to put a large distance between their old image as China will be looking to hit the market with cheap,copies and cheerfull products very soon.

 

[Dave R]

Forgot to ask Davy, don't you find that when your wife takes the Rolls out thatit's a trifle heavy on petrol and it encourges them to get ideas above their station.I have this problem when the butler takes mine to the shops.

 

[davy]

Its not the Roller thats heavy on the juice but her own Bugatti Veyron is and needs a tanker behind it. Thats why she's always using the Roller and its a diesel one too.
Oh aye she was wanting to convert the Bugatti to LPG. Can you imagine the size of gas tank that would need. I am sure it would fit nicely on the roof rack tho'
Edited by: davy

 

[Dave R]

Don't worry about the size of the gas tank all you need is a long tube and you can have a big tank at home. It may limit the distance you can drive but look on that as a plus under the circumstances.
They do get a bit carried away do wives,just because I bought her the Soul for her birthday (she picked it) she is trying stop me taking it to work and making me drive my car unless we go out together ! Life is not fair at all. I have been off on holiday his week and we have had a few days out, 52mpg when I filled up yesterday ,I am well chuffed as I have a heavy right foot.WE have put 9650 miles on it since geting the Soul in March this year and we are both very happy with it,no problems rattles or faults.

 

[davy]

Thats great another happy wee soul. I think they are a good looking car and its great to get away from the usual shape of car as they are all beginning to look very similar.

 

[Dave R]

Tempest was saying about depreciation on cars,my mate is in the trade and offered me today a merc a class 2006 new shape mid range with 21k on the clock for 4k.12 month tax and mot. Would not have one given me but he is not losing at that so thats what I call depreciation,mind you they really are a load of rubbish.

 

[Taffy 49]

I too went to look at the Ceed 3 and after a test drive just didn't feel comfy. Took the Soul out and said to the wife "this is the one". Took hera little time to come round, but she did. Someone mentioned about being stopped in carparks and being asked about the car - I did exactly that last Sunday when a lady drove a Soul 2 to the local "s/market". I asked her all about the car and she offered me a look round it. The wife, mam & dad were all in the car and now my 73 y/o paps is thinkink of putting in his 07 Astra for one.
Dave, one of the managers at work had a 57 A Class which she has now changed for an older "Top Gear" favorite, the Suzuki Lianna - says it all.

 

[Dave R]

Hi Taffy, I used to have all sorts of company cars inc beemers/audi but I like the Soul its just got something extra. When they changed all the income tax on company cars I did not want to give the taxman any more than I had to and I ran a Hyundia Sontata for 18 months,I put mega miles on it and I had no problems at all.Badges mean nothing ,mind you where I live they like to show them off but I have noticed in the last two years its changing.Must admit though I had a Toyota Celica Turbo company car about mid 90s and that was another car thathas something extra,kept it for two years and at that time I was running most of UK so it had nearly 190k on it when it went .Gave me no grief at all in the time I ran it.

 

[Foxy]

I agree with most of the above. I am 52 is that old? sometimes it feels like it, other times I look at 'kids' and think I could run rings round them, anyway I digress.....It was my wife who really wanted the Soul. We had a courtesy car from Kia Viking as her car went for a service. She asked for something small and got this brand new Soul - super-mini??? I must admit I like the shape of the Venga better but am growing to like the Soul and it looks good in White. I like the driving position but hate feeling all the bumps. Getting in and out is easy, wide doors, high seats, controls are easy and to hand. now to find a cushion to sit on, come on Kia/Lotus sort out the ride!