The 2010 Kia Soul has been named one of the ten best Back-to-School cars for the second year in a row by Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com, although last year it was the 2009 Kia Soul that got the nod. The Kia Soul is an award-winner for its eye-catching style, roomy interior, safety features, fuyel efficiency, and a pricetag that starts at just under $14,000 for the basic model.
Those are the kind of features that make it popular with college students, high school students, and their parents, too.
It’s just the latest award for the 2010 Kia Soul. The model also has been named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). That’s an important measurement , indicating a car does well in front-back crash tests and side-impact crash tests.
The Kia Soul also is on the list of “Best Family Cars for 2010” by Edmunds.com and Parents Magazine, “Best Hatchback of 2010” by Cars.com, “2010 Top Cars for Families” by Motherproof.com, and 2010 “Top 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000” from Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com.
A popular feature for the back to school crowd is the Soul’s audio upgrade package, which adds a center speaker, subwoofer, external amplifier and speaker lights that pulse to the beat of the music. That turns the Kia Soul into a private party lounge on four-wheels.
The five-door Kia Soul is available in four trim levels, Soul, Soul+, Soul! and Soul Sport. Each one is packed with creature features including an AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system outfitted with SIRIUS Satellite Radio. Kia even gives you three months free SIRIUS to get you started.
The Soul+ offers funky black cloth seats with “glowing” Soul logo inserts, while the Soul! trim comes with a distinctive sand-black interior with houndstooth-patterned inserts. The Soul Sport has a black interior with dramatic red trim on the seats and metal-finish interior accents.
I also like the layout of the center console. It features big, easy-to-use controls that help keep young eyes where they belong — focused on the road ahead, not on the dashboard.
Baby, you got soul! Kia Soul. Also hamsters. Have you seen the Kia Soul hamster commercial? It is one of the most-viewed videos on You Tube, with more than two million views.
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