2020 Kia Soul gains its mark as a better car across the board

Kia has sold off more than a million of the toaster-shaped cars since 2009. The 2020 redesign of Kia Soul is as careful as an evolution such as the latest Porsche 911’s. It still prevails affordable at $18,485, and the chair like seating remains tall, which provides the right amount of headroom for tall passengers. The boxy profile, snub nose and slab-sided are apparent and the taillight provides additional funkiness, which now practically encircle the back window. The scowling face of this car matches a Star Wars stormtrooper helmet. This car has twice won the title of 10 Best Trucks and SUVs award, thanks to its smart interior packaging and reasonable price.

Even though the fresh model features an additional wheelbase, it fails to render into usable space. The rear seat remains comfortable and spacious with a pleasingly angled seatback. It flaunts an enhanced cargo space of 62 cubic feet from 24 cubic feet with seats folded. With the fresh design, the rear hatch opening is somewhat more prominent and the door opens a bit wider. Just like any other car in this price segment, Kia Soul also comes with hard plastic inside the cabin. But you get the option of soft plastic in the higher trims. The overall styling feels much more aspirational than before. Kia has maintained the level of the bizarre interior by upgrading the previous model's light-up door speakers, which can even pulse to the beat of the music.

Kia has finally attached some active safety features to the Soul. Moving to the powertrain, every Soul comes equipped with an Atkinson-cycle 2.0-liter inline-four as standard by replacing the previous weaker engines. The refinement and smoothness of the new engine are far better than the earlier engines.

The GT lineup also gets the same 2 L engine, which is capable of churning out 147 hp of maximum power and 179 Nm of peak torque. With all such updates, Kia Soul scores as a better vehicle.