Spacious and comfortable when it's running right, but the Edge's reliability story splits sharply by generation. The 2007-2015 models with the 3.5L V6 hide an internal water pump that can fail without warning and dump coolant into your oil, killing the engine before you notice, a $2,000 to $5,000 repair that's not if but when. Many owners have pushed these past 200k miles, but only after replacing that pump or getting lucky. The 2020-2024 models dodged that specific nightmare but brought a new one: the 8F35 transmission is already shuddering and slipping at low mileage, and there's no long-term data to say whether it'll hold up. Ford discontinued the Edge entirely after 2024, so parts availability is a future question mark. If you find an older one with the water pump already replaced and documented maintenance, it's a solid midsize hauler. Otherwise, you're gambling on expensive failures with thin odds.
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.