Best Budget Car: 2014 Kia Soul
The redesigned 2014 Kia Soul
Budget might be the wrong word to describe the Kia Soul. Playful, vibrant, fun and cost-effective would be a better way to illustrate the redesigned Soul. From the moment I walked into the party-esque scene of the Kia booth, I couldn’t help but feel enthralled by the colorful Soul.
The major redesign to the already popular Soul includes an exterior facelift to more closely match the “Track’ster” concept Kia teased at last year’s auto shows. The body trim is now more sleeker and the windows taper in an appeasing ascetic towards the rear of the car. The Soul also now comes with standard HID Xeon headlamps and optional LED tail lamps to truly give you that midnight-club racer feel. Not to be forgotten, as if that were possible, are the 16, 17 or 18 inch wheels that somehow look larger than they really are–another of Kia’s creative design techniques no doubt.
The 2014 Kia Soul with a posing hamster
As I moved to the inside of the Soul, I was certain they had heard I was coming and tailored the interior to appeal to my tech-geek persona. After much assurance, I decided against my former conclusion and settled into the roomy tech-ladened cabin. The cool-blue LED mood lighting set the scene as I explored every gadget and feature of the Soul. There’s a start/stop button, panoramic moon roof that spans the entire cabin and ventilated driver/passenger seats that circulate the cool or warm air around the person seated. Starting the car up is a joy, as the 4.3 inch LCD panel boots up an animation of a rotating Soul in 360 degree fashion before displaying your car’s vitals. From there, you can fire-up the 8 inch infotainment system to stream music via your smart phone or map out your journey with the voice-driven UVO interface.
In addition to all these upgraded features, the Soul comes with a top-tier warranty at 5 years/60’000 miles to ease any mechanical fears. I’d be remised if I didn’t mention that the engine is slightly downgraded from last year, although the reps claim the everyday driver wouldn’t be able to feel the difference. If a driver truly does needs the more powerful 2.0 liter engine, they can opt for the “+” package. And since we are talking about the best “budget” car, the prices for the Kia Soul are as follows:
- $14,700 for the “Base”
- $18,500 for the “+”
- $20,300 for the “!”
With the bevy of tech features, great warranty, fun styling, competitive pricing and overall aura of excitement the Kia Soul is my pick for best budget car of 2014. It appeals not only to the feature and style loving student, but also the budget-minded undergrads who populate the campuses of Cypress College and the like. And let’s face it, hamsters in tuxedos are just too awesome to be wrong.
- EPA Econ City/Hwy: 26/33 mpg
- 0-60 mph: 8 sec
- Warranty: 5 yrs/60,000 miles
- Base Price: $14,700
- Runners Up: 2014 Toyota Yaris, 2014 Scion Tc
Runners Up: 2014 Toyota Yaris, 2014 Scion Tc
