X

2012 Kia Soul (pictures)

The Soul is a unique-looking but very practical vehicle. Its basic cabin electronics cover all the core areas of car tech.

Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Wayne Cunningham
35339244_OVR.jpg
1 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
The Kia Soul is a compact car with a distinctive shape, roughly equivalent to Kia's Forte in class, although on a different platform. It works well as a stylish utility vehicle.
35339244_FT.jpg
2 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
For 2012, Kia gave the Soul its tiger nose grille, a design cue used on other Kia models, and a more curved front end. The headlights have a bulbous casing with a strong drop-off underneath for the parking lights.
35339244_SS01_1.jpg
3 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
Upper trim models come with this 2-liter four-cylinder engine, which uses variable valve timing on the intake and exhaust to put average fuel economy around 30 mpg. The base model Soul uses a 1.6-liter direct-injection engine, which offers less power and turns in slightly better fuel economy.
35339244_SD.jpg
4 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
Kia dresses up the boxy shape with some nice design details, such as the black A and B pillars and the strong contour down the belt-line.
35339244_SS03.jpg
5 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
The suspension of the Soul is very typical for a modern economy car, with a front-wheel-drive architecture. The rear suspension is a torsion bar.
35339244_SS06.jpg
6 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
The cargo space is a good size with the rear seats folded down.
35339244_SS07.jpg
7 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
The upright seating position makes it easy to access the cabin.
35339244_SS08.jpg
8 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
The rear seats offer a decent amount of legroom, which should serve most people.
35339244_INT.jpg
9 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
In !, or exclamation mark, trim, the Soul can be optioned with a navigation system. That system deletes a more advanced voice-command system, which comes standard with the car.
35339244_SS09.jpg
10 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
Kia uses electric power steering in the Soul, which is boosted for easy wheel turn.
35339244_SS10.jpg
11 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
Buttons that control various features are well-integrated with the steering wheel.
35339244_SS12.jpg
12 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
The Soul can be had with a six-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmission.
35339244_SS13.jpg
13 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
Kia puts navigation and phone buttons along the top of the screen, and audio buttons along the bottom.
35339244_SS16.jpg
14 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
The navigation system offers multiple routes for any destination.
35339244_SS18.jpg
15 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
This navigation system also includes traffic information.
35339244_SS19.jpg
16 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
Kia keeps its onscreen cabin tech interface very simple, making it easy to use.
35339244_SS21.jpg
17 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
The phone system offers this onscreen keypad, along with the phone's downloaded contact list.
35339244_SS22.jpg
18 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
Audio sources include USB drives and iPods, using this style of music library interface.
35339244_SS23.jpg
19 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
This screen design for audio playback looks a lot nicer than most other automakers' designs.
35339244_SS24.jpg
20 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
As a surprising feature, the screen can display album art if it is available on the connected device.
35339244_SS26.jpg
21 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
The top trim Soul includes an Infinity audio system, with a subwoofer and center channel.
35339244_SS27.jpg
22 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
As a little bit of whimsy, Kia includes a light system for the front door speakers, which can be controlled with this dial.
35339244_SS28.jpg
23 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET
The speaker lights pulse to the music, and cycle through a variety of colors, such as purple.
35339244_SS29.jpg
24 of 24 Josh Miller/CNET

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos