Used 2011 Kia Soul Consumer Reviews

Sheet metal in cold weather

This is the first winter in upstate New York for our Soul. The first cold snap, 30 degrees and lower, I noticed that the rear hatch had quite a bit of distortion, warped sheet metal and all four doors had creases in them. When temps rose the warpage went away. I watched this and other Souls all winter and the results were the same.. The only thing with ours now it takes until temps hit 50 to 60 degree range to go away, in the beginning they went away in the 40's. I went to my local dealer and had the Kia rep look at my car but wouldn't you know it we had freak weather that topped 78 and no wrinkles. All of my pictures and internet info from Kia Soul Forums has been put in a file for me.

Very Happy Soul

Bought my Soul + July 16, 2011 and two weeks later took it on 12 day vacation. Drove to Florida and back. NOT one problem. Soul handled the highway very well, handling, acceleration, steering. We got just under 30 mpg most of the time but our average speed was closer to 70 than 55 & the AC was almost always on. The interior space was great, The Soul swallowed our suitcases. Things did start to get tight at the end of the trip. The girlfriend loves to buy souvenirs. I am still trilled by the bells & whistles, the bluetooth, USB port & radio work perfectly together. The girlfriend is much less of a Honda fan now.

Awesome zippy little car!

So i recently bought the 2011 Kia soul a week ago. All I have to say it is absolutly amazing! The avg mpg stats 24 as a base around town, well i get nothing under 29.5 mpg around town, and 39.9 highway! With the way these gas prices are, that is very helpful to say the least! It rides very nice, and is very very roomy, I absolutly love this car. If you are looking for a well built, stylish car, look no further, you have found it with the soul, and so have I!

Love this car!!

Let me keep it simple! I bought my 2011 Kia Soul about a week ago and so far I am super impressed, though the ride is a little noisey and stiff I can not complain about anything else. I previously owned a 2000 Kia Sportage and after 11 years it was still going strong. This car for the price is an absolute dream I love it and I am very happy!!

A reliable and well-built car.

Bought it at 33k miles for a fair price. It has been a pleasure to own. Biggest issue I have is that I live in the arctic north and it does not do well in snow and ice. Even with new brakes and tires I have had issues. Otherwise it is a great value. Decent on gas- not great. Good handling.

Automatic door locks

I am very disapointed that the Soul does not have automatic door locks. If I would have known that up front.....I would not have bought the car. The automatic door locks have been on my cars for the last 18 yrs and with children and a four door car I feal that; that is a must have. I also think that the insides scuff up real easy and its hard to come clean. The 2 cup holders in the middle are useless when you can only use one of them. If you put a 2nd drnik in the cup holder it gets caught on the console and spills all over the place. So your passenger has to hold there drink "fountain drink that is" The middle console is very small and sits to far back. I can't use it for an armrest.

first car for daughter

not the best mileage out there, but a safe, fun entry level car, never been in the shop except for service. Would buy another in a heartbeat! Update- 76,000 miles, still a perfect little car, hasn’t needed a repair yet!

I love my Kia Soul!!!!!!!

I love my Kia Soul. Its sporty and has a lot of pick up. You can really feel it gain momentum as you go up a hill- but thats not a bad thing. It's pretty roomy and the ac/heat works really well. Bluetooth is very easy to use. Very easy to drive except handles poorly over speed bumps. I am only getting 19 mpg, but I only need to fill up 1-2 times a month. I have had my soul for 2 months, and have only filled up twice.

It Ain't a MINI

First off, let me admit my bias as I am a three-time MINI owner (Cooper, Convertible, and Clubman) and sort of bought the Soul out of a desperate situation, and not because I was in love with it. The Soul is a competent (at best) smaller car, and is probably worth the price IF you get to haggle a bit and don't finance the whole thing. I was surprised to find out my insurance AND fuel costs are significantly higher with the Soul even though it's a cheaper car. It's fine for buzzing around town, and gave me the little bit of extra space I needed for an infant car seat and dog(s). The handling is not aimed at performance or fun. While uncomfortable, the seating height is good.

I love this car!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love this car one of my friends got this car like 8 months ago I loved it so much that i bought one. It runs great it looks even better which is really important to me because i just turned 16 and this is my first car so looks were just as important as safty and gas milage.

Love our little gas sipper

We have had our Kia Soul since Jan 12 and it is a 2012 model. So far we are more than pleased with this car. The fuel economy is good , there is ample leg room, the ride is not bad. Do wish it had an arm rest but this is a small thing. I love the idea of all the air bags it has. It gets lots of attention !

Quite Pleased With my Soul Sport

I have a 2011 Soul Sport. With all the options but remote start. The car drives and handles great. I drive about an hour to and from work each day. The car has decent pick up so I'm not a nervous Nelly when attempting to pass some traffic. I wish the seat had a bit more functionality. It's taken me a bit more time then typical to find my sweet spot. The seat doesn't go back far enough so, anyone taller than around 5' 11" may have an issue with space. I'm 5' 11" and the seat is all the way back. The Tilt wheel is nice but Telescopic would be best. I love all the features of the car. Over all, I love the car. I traded in my Dodge Magnum R/T. It was a serious change by no regrets. Saves on Gas!

Reliable Practical Fun | Great Family/Work Car!

Reviews were so helpful for me back in Sep '19 when making my purchase for a car that could fit my family of 3 (soon to be 4) and be a good commuter vehicle for my job. I want to repay the favor after almost half a year of owning my '11 Kia Soul Plus. I've owned Saab's, Mazda's, Saturn's and Toyota's in my 13 years of driving. The feeling of reliability/durability I get driving this thing is on par with my wife's Camry. your gut just tells you it's going to run forever. I should add I purchased mine with 90k and am not at 100k yet. Thus, I am not sure of the longevity of these vehicles but it's a solid start so far. Though on the outside it looks relatively small, you don't feel like you're in a passenger car the moment you step in (probably because of high ceiling). If you need a car for projects and transporting items (washer/dryer, treadmill, etc) don't count this car out. With the ability to put down the rear seats it can fit quite a bit. A huge highlight of the Soul is it's MPG. I drive 60% city 40% highway. The car always reads that I'm about 30mpg in total. You just can't beat that. I drive a 5-speed btw. The + edition is approx 140 HP but nonetheless it's fun even if it isn't full of pep. The only con I can spot in the 6 months I've had it is the highway noise. It's not deafening and with music on you won't notice. However, with no music you'll defi hear a hum (but that's really not a break it deal issue for me). I wouldn't say the stock stereo is as good as the hype but I've put in a custom 8" woofer and plan to switch out the speakers soon as well. Lastly, these things are affordable man. I got a steal of a deal and paid around $3,800 I think. Look hard enough and you'll find a good deal :) If we ever have 3 kids, sure, we'll probably need to upgrade size wise but with a family of 4 this car is perfect size. Hope this helps!

Great condition

2011 Souls are long lasting, climb hills, handle well, freeway friendly, with good gas mileage.

Crap.

I had trouble with it from the time I bought it. So I traded it in. I'll never buy another kia

yours forever

Car has no resale value. Don't buy it unless you plan on keeping it or taking a big hit on resale / trade in value.

I love my green Alien car!

I recently bought a 2011 Kia soul, I really love the color( green) its definitely an eye catcher, so far I have been complimented by friends and family on how cute the car is, I have only had it for about a week so far it has been great and i hope it continues to be! I love the way it drives and the lights on the speaker are so cool!

2011 Silver KIA Soul

The car has been used by a single man and taken care of with the regular maintenance and upkeep.

Kia Soul MPG

KIA Soul the real MPG usage is 21 MPG I just bought the car and drove with it 1,500 miles. I drive 50% in highway and 50% in the city. The current average of mile per gallons is 21. Yes, the average is 21mpg !!! so it is not efficient as it says ....I did not make any mistake I am finance person who deeply want to understand his spending !!!

White Tiger

A tough Little by Spacious Car!

Have really liked this car in the 11 years that I've owned it. What is funny is this is where KIA was getting the ruputation as a "vehicle that God would drive". So aside from driving and driving and driving... which is fun with the door speakers that change color to the music, and the general joy of driving this car... 1) Hardly ever need to check the oil. This compared to the GDI engine cars with the direct injection for the fuel, leaving the KIAs in the years that followed to consume a quart of oil every 1,000 miles or less. But the 2011 had the better engine. There were many times the dealership said they wanted my car for the engine to replace the engines of the following years KIAs where their engines were flying apart at 70K miles. 2) Suspension needed work once. 3) Car was hit by a drunk driver doing 50 while we were stationary at a light. Caved in the passenger side corner and we spun around, but not a scratch or bruise on us. Later I got with a friend at church who had wrecker knowledge and we replaced the quarter panel with a 2010 model from a junk yard. Passenger side rear door handle is different, but the rest looks uniform again. Tire company changed the axle, so for about $3,000 less than a used 2011 KIA cost at the time ($8K) I had my KIA up and running again! 3) Currently in 2025 the clutch petal was getting loose where it would push to the floor. Transmission still worked, but was having trouble engaging the starter switch. So getting the transmission work done on the car at this time. Overall, extensive driving, from a wreck and back, it is just one amazing little car. Should mention that KIA themselves were a better company in 2014. They were fun, they were accommodating, there was a new spirit of a up and coming company. Flash forward to 2022 when the 2011 was hit and we bought a used 2017 from a KIA lot, oh we got another deal, but they gave that to me very begrudgingly. They made sure to tack on a few more hundred for cleaning and car location services that I never used, and insisted if it were not added they would not sale the car. Once the sale was made calls were not returned with questions about tags, the spare key we agreed on in writing, etc. In time it was all worked out. Not terrible, but not pleasant. Another KIA dealership told me they had a KIA Soul in the price range I was looking for. A 2019 Soul for $14.9K. Not bad. Was looking for a replacement car in the sub $20K range. As we were waiting to look at that car, we were introduced to another KIA that was $28K, but seller said he could bring the price down. Brought it down to like $26K which is still above $20K. We arranged a time to look at the 2019 Soul as it was not ready. Leading up to the appointment I asked for the vein number to research the car. Salesperson said he would provide but didn't. I made my 30 mile trip to the dealership expecting to see the 2019 Soul for $14.9K and was instead shown a 2022 Soul for like $29K. I turned off the engine to that car and asked to see the car I came to see. After a bit my wife and I were surrounded by like four other people as I was sitting with the salesperson, waiting to see the car we had an appointment to see. They asked why I wanted to buy a cheap car? We just had a car ripped from us by a drunk driver and we were looking for an affordable replacement. To this they told us of another customer that was hit by a cement truck. Tragic, but nothing to do with me. After all their insistance of me looking at other models, and me insisting I had an appointment to see a particular car THEN they told me the car had engine trouble and was not available. Something they could have mentioned on the phone and saved me a 60 mile round trip. As I was surprised that BAIT & SWITCH tactics are still be employeed in the post pandemic and bad-service era; I concluded my business and left, never to return there again. With KIA a good deal in 2014 meant I got an affordable and good car complete with keys and everything that came inside the car. A good deal in 2022 meant I got an affordable car with one key, had to scrap for the second key, no floor mats, no cruise control, evidence the oil filter and oil were not changed in quite a while. Oh, and a car that DRANK oil. At one point the oil light came on and I was FOUR QUARTS LOW on oil. Learned I had to watch the dipstick like a hawk after that. 2011 KIA Soul is a monument to what KIAs *were*. The fun, the affordability, the quality for the price. The KIAs that followed KIA slacked off from all of that. While I don't know if the hardware improved in more recent years I can only attest from two dealerships that has also slacked off. However, the 2011 Kia Souls in the age when large hamsters drove the cars in the commercials and the car's more curvey "Storm Trooper" shape design from the back is still a fun car.

so far so good.

I have had my Soul for a week and so far I like it. It handles well, Takes wind pretty good, taking a little adjusting since I had a Kia Rio5 before. Its taller then my last car. but has more space for the kids. though it wasn't my first choose. we looked at everything else on the lot. had a hard time getting past how ugly it was. looked at the books for the soul in the dealer ship. dicided it didn't look so bad when it wasn't Green. So we test drove one and now its sitting in my drive way still a little ugly but not so bad since its the Java color.

18 Months... the Paint!!

So I've owned my Kia Soul for 18 months, still love driving it, maintenance is a no brainer, however, while washing it today I noticed a fine rusting (white car) on most panels, even the major plastic pieces!! I will be calling Monday for an appointment, I just am putting it out there for others to watch for, I live in Florida so no winter conditions here, no road salt etc. I will update after it gets looked at. Others have posted with paint issues, better safe I guess. The only problem with the car to date is the brake light switch at the pedal failed and it took the dealer 5 days to get me in to replace the switch, which of course was a warranty repair. So no brakes for 5 days