 My wife really wanted a Kia Soul, so after a few days of research, we headed down to the Kia dealership.  My other car is a MkV Volkswagen GTI, so my standards for the Soul were pretty high.  The exterior styling is great, only complaint being the fake fender vents.  The interior is attractive, roomy, and extremely well screwed together, but the materials are hard and cheap plastic.  Handles well, but straight line acceleration is just acceptable. Not spirited but it keeps up with traffic well enough.  The thermostat got stuck open at 700 miles, tripping the check engine light.  Car was fixed same-day under warranty, which is all I could ask.  Fun to drive despite lack of power.