2011 Kia Soul

There are two engine and transmission options available on the 2011 Kia Soul, and just like other wagons, FWD is standard. On the safety front, the Kia Soul has been awarded the ‘Top Safety Pick’ title from the IIHS. The price range of the Soul is from $13,300 to $18,495. The 2011 Kia Soul is facing fierce competition from the charming 2011 Scion xB and the cute 2011 Nissan cube.

Consisting of four trim levels in its trim range, the starting price of the base trim is $13,300 and goes up to $18,495 for the top-end Sport trim. The entry-level trim is filled with features like manual air conditioning, tilt steering column, SiriusXM, cloth upholstery, and power door locks. As you upgrade the trim level, not only do you get more comfort features but also bigger wheels, better seats, interior trims, and more capable suspensions. Keyless entry, fog lights, power moonroof, floor mats, and a bigger engine are offered on higher trims.

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While the base trim of the wagon has enough features to keep you happy, it is better to go with the Soul+ because not only it is the only trim with options for the transmission, but it also has upgradeable features such as a power sunroof, sound system, cruise control, and alloy wheels.

The 2011 Soul can be bought with either a 1.6-liter inline-4 gas engine which is standard on the base trim or a 2.0-liter inline-4 gas engine. The 1.6-liter engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission by default. It churns out 122 hp and 115 lb-ft of torque. The power gets transferred to the rear wheels, which takes the 2011 Kia Soul from 0 to 60 mph in about 10 seconds.

The 2.0-liter engine is engaged with a standard 5-speed manual transmission, which gets replaced with 4-speed automatic transmission as per your choice. It produces 20 hp and 22 lb-ft of torque more as compared to the base engine. With this setup, the Soul can sprint to 60 mph from a standstill in 8.8 seconds.

With the base engine, the acceleration of the Soul is close to the Nissan Cube, which does 0-60 mph in 10.6 seconds. However, when power figures are considered, the Cube is in the last position, but places will be replaced if the base engine on the Soul is considered. As for the Scion xB, it has the biggest engine and highest power output as well, which makes it accelerate to 60 mph from 0 mph in 8.6 seconds. When comparing the price tag, the Scion xB is the most expensive option here.

With the 2.0-liter mill with either transmission, the 2011 Kia Soul has a fuel economy of 24 mpg in the city, 30 mpg on the highway, and 26 mpg combined. The fuel efficiency is more if a 1.6-liter mill is equipped, which returns a fuel economy of 26/31/28 mpg in the city/highway/combined. Kia has given the smallest fuel tank against the rivals to the Soul which results in a poor range of just 361 highway miles.

The least fuel consumption in the city is seen in the rival from Nissan, which has 1 mpg more as compared to the Soul. On the other hand, the highest fuel consumption is seen in the opponent from the Scion which has the least fuel economy figures in the competition, but it has the biggest fuel tank, which results in 308 miles and 392 miles of range in the city and on the highway, respectively.

The interior design of the Kia Soul is practical, but the quality of the material is not as good as you would expect. Still, to add flavor to the interior, unique red black trims can be seen in the cabin. Black cloth upholstery is present on the seats, which can be changed to red-black. The metal finish on the instrument panel is only given on the topmost trim. Despite its boxy appearance, the Kia Soul is generous in terms of interior space. 

The driver seat has a 6-way manual adjustment throughout the trim range. The rear row seats can be split into a 40/60 fashion, which can increase the cargo capacity to 53.4 cubic feet from 19.3 cubic feet. There is no telescopic feature to the steering wheel column, which is a disappointment. However, Kia Soul has other standard creature comforts such as manual air conditioning, leather-wrapped steering wheel, and gear shifter knob, one 12V outlet, power door locks, floor mats, dual-level glove box, and cargo area lights.

Among both rivals, the Nissan Cube has the worst shoulder room and overall interior space. Next is Kia Soul, which offers 4.6 cu-ft more passenger volume as compared to the Nissan Cube, but it loses in the end against the Scion xB, which has a passenger volume of 110.9 cu-ft. The Scion xB also has the leading cargo capacity. Major interior features include:

• Black cloth upholstery 
• Tilt steering wheel column
• Remote keyless entry
• Power door locks and windows
• Floor mats (optional)
• Manual air conditioning

How intuitive is the 2011 Kia Soul’s infotainment unit?

A 4-speaker sound system is standard on the Kia Soul. A CD player with mp3 capability, SiriusXM, aux jack, and USB port are also standard on the base Soul model, but Bluetooth is only given on the Soul+ and beyond. An optional Soul+ audio upgrade package gives a center speaker with a subwoofer to give a better music listening experience. Major infotainment features include:

• 4-speaker sound system
• Bluetooth
• CD player
• USB port
• SiriusXM

As a wagon, the Kia Soul also has that cliche boxy or cubic design. However, the curves, body lines, and indentations do spice things on the outside. Solar glass is given on all trims for sun rays protection, but privacy glass is on all trims except the base trim. Bumpers have the same color as the body, and the front grille is small and black. The base trim gets manually adjustable side mirrors which get replaced with power side mirrors on higher trims.

Set of 15-inch steel wheels on the base trim can be changed with the 16 and 18-inch alloy wheels on higher trims. There is no power sunroof with a tilt feature on the base Soul, but it is optional on the Soul+ and standard on further trim levels. The rear spoiler, side sills, and unique front and rear fascia are reserved for the topmost Sport trim.

In terms of exterior dimensions, the biggest one among the bunch is the Scion xB, and the opposite is true for the Nissan Cube. Meanwhile, the Kia Soul fits right in between these two rivals. But when ground clearance is considered, Kia Soul has the lead whereas, for the wheelbase, Scion xB is in first place. When comparing the curb weight, the Scion xB is the heaviest option. Major exterior features include:

• 15-inch steel wheels
• Power side mirrors
• Power sunroof with tilt feature (optional)
• Front fog lights (optional)
• Privacy glass
• Rear spoiler

The 2011 Kia Soul has secured an overall 4-star safety rating from the NHTSA and mostly ‘Good’ ratings from the IIHS in crash tests. A ‘Poor’ rating has been given by the IIHS in the overview front small overlap driver-side test. Apart from the structural strength, the 2011 Kia Soul has some safety features to keep the passengers safe inside. Major safety features include:

• Cruise control
• Tire pressure monitoring system
• ABS
• Electronic stability control
• Dual frontal airbags
• Rear child safety locks

After a thorough evaluation, we found that the 2011 Kia Soul is an overall great package. However, the competitor from Scion has beaten the Kia Soul in every single area except the ground clearance and fuel economy. Therefore, you either go with a sophisticated Kia Soul or choose the Scion xB with a slightly higher price tag. The Nissan Cube fails to make a mark in front of the other two rivals in the segment.