Fun and funky styling meets affordable driving manners in the 2025 Kia Soul. This toaster-shaped car continues as a popular choice for drivers on a budget.
From the time it showed up with dancing hamsters to the confusion about where the Soul fits in the market, this Kia has been a question mark on wheels. It’s been the butt of jokes at times and has shown up as a fun and funky car with thumping speakers with music-changing lights. The Soul brings a boxy, upright design to the mix, making it spacious and useful in its compact package.
What does the Soul do well?
You can take this Kia for a drive on the highway, but you might be disappointed and a little frustrated during the experience. The Soul is much more comfortable as a city car, commuter vehicle, and a car that is good as an urban runabout. It has room for four adults and tons of cargo space, making it an extremely useful vehicle. This little Kia has more cargo space than some SUVs, but it’s much easier to park than larger vehicles. All of this means the Soul is a good choice when you spend a lot of time driving it on city streets.
2025 Kia Soul Pros and Cons
Pros
- Cheeky styling
- Surprisingly spacious inside
- Generous list of standard features
- Nimble handling
- Affordable starting price
Cons
- Other subcompact SUVs are more fuel efficient
- No AWD offered
- Mediocre acceleration
- Excessive wind and road noise at highway speeds
- Only one powertrain available
What powers the 2025 Kia Soul?
This boxy and confusing subcompact SUV/hatchback has only one powertrain, which gives you enough of what you need to enjoy the ride in most urban environments. This might not be the best car for highway driving, but it can be used on road trips if you don’t mind the wind and road noise. The power for the Soul comes from a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine mated to a CVT. This setup produces 147 horsepower and 132 lb-ft of torque, which is sent to the front wheels. The fuel mileage returned is 27 city/33 hwy mpg, giving you good efficiency figures during your time behind the wheel.
What’s new for this Kia?
The 2025 Kia Soul has a new range-topping Soulmate Edition, which is based on the EX trim. The Soulmate Edition gives you a few additional features that make it a top model. These items are:
- Harman Kardon audio system
- 18-inch aluminum wheels
- Vinyl-and-cloth Umber-colored upholstery
- Two-tone paint job
These updates make this new trim enjoyable and only add a little to the price, which allows the Soul to be one of the most affordable vehicles available. The starting MSRP is $21,885 for the base model and it tops out at $26,965.
Get comfortable and release your Soul
The Soul’s cabin area is roomy and comfortable, making it easy for you to carry cargo and passengers. This is thanks to the upright and boxy body style, which is the butt of many jokes, but the joke is on them; this Kia has plenty of space for everything you want and need. The cabin area features a youthful vibe to match its fun and funky nature. You’ll see textured door-panel inserts and colorful trim to give you the stylish look you want to enjoy.
There are lots of modern items in this Kia, including:
- Ambient lighting
- Smartphone charging pad
- Head-up display
- Push-button starting with keyless entry
- Heating for the seats and steering wheel
When all seats are in place, you’ll find 24.2 cubic feet of cargo room in the rear, which matches some compact SUVs. Once you fold down those rear seats, this area expands to 62.1 cubic feet, giving you the extra space you need when you have larger and longer items to carry.
Which trim should you buy?
The 2025 Kia Soul comes in a few different trims, and based on the pricing, they all offer good value and affordability. The GT-Line model stands out with its sporty take on the Soul’s quirky looks. The GT-Line has a unique wheel design and body-color trim. It comes with standard driver-assist features you want to enjoy, such as automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, and rear cross-traffic alerts.
The 2025 Kia Soul can be a great vehicle to drive when you want to experience the fun and funky style that has become part of the Soul’s personality. Which model of this little Kia will you drive and enjoy?
This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning a commission is given should you decide to make a purchase through these links, at no cost to you. All products shown are researched and tested to give an accurate review for you.