I was thinking the same thing as I read the recent road tests of the Soul, but man, that Soul is one butt-ugly vehicle. Not sure what Kia was thinking. :wow:

 

Soul is Small!! it would come into the Super Mini Catagory over here !!!

 

actually i think the Kia Soul looks better than any of the Fiat compact vehicles. in fact, i think if this new mini-jeep which is supposed to be a joint venture between Chrysler and Fiat borrowed some of the overall styling from the Soul it would look good. when i say style, i don't mean the curves, etc. i mean the chasis of the vehicle. it has 6.2 inches of ground clearance and decently sized wheels. just lift that puppy another 3-4 inches, add 4WD with lock mode, increase the size of the vehicle so a more powerful engine could go in (minimum of 130-150HP), and square off all of the edges and curves to make it look like a Jeep. make sure the gas tank can support 300+ miles.

then i'll be in line with a security deposit in my hand..

 

... just lift that puppy another 3-4 inches, add 4WD with lock mode, increase the size of the vehicle so a more powerful engine could go in (minimum of 130-150HP), and square off all of the edges and curves to make it look like a Jeep. make sure the gas tank can support 300+ miles...

Yes, do all that and voila - you have a KIA Patriot

 

Yea i would certaily prefer Kia quality to Fiat quality!!

 

Tip - Interesting comment.

Fiats & Alfas were known for poor qualilty when they exited the U.S. market in the '80's, but I was under the impression that they had recently turned things around.

Are they still viewed as low quality vehicles in Europe?

Appreciate your input mate.

 

Soul 2.0L only option?
I considered the Sportage to be in the appropriate comparison group when doing my research.

 

I'd find it hard to take someone seriously when they pull up in something like that, IMO

 

IMO the Soul is not in the same class or category as the Patriot. As the Soul is going after the cute/car, high mileage crowd. It might give cars like Smart, Yaris, Fit, maybe even a Civic a run for thier money. But the Patriot is in a different group, even for the 2WD, as it is a much bigger vehicle.

 

it would be competition for this supposed new "Fiat-Chrysler" Mini-Jeep that is being talked about

 

I can only speak for the UK but in FIATs case its still a bit" Give a dog a bad name"In recent JD Power surveys BothFiat & Alfa come pretty much down the pecking order. Cases of poor build, dodgy electrics & obstructive gear changes are common . Alfas have an enthusiastic following over here but most owners know that they will break down at the most inoportune moment!!Alfas have great Classic engines & styling let down by weak electrics & a strange uncomfortable driving position. ( The Italian monkey position , where you need short legs & long arms to drive comfortably). However the biggest gripe is Their Dealerships , it seems once you have bought one of their products they loose all interest in you .Both sales & service have an abysmal record of customer care.

 

Tip - Thanks man. I thought the new CEO had improved the quality, but I guess not.

Alfa Spiders in the U.S. have a fanatical following - I raced one on Sunday.

 

Alfas are quite pricey here, but then again, living this far from anywhere EVERYTHING is pricey..........

 

I just got out of a Kia. I traded in my '03 Sedona when I bought my Patriot. I'm the type of person who is cheap, and like saving a few bucks by repairing my own vehicles. Kia has absolutly NO aftermarket at all! 90% of the parts needed for Kia repairs are dealeronly and seriously over priced. Not to mention the horrible trade-in and resale values! Steer clear!!!

 

I sat in one of these yesterday and I liked it a lot. It is within an inch of the Patriot in width and height, but it is an entire foot shorter in length. It has a storage area below the cargo floor and above the spare tire (that's a feature that I would really like to see in the Patriot). The Soul looks much better in person than it does in pix. My only real issue with the Soul is the steering wheel - it is very uncomfortable thanks to a huge double spoke at the 6 o'clock position.

 

The Soul is tiny. 2500lbs for the base model. 122hp!

It competes with the Scions, Mini Cooper, etc. - but it looks like they are targeting the Scion audience. Leave it to Kia to see a market they like, then copy a product and undercut the price.

If you're late teens/early 20's, single, limited budget, and like the flashy look - then you are their market audience.

 

that is what Korean Auto Makers do...they reverse engineer japanese cars and copy designs off of european cars. it's a known fact that Hyundai directly copies off of Honda and they are known to reverse engineer Hondas, then mimic un-patented safety designs solely for the reason that Honda did them without fully understanding why Honda implemented such designs in the first place. engineers at Honda have discovered this as they have begun to reverse engineer Hyundais to see how they can sell them for so cheap and they have come across mimicked engineering where such designs were either redundant or not needed at all with the layout that Hyundai chose to go with. it's sad...but it happens.

i will refuse to EVER buy a Korean car for many reasons, the above reason being a major factor.

 

kia souls almost a car patriots an suv

the patriot is for someone who is looking for a rugged effient car souls are more for people who want something cute almost like a large hatchback.

 

please,keep buying foreign

yes,what a grand idea is it to buy an imported vehicle,Detroit is standing at a brink of a total collapse and someone who calls himself a Kentuckypatriot is eyeing an Asian import,you guys just get me laughing out laud,perhaps there is Kentucky canton somewhere in the rice fields of Korea,in that case I appologize

 

yes,what a grand idea is it to buy an imported vehicle,Detroit is standing at a brink of a total collapse and someone who calls himself a Kentuckypatriot is eyeing an Asian import,you guys just get me laughing out laud,perhaps there is Kentucky canton somewhere in the rice fields of Korea,in that case I appologize

define import...would you call my Honda Civic an import even though it was made in Alabama with 89% US components? when you look at the Jeep Patriot and Jeep Liberty you will find roughly 66% US components. while i do agree with supporting american jobs...it seems you may actually be more productively supporting american jobs with a vehicle that has more US Components in it. do you agree? now i know that is a simplistic approach, but you should not solely buy american just to keep something afloat that eventually will sink. you should buy what you want to buy and where you feel you are getting the most bang for your buck. at the time when i purchased my honda civic i had the option of either a Ford Focus or a Chevy Cavalier. At the time, both of those US options were garbage so i went with the Civic. the domestic competition has improved and i feel i get comparable quality with a Ford as I do with a Honda. the only difference is retail value, which will improve with domestic automakers as their reputation improves.

my point is...don't just go blindly buying american without actually thinking about it first. that's my two cents...

 

who is mad

>>ranting lunatics like yourself dropping the F bomb here and dropped the F bomb there<<


there is no need to use live ammo against me,calling me a ranting lunatic only for my attempt to explain to some members of this forum,that buying foreign automobiles in times when the US economy is surviving on credit from countries like Communist China ,Japan and Korea,well I'm sorry but that's seriously irresponsible,unpatriotic and I would dare to say it's a sheer madness, but I bet you and I surely hope I'm not the only one concerned around here.There is absolutely no need to purchase foreign car,America produces them all,people in Europe ,Japan etc. would love to drive a US made car but for variety of reasons they can't [ mainly because the buicks,jeeps and chevs are simply too expensive on foreign markets]

I'll say it one more time "the Patriot is a great,very reliable vehicle and go and get it"

 

I actually saw a commercial for this thing (unlike our Patriots that had commericals for about 2 months back in early 2008).
A bunch of hamster's running in their exactly the same wheels and then the Soul pulls up with 3 of them in it.
Hamsters Kia Soul Commercial

Definitely a creative commercial. :smiley_thumbs_up:
But I will pass on the vehicle. uke:

Speakers that light up to match the music? :doh:

 

I just saw that commercial. Can you believe how far CG stuff has come in the last few years?