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.
Standard AWD and real ground clearance make this crossover genuinely capable off pavement, not just mall-parking-lot capable. The crash safety is exceptional, owners walk away from collisions that total larger trucks. But the 2.0L engine is genuinely slow, the kind of slow that makes highway merging feel like a gamble and passing on two-lanes an exercise in patience you might not have. The 2.5L fixes this completely but costs more upfront. Cargo space is tight for families, and the infotainment lags behind rivals. If you need AWD confidence for snow or dirt roads, value safety over speed, and mostly drive city streets, it's a smart buy that'll run past 100k miles without drama. If you merge onto highways daily or haul kids and gear regularly, get the 2.5L or consider the roomier Outback.