A plush three-row that trades on deep discounts and a hushed cabin, but the 2018-2024 generation carries a documented transfer case weakness. Multiple owners report the same failure: the case splits catastrophically at highway speed, dumping fluid and stranding the vehicle, sometimes with only 30k-70k miles on the clock. When it works, you get adult-sized third-row space, a genuinely quiet ride, and dealer incentives that undercut Honda and Toyota by thousands. The catch is you're rolling dice on a known mechanical fault, and mismatched tires accelerate the failure. The all-new 2025 redesign swaps the V6 for a turbo four and starts fresh on a new platform, so the old gremlins shouldn't follow, but there's zero long-term proof yet. Buy used and you're gambling; buy new and you're hoping Buick learned its lesson.
If you're eyeing a used Soul between 2015 and 2020, understand you're gambling on a ticking clock. Those model years, especially automatics with the 1.6L or 2.0L GDI engines, burn oil like it's their job, thanks to piston rings that fail predictably around 80k miles. Owners report topping off a quart every thousand miles, then one day the engine seizes with no warning light. Kia settled a class action over it and replaced thousands of engines, which tells you everything. The first-gen Souls (2010-2013) ran to 200k+ without drama, and the 2023+ models seem cleaner, but there's not enough road time to confirm the fix. What the Soul does well, maximum cargo in a tiny footprint, quirky looks, easy city parking, it does better than almost anything this size. Just make sure the one you're buying isn't someone else's oil-burning problem waiting to become yours.