2014 Kia Soul

2014 Kia Soul

Episode 3329
Auto Value and Bumper to BumperTire Rack "The Way Tire Buying Should Be"

Almost from the moment it arrived here for the 2010 model year, the Kia Soul became one of the brand’s top sellers. Its quirky design, low price, and the cute rodent advertising campaign, quickly made the Soul unforgettable. While aimed at the young, buyers from gen y to baby boomers were drawn to the Soul. Now, there is an all-new second generation Soul. So, let’s see if the 2014 Soul’s mass appeal is intact, or if it’s just grown up and out.

It seems like the Kia Soul has been around for a lot longer than just 4 years. You see them everywhere, no matter what social circle you travel in. But with the 2nd generation 2014 Soul, Kia is looking to see its social standing raised just a bit. 

You see, despite originally being aimed at younger buyers, the Soul has proven very popular with mature drivers who found a “Soulmate” in Kia’s roomy bargain box on wheels. 

On that point, the new Soul has a much more refined nature. To say the ride quality is greatly improved is an understatement. The chassis is stiffer, and a new subframe, mounted with impact absorbing bushings, and longer travel suspension, smooth things out exponentially.    

The MacPherson strut front suspension has been further revised by moving the stabilizer bar rearward and the steering box forward. An additional 8/10ths of an inch of wheelbase helps as well, though even after all of that, a minority of our drivers still found the ride to be “bumpy”. All agreed it has gotten much quieter inside and is now a fairly comfortable place to spend daily commute time.

Engines choices are the same as before, but both have been tinkered with. The standard and already lethargic 1.6-liter actually rates less horsepower and torque than last year. The 2.0-liter in our Soul Exclaim adds direct injection for the same 164-horsepower but a small but welcomed boost in torque to 151 lb-ft. 

Inside, we were very impressed with the upscale redesign. The bargain bling of the original has given way to a much more welcoming atmosphere. Mature drivers will like the new soft touch materials and the next gen. UVO infotainment system. Happily, Kia did keep a few of the Soul’s original youthful elements like the signature pulsating speaker lights. 

But the most important change for all age groups is the improved seat comfort and overall roomier and more useful cabin. Cargo capacity is up to 24.2 cubic-ft. behind the folding rear seatbacks, 61.3 cubic-ft. with them flat. 

The decidedly upscale Sun and Sound option package adds a panoramic sunroof, Infinity audio system, Navigation with a large 8-inch touch screen display, and automatic temperature control. And the available Supervision instrument cluster features a 4.3-inch color LCD screen between the tach. and speedometer. 

Push button start, heated and ventilated leather front seats, heated rear seats, and heated steering wheel are all offered as well.

Kia also wisely decided not to tinker too much with the Soul’s unique exterior styling, sticking with the same boxy bulldog shape as before, even though all sheet metal is new. It’s now more rounded, less squared off, and a tad more aggressive thanks to the larger openings up front and a wider stance.

LED positioning lights are standard on Exclaim model, but the HID headlights come as part of the “Whole Shebang Package”. Fenders are still very pronounced and the blacked-out A-pillars give a wraparound visor look to the greenhouse. 

Exclaim trim also adds a halo treatment to the high mounted tail lights that lend a 70’s disco era sci-fi look.

Standard wheels are 16-inches, with the Exclaim riding on 18’s. But, you won’t exactly be spinning those wheels off the line too much, as power, even with the 2.0-liter, is adequate at best. Sprints to 60 take a sleepy 8.9–seconds. 

The 1.6-liter Soul comes with a 6-speed manual, but a 6-speed automatic transmission is standard with the 2.0. Shifts were soft, and power slow to build on the way to a quarter mile time of 17.0-seconds and 84 miles-per-hour. 

But once we started tackling the cones, we began to find some “soul”-ful fun. Despite the more refined ride of the new Soul, handling has also improved. Turn in is quick, and both under and over steer can be found if you go looking. Brake performance is also impressive with consistent stops from 60 averaging a short 118-feet. 

Government Fuel Economy Ratings are little changed. The 2.0-liter rates 23-City, 31-Highway, and 26-Combined. Fortunately even our lead footed drivers were able to achieve 26.8 miles-per-gallon of Regular in a mixed loop of driving. The Energy Impact Score is good at 12.7-barrels of yearly oil usage and 5.6-tons of CO2 emitted.

Even with prices sneaking up just a little, value continues to be a strong selling point; with base Souls starting at $15,695. Mid-level Plus models, at $19,195 and top-of-the-line Exclaims start at $21,295. 

The Soul became an unqualified success in a single generation. And after some soul searching of our own, we conclude that the mostly very well executed updates will expand the 2014 Kia Soul’s mass appeal even more.

Specifications

  • Engine: 2.0-liter
  • Horsepower: 164
  • Torque: 151 lb-ft.
  • 0-60 mph: 8.9 seconds
  • 1/4 mile: 17.0 seconds @ 84 mph
  • EPA: 23 mpg city/ 31 mpg highway
  • Energy Impact: 12.7 barrels of oil/yr
  • CO2 Emissions: 5.6 tons/yr
2024 Audi RS 7 Performance 1

2024 Audi RS 7 Performance

Up For Grand Touring Around A Racetrack

Episode 4329
Auto Value and Bumper to BumperTire Rack "The Way Tire Buying Should Be"

In recent years, Audi has done an increasingly better job at merging luxury, high tech and sportiness equally into all of their vehicles, but that doesn’t mean they all have the same priorities. So, if you’re wondering what this car is all about… well, it’s right there in the name, the Audi RS 7 Performance!

First and foremost, the 2024 Audi RS 7 Performance is absolutely fantastic looking. A gorgeous car from all angles. But this posh performer is a lot more than just a visual treat. Under its silky skin lies a menacing sounding V8 that delivers insane amounts of power and, as we discovered, a gloriously intoxicating driving experience.

RS elements added to Audi’s S7 five-door coupe include new aero treatments with a matte gray finish and silver 21-inch Audi Sport wheels. Those silver wheels are wrapped with 275 Continental summer performance tires and allow for seeing plenty of the enormous brake rotors with black-painted calipers. Up front, there’s a wide grille inhaling all kinds of air and headlights with uniqueness that’s pure Audi. This five-door coupe with frameless door windows speaks a true hardtop design.

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Now that we’ve gotten that out of our system, time to hit the corners of Savannah’s Roebling Road Raceway, and it’s been quite some time since we’ve had anything here or on any road course that exhibited this much body roll. It didn’t matter what drive mode we had dialed in, it just liked to roll. You could sense that soft suspension in our acceleration runs too. Bystanders got a clear view of a lot of its hardware, thanks to major rear-end squatting as it exploded off the line. Those explosions resulted in a quick 3.7-second trip to 60 miles-per-hour and full quarter-mile runs of 11.9 seconds at 118 miles-per-hour. Fast indeed, though we’re sure both times would improve in warmer temps than our 40-degree test day.

Drive modes have been recalibrated and shifts by the eight-speed Tiptronic in Dynamic Mode are quick. Indeed, noticeably quicker and firmer than in the RS6 wagon we tested just a few months ago without the “performance” treatment. Quattro all-wheel drive is standard.

We’ve never experienced a car that can feel this soft yet was absolutely point-and-shoot through corners.

The driving force for that acceleration is a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 cranking out an additional 30 horsepower from the standard RS 7 thanks to installing bigger turbos. That makes for a 621-horsepower rating, with an even more impressive boost in torque from 590 to 627 lb-ft. And Audi was kind enough to remove a little sound deadening material so we can appreciate it even more through the optional RS sport exhaust system.

For what is really a Grand Tourer built for blasting you away on luxurious adventures, the RS 7 performance is amazingly track capable. Steering is very direct with great feel, and all four wheels are engaged in the process. They’re connected to a new mechanical self-locking center differential that is not only capable of handling the additional power but is lighter and quicker to respond. Chassis software has been recalibrated to make it all work together seamlessly. There must be some serious engineering wizardry happening in the RS-tuned air suspension as we’ve never experienced a car that can feel this soft yet was absolutely point-and-shoot through corners. Brakes were truly phenomenal too; there was some significant nosedive happening, but no wandering or fading no matter how hard we worked them.

And yes, it’s hard to call this actual work, considering this work environment is far from hostile. Absolutely nothing has been compromised when it comes to delivering the luxury car experience you expect from a six-figure Audi. Whether it’s the fabulous real metal, leather, and detailed woven carbon-fiber materials or the fine stitch-work and the always impressive comprehensive digital gauge display, the RS 7 performance feels truly special inside.

2024 Audi RS 7 Performance Dash
2024 Audi RS 7 Performance Shifter
2024 Audi RS 7 Performance Seat
2024 Audi RS 7 Performance Trunk
2024 Audi RS 7 Performance Engine
2024 Audi RS 7 Performance Dash2024 Audi RS 7 Performance Shifter2024 Audi RS 7 Performance Seat2024 Audi RS 7 Performance Trunk2024 Audi RS 7 Performance Engine

The front seats were supremely comfortable and were only mildly bolstered yet held us in place just fine out on the track. Plenty of room for rear seat passengers too, and there’s even a great 24.6 cubic-feet of cargo space with hatchback versatility. Less practical is all touchscreen all the time for just about every cockpit control.

Government Fuel Economy Ratings are 14 City, 22 Highway, and 17 Combined. That’s a below average Energy Impact Score of 17.5 barrels of yearly oil use with 8.8 tons of CO2 emissions.

Pricing starts at $129,490, and Audi knows they have a good thing going with the RS 7 performance; so much so, it’s now the only RS 7.

So, could they have just made the RS 7 better instead of tacking “performance” onto the name? Sure, but there’s just something about adding performance to a car name that draws people in. And when it backs it up by delivering more actual performance, well, that’s what we call a win-win. We’d be happy to run some victory laps in the 2024 Audi RS 7 Performance anytime.

Specifications

  • Engine: 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8
  • Horsepower: 621
  • 0-60 mph: 3.7 seconds
  • EPA: 14 City | 22 Highway | 17 Combined
  • Transmission: 8-speed automatic
  • Torque: 627 lb-ft.
  • 1/4 Mile: 11.9 seconds at 118 mph
  • Starting Price: $129,490