2014 Kia Soul !

Lookin’ good from any angle.

The Kia Soul is totally transformed and fresh for 2014. It’s more fun to drive, has more advanced technology, and is even more stylish than the original. The Soul is offered in three trims, and the loaded version is called exclaim as designated by the exclamation point in the title of this article. Yes, that’s a bit different, but that’s just how Kia rolls.

We’ve had two occasions to drive the 2014 Kia Soul now, and every minute we spend with it, makes us appreciate it even more. First we drove it in Minnesota at the national press unveiling, and then we took it for an extended weekend on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Both of those articles are chock-full of original exterior photographs of the urban utility vehicle looking cool in any surroundings. So for this article, we’re going to focus primarily on the interior.

For what appears to be a small car on the outside, the Kia Soul is surprisingly spacious on the inside, especially in the front seat. The sloped roof line allows for great headroom, and the seating configuration doesn’t feel cramped at all, even for larger drivers. The tall windshield and panoramic sunroof give an open feeling to the vehicle, and doesn’t make you feel like you are trapped in a sardine can. The Kia Soul is more comfortable than several mid-size vehicles we’ve driven. We’ve put over 500 miles in the driver’s seat in this car, and haven’t felt uncomfortable once, which is no small feat indeed.

There is an obvious attention to detail and focus on a more premium look and feel to the 2014 Soul’s interior. Soft-touch materials, leather, and high-gloss piano-black trim pieces bring a quality to the interior that normally isn’t seen at this price point. We were particularly fond of the circle design elements brought over from the Track’ster concept vehicle. It’s not often that you can see such a direct connection between a manufacturer’s concept car and a production vehicle. That shows a willingness to take a risk, which we appreciate from Kia.

One of the signature elements of the Kia brand is loading the vehicle with tons of technology content and offering it at a reasonable price. An eight-inch high-definition touch screen is the star of the show, and the interface and capabilities of Kia’s head units continue to improve upon what was already one of the industry’s best. Navigation can now be displayed in the instrument panel’s Supervision Cluster/TFT LCD color screen, along with other important information.

You can keep your Soul rockin’ with AM/FM/MP3, Bluetooth, Pandora, and SiriusXM pumping on the Infinity speakers. The Soul seemed right at home zipping through the streets of the French Quarter jamming to some Zydeco beats. We’re particularly fond of the Soul’s signature lighting effects, but wish they were more pronounced and extended to additional locations throughout the cabin.

The original Kia Soul was wildly popular, and they sold a ton of cars. This new 2014 Kia Soul improves upon the original in so many ways, yet keeps a similar price-tag. It’s a no-brainer upgrade for anyone who enjoys their current Soul, and should be high on the list for any buyer who craves utility, comfort, and style without the cost of a larger gas-guzzling vehicle. We can’t wait for the electric version to hit the market!