Kia Soul

 Article last updated: 11/03/10

Kia Soul

Sold in Australia from 2009 until present.

Price range when new: $20,990 - $30,890 AUD.
Engine power and torque range: 91kW, 156Nm (petrol); 94kW, 260Nm (diesel). 
Safety Rating: 4-stars (Soul), 5-stars (Soul2, Soul3) - ANCAP rating, 2009.
Size classification: M-Segment (mini MPV)

"You buy this car for the "look"... the Kia Soul is a fun, funky car; and absolutely ruined by its poor value for money."

Editor's Rating:

5.5/10

Let's face it, if you bought a Kia Soul, you wouldn't have bought it because it was great value, or had a powerful engine, or was a brilliant drive. You buy this car for the "look", and take comfort in knowing that nobody on the road has a car that is the same as yours.

Yes, personalisation is big on the agenda for the Soul - it comes in no less that 11 earthy colours, and you can option a mind-boggling array of decals, spoilers, alloy wheels and other trimmings. So, now that we've established that how the Soul drives is utterly irrelevant (although if you're wondering, it's pretty average, but not terrible), allow me to conduct a completely superficial analysis of one of the most polarising vehicles on the market.

If you want to be noticed on the road, you should consider this car. If you wish to blend in and be inconspicuous, stop reading this article now and look at something else. The Soul doesn't look fast, it doesn't look elegant, but, to some eyes, it is quite funky. More to the point, the Kia Soul looks fun, regardless of what spec level or personalisation options you choose.

And that's great, until you step inside. Unless you spend $30,000 on a top-spec Soul3, the interior is a sea of grey-on-grey-on-grey, and the dash feels like it is made from melted children's toys. However, a splash of colour does come when you open the glovebox, which is trimmed with blood-red Tupperware instead of grey. But, and forgive me for my lack of more elegant expression, that's really really random.

Other than that, everything is quite well laid out, and the cabin feels really light and airy. Unless one or more of your parents is a giraffe, you will have no problems with headroom inside this car. The Soul3 also has a unique and delightfully feel-good feature: it's audio speakers will glow red to the beat of your music. Very cool.

But inevitably, the Soul needs to be brought back down into the real world. Despite having six airbags standard across the range (snaps for Kia, y'all), the base model Soul does not have stability or traction control, and such an exorbitantly tall car should. The standard petrol engine is okay, but the more powerful diesel engine adds a whopping $3,500 to the asking price, and that's just plain mean. And although a Soul can set you back more than $30,000 it still won't have leather seats or a sunroof, or any other luxury feature you can care to name. Other than the disco audio speakers.

And that psychedelic styling, which produces a 4x4-like driving position and good visibility up front, gives you truly hopeless visibility at the back. There's no parking sensors, and there's no reversing camera. Actually, the latter comes in a $2,000 package that includes a sunroof, and it's only available on the top-spec Soul3.

So the Kia Soul is a fun, funky car; and absolutely ruined by its poor value for money. I can't see the sense in blowing more than 30 grand for a 1.6 litre engine, glowing speakers, and not a whole lot else. You'd have to really really like the styling of this car to actually buy one. And it's still only a Kia, it's not like it has badge cred. So... buy a Mazda3 SP25 instead. I can guarantee it will be better in every single way, and it's arguably better looking. But that's not the point. The point is, this is the first Kia ever made that is actually interesting. It's got soul, that's for sure.

Find specifications from the Kia Motors Australia website HERE. Read the Kia Soul Brochure (pdf, 745 KB)

Read more reviews of the Kia Soul:

CarAdvice.com.au: Reviewed June 09, 2009: "By no means was this love at first sight... [but] it put a smile on my face and turned back the years. Don’t knock it ’til you try it."

Drive.com.au: Reviewed August 04 2009: "The Soul is the second new model from Kia this year to make a strong styling statement."

CarsGuide.com.au: Reviewed September 25, 2009: "The Soul is a niche player in the crowded small car market. You may laugh at the — lets say ‘brave’ — boxy styling. You may cast scorn at it. But this car is a star. "

WheelsMag.com.au: Reviewed June 01, 2009: "It’s not about to reset any benchmarks for dynamics or driver appeal... but at least it's got people talking."

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Research Cars by Category

B-Segment

Proton S16: 

(2010 - present)

Rated 3.5/10

"The appeal of the Proton S16 is that you have a brand new car for the price of a used car... but I simply cannot recommend a car with only one sixth of the acceptable number of airbags"

C-Segment

Peugeot 308: 
(2008 - present)
Rated 7.5/10

"French arrogance has produced an impressive car... the 308 is as well built as a Volkswagen Golf"

M-Segment (mini MPV)

Kia Soul: 
(2009 - present)
Rated 5.5/10

"You buy this car for the "look"... the Kia Soul is a fun, funky car; and absolutely ruined by its poor value for money."

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Research Cars by Brand

Kia

Kia Soul: 

(2009 - present)

Rated 5.5/10

"You buy this car for the "look"... the Kia Soul is a fun, funky car; and absolutely ruined by its poor value for money."

Peugeot

Peugeot 308: 
(2008 - present)
Rated 7.5/10

"French arrogance has produced an impressive car... the 308 is as well built as a Volkswagen Golf"

Proton

Proton S16: 
(2008 - present)
Rated 3.5/10

"The appeal of the Proton S16 is that you have a brand new car for the price of a used car... but I simply cannot recommend a car with only one sixth of the acceptable number of airbags"

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Proton S16

 Article last updated: 03/03/10

Proton S16

Sold in Australia from 2010 until present.

Price range when new: $11,990 - $11,990 AUD.
Engine power and torque range: 88-110kW, 160-240Nm (petrol); 80-100kW, 240-320Nm (diesel). 
Safety Rating: No rating available at time of writing
Size Classification: B-segment, small sedan.

"The appeal of the Proton S16 is that you have a brand new car for the price of a used car... but I simply cannot recommend a car with only one sixth of the acceptable number of airbags."

Editor's Rating:

3.5/10

The long and short of the Proton S16 story is this: it costs just $11,990, drive away, no more to pay. And I mean, "no more to pay", because there aren't even any options. No automatic transmission, and no metallic paint. This is the cheapest new car currently available in Australia. In Malaysia, this car (known as the Proton Saga) is highly regarded as the all-round people's car. The Malaysian Beetle, you could say. So what do you get for just under 12 grand?

You get a reasonably sized cabin - although the S16 is priced against A-segment city cars such as the Suzuki Alto, the S16 is much larger, and can fit four average-sized people (and 400 Litres of luggage) quite comfortably. You get a 1.6 Litre engine as well, which is adequate for moving those four average-sized people around, and once again, this is more than you usually get at this price point. So far, it sounds like brilliant value. You also get air-conditioning, a radio, a CD player, and an airbag.

Suddenly, the features that the S16 lacks become all the more obvious. For instance, it doesn't have ABS brakes, which is a feature that buyers have come to expect on every new car, nowadays. It's such a commonplace safety feature now that I don't think many prospective buyers will check for it, and as a result, will not note its absence. It is not surprising to note that there is no mention about the lack of ABS brakes on the Proton website, but somehow, it feels a bit wrong to be hiding a shortcoming of that magnitude.

Which reminds me: just one airbag? I'm sorry, but I simply cannot recommend a car with only one sixth of the acceptable number of airbags. Where the passenger airbag should be, there is a hole in the dash. It's as if Proton could have fitted this car with one, but decided not to. WHY?!?! I couldn't give a rat's defecation if the S16 has 5 cupholders (oh yes, and Proton touts this as a big feature), I just want to know that I'll survive if a methamphetamine-affected moron decides to clean me up on the freeway. Priorities please, guys.

The appeal of the Proton S16 is that you have a brand new car, with 3 years of warranty, for the price as a used car. And despite the 13-inch steel wheels, it doesn't look particularly embarassing or ugly, either. In fact, it succeeds in all areas, except for safety. But like bungie-jumping without a parachute, or sailing across Bass Strait without a life-jacket, it's just not worth it. Buy a used car with at least a 4-Star safety rating instead. But if you simply must have a new car, and don't care about safety, then I suppose you should buy this car. Wait! What am I saying? Don't buy this car. Save up for a few more months and buy a better car.

Find specifications from the Peugeot Australia website HERE. Read the Proton S16 Brochure (pdf, 555 KB)

Read more reviews of the Proton S16:

CarAdvice.com.au: Reviewed Feb 03, 2010: "$11,990 for a car? Are they kidding? I’ve seen options for car stereos priced higher than that!"

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Peugeot 308

 Article last updated: 25/02/10

Peugeot 308

Sold in Australia from 2008 until present.

Price range when new: $25,990 - $37,990 AUD.
Engine power and torque range: 88-110kW, 160-240Nm (petrol); 80-100kW, 240-320Nm (diesel). 
Safety Rating: 4-stars (XS model); 5-stars (XSE, XTE models) - EuroNCAP results, 2008.
Size classifcation: C-segment, small family car.

"French arrogance has produced an impressive car... the 308 is as well built as a Volkswagen Golf"

Editor's Rating:

7.5/10

Peugeot, it seems, didn't listen to anyone at all when it started work developing the 308. First of all, they based the car on the version it was intended to replace, the 307, and that was widely panned by critics around the globe. They ignored everything, and set to work on a completely new car, seemingly adamant that they could make the 307 work, but in all-new form.

You might have thought that it was all just a case of French arrogance. But if it was, then French arrogance has produced an impressive car. The new 308 is virtually everything the 307 wasn't. Peugeot had major electrical issues with the old 307, and it became infamous as one of the most unreliable cars you could buy.

In the 308, everything feels solidly built, as if a German with square glasses had measured every shutline with his tape measure to the millimetre and shook his head: "Nein, nein, nein! Ve must schrink ze gap to 3 millimetres. 4 is not good enough," I'm sure he said. And then all the French workers at the 308 factory groaned. "Sacre bleu!", they chorused, but they eventually built the 308 to the German man's standards.

Maybe it sounds ridiculous, but something like that must have happened, because the 308 is as well built as a Volkswagen Golf, high-quality materials and everything, but is nowhere near as boring. It's a strongly anti-conservative statement, what with it's "I'm going to eat you all up" grille and it's wrap-around rear window.

But inside, it's all class. Simple, beautiful, tactile. It scores on space and comfort, too, but the steering wheel has no control functions, the glovebox is tiny, and the boot lip is pretty high. But these things aren't exactly dealbreakers.

It isn't cheap, and you don't get much engine for the money in base spec. But the Peugeot 308 is loaded with standard equipment, and it only gets better, the more you spend. And you can spend quite a lot. Think of the Peugeot 308 as a semi-premium family hatchback - it's classier and trendier than its competitors, so it deserves an accordingly higher pricetag, arguably. But remember that Peugeots depreciate more than most other cars, which is great if you're a second-hand buyer, but annoying if you buy one new.

It's biggest problem is that it competes with Volkwagen's outrageously capable Mark VI Golf, which mechanically outpoints it in just about every area. Engines, handling... it's got the edge. But not a large one.

But where the Peugeot 308 succeeds is on individuality. If you just couldn't suffer anything as bland as a Golf, then there is an attractive alternative here. It's a funky French car, built to Germanic standards.

Find specifications from the Peugeot Australia website HERE. Read the Peugeot 308 Brochure (pdf, 2.2 MB)

Read more reviews of the Peugeot 308:

CarAdvice.com.au: Reviewed May 19, 2008: "It’s not often that you find a car which is all things to all people, but the Peugeot 308 is one of those cars."

Drive.com.au: Reviewed July 2008: "The 308 is a versatile all-rounder that could become quite a hit... it is the best effort from Peugeot for some time."

CarsGuide.com.au: Reviewed April 08, 2008: "The words funky and quirky tend to describe small French cars but the key word for Peugeot's new 308 range is 'refinement'."

WheelsMag.com.au: Reviewed November 01, 2007: "After driving the 308 you have to wonder if it contains any 307 at all... the 308 is a deeply attractive car."

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