Spend enough time driving any vehicle, and you’re sure to get a good, solid perspective of its performance dynamics and capabilities. We’ve been spending plenty of time with our 2020 Kia Soul crossover tooling around town, putting miles on the odometer during its long-term test evaluation, yet there is no substitute for proper test track data to objectively evaluate a vehicle’s real competencies. So, we sent our Kia Soul to the test track in the hands of our reputable test team crew in between its everyday duties so that they could gather some hard data on the stylish tall hatchback.
Is There Any Soul In the Soul’s Test Data?
Acceleration notes from chief test driver Chris Walton describe how the Soul does not respond well to aggressive pedal overlap (aka brake standing) but squeezes out its best launches with small doses of the technique. Walton describes difficulty getting the Soul to repeat the same run, and thus the results varied each time. He also describes the continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) that, regardless of the mode selected, always produces unwanted faux “upshifts” (really just preprogrammed pauses in ratio changes that imitate actual gearchanges in a traditional automatic) during hard acceleration.
All of that aside, the Soul EX hit 60 mph in 8.6 seconds with an elapsed time in the quarter mile of 16.7 seconds. Although that isn’t exactly quick, it easily leaves the Nissan Kicks and Toyota CH-R behind by more than a second and a half. Yet the Soul loses the sprint to its mechanical cousin, the taller, more crossover-ish Kia Seltos S, which Walton recently squeezed for an 8.3-second run to 60 mph.
Our braking test from 60 mph resulted in a generous dive of the nose and rear-end hike and a bit of shaking to be felt in the steering wheel. Even so, the Soul hauled things down to a stop in a short 116 feet, something Walton mostly attributes to the aggressive tread on the included Hankook tires.
“Soul” Is Not a Synonym for “Verve”
In the figure-eight test, our test driver noted that the Soul’s body motions resulted in plenty of pitching and diving, making for disappointing, uncontrolled body motions. Also noted was the over-sensitivity of the brakes when initially tapped followed by slow brake release. This meant the brakes had to be released earlier to prevent them from interfering with turn-in. Moderate understeer was noted. The Soul’s figure-eight lap time was 27.4 seconds, again beating the CH-R and Kicks, along with a front-drive Kia Seltos and Hyundai Venue.
Did the Soul set anyone’s hair on fire? Nope. That’s what the Soul GT-Line Turbo has a better shot of doing, with its more powerful turbocharged engine and firmer suspension setup. But, for a practical and affordable crossover with a solid roster of features and a roomy interior—the Soul’s real, um, soul—it’s just fine. After all, the Kia remains one of our top subcompact SUV choices, so-so performance data and all.
