My Soul has been K.I.A.

That's right...I'm talking about the Kia Soul. (I'm not that Romantic...for those who may have thought this title wasn't about a car...)

I had the chance to drive this thing around and I EXTREMELY hate to admit...I really like it. I think it has a young/funky look to it and driving it feels very controlled. It was so easy to drive and if you wanted to be rough with it, it didn't let down. The steering was firm and the acceleration was predictable...it reminds me of my civic. And when you put your foot down, it wasn't exactly sluggish. Not what I was expecting from a Kia...

But these are things that makes a modern car average. Almost every new car is pretty good....maybe not a base cobalt but you get what I'm saying. The thing that makes me want to BUY one of these cars is the fact that it has filled a gap in my heart, left by Toyota. The first gen xB to be specific.

The 1st gen Scion xB/ Toyota bB was a great car. Easy to drive, fuel efficient and lots of room for anything. It really was a great city car. Then tragedy struck when Scion decided to release their own version of the xB...(Not Toyota based). I thought it looked cool...but that's about it. The electric steering felt disconnected some how. The car was much bigger too, harder to drive and had a bigger engine...meaning less fuel efficiency. The xB was no longer the fun compact box wagon that I loved....it got fat and became bitchy....hahaha (I can say this because I'm still single....or maybe it's the other way around :P)

So if I'm looking for an cool looking, fun to drive, economic box wagon...there's not much... Nissan then released their Cube in America, which can be cool looking....but unless you add the extra bits (front lip, rims, spoiler, etc.) it doesn't really look all that cool....dare I say ugly. SUDDENLY, Kia introduces the Soul, with hamsters jamming to cool music in a box wagon with a nice sound system.....I thought...omg, Korean is becoming cool.....WHAT'S THE WORLD COMING TO!~

My J-pan pride is SCREAMING as I have to say...The Kia Soul is an awesome car!!! Ouch!!!....my soul died a little more....

Please refer back to blog "Korean Bastards pt. 2" in March 2009 for my past criticism on Korean cars....