Congratulations for September “Soul Of The Month” win go to a 17-year old Peter, whose Kia Soul crossover has received the largest number of votes from his “Soul mates”.
Posted below is his honorable interview, where he reveals some details about his Soul crossover, ownership experience so far and future plans in regards to the tuning and modifying works.
Q&A (+ pictures)
1. How and when did you find out about the Kia Soul?
I was watching the NBA finals and Kia’s hamster commercials caught my attention!
2. How long have you owned your Soul and what are your experiences so far?
I have owned the Soul for a little more than 2 months and I absolutely love everything about it. Both the drive and the looks are great.
3. If you had to pick one thing what was it that really sold you on the Kia Soul?
The one thing that really sold me is probably the combination of nice exterior and the roomy interior.
4. Did you name your Kia Soul?
Yes, I named it Milk Carton thanks to my girlfriend Connie who though of it.
5. Can you tell us some interesting comments that you have heard about your ride from friends, family and other people?
First, my friends ask when they hop on my car is to turn on the LED speaker lights. And everyone of them has so-far said my car is roomy, cute, and better than a Scion.
6. What are your plans as far as modifications? Are you interested in that at all?
My plan is to get some front, rear, and side skirts as well as some lowering springs. Yes I am very interested in car modifications because my brother Mike has added all the modifications for my car over the past two months.
7. Is this your first Kia product? What vehicles have you owned before your Soul?
Yes this is my first Kia and previously I drove a Toyota Camry but I am certainly happy with the switch.
8. Did you change your attitude toward Kia products since you’ve bought the Soul?
Yes, Kia has grown to be a top-notch competitor no longer competing with the lower brands. As a Kia driver, this has certainly impressed me and I believe Kia has passed many Japanese automakers in manufacturing.
About the Owner:
Name: Peter Lee
Age: 17
Location: Diamond Bar
Occupation: Student
Hobbies: driving and fishing
Kia Soul:
Engine: 2.0L
Tranmission: Auto
Colour: White
Model: Soul Sports Edition
Wheels/Tires: 18 inch MSR rims
Average mpg: 27
Milleage: 1980+
Price: 20.000
List of Kia Soul modifications: Rims, subs, underglow, hood-vinyl, black-housed headlights, smoked taillights, HID.
nice job….. man
looks great,,,what size are the wheels??
It says they’re 18″ in the specs above and I think they look a treat myself. Are they after-market wheels, or are they a Kia Soul option??
Aftermarket….they are MSR wheels
Great looking . the wheels are very nice . keep it up! KIA FOR EVER . I have a progect for My other car 1996 Kia mentor/sephia to race in hillclimp , I go to start next month .
What a POS.
Did he put a Minicopper name plate on the front and back of the Soul. It doesn’t look like a KIA name plate.
cool car. I especially like the subs, smoked tail lights and the black contrast on the hood which i feel should have been a factory option all along. i dont like the wheels tho. but thts just me cuz i dont have a taste for white wheels.
🙂
DANG! that’s a GOOD lookin’ soul!
Taking the KIA badges and puttin white rims thats a tuning car? I wonder how long before the bank owns it?
This fool has no idea what tuning is. Cool paint job bro, Maaco must’ve hit you up for a Benjamin. This really says a lot about the people that voted for this clown. Enjoy getting laughed at when a 240SX chips that paint of yours. He even admits in the “Modifications” section that he’s done nothing performance-wise. I hope you lower it with non-OEM springs and void your warranty.
Does he even have a Short Ram Intake, or Exhaust? Thats what I see is the rudimentary begining of a good tuning.
He Should have left the KIA badges on. We shouldnt applaud this kind of behavior. We have to get respect for the brand, and people should see a Tuned KIA, and only a Tuned KIA.
–
Im a Brand purist.
Either we fight our way to respect or we dont get respect.
He’s embarrassed by the KIA badge so I agree with HyundaiSmoke. Stop the praise and take back the “Soul of the month” win.
I am so glad to read BernardP’s commnet above. Tuning is for wannabe backyard mechanics who like to throw money…ummm…away. For instance, my 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS comes with a 650-watt Rockford Fosgate stereo, leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, foglights, sunroof, automatic CVT “6 forward and 6 reverse” titanium paddle shifters, great OEM factory Supersonic 10-spoke wheels and a great wraparound GTS bodykit. Oh, Lancer insignia floormats, I could list more, but ya get the pic, eh? I honestly can’t think of squat that the car needs and I love it more now than I did on March 21, 2007, when my wife and I bought it at Avondale Mitsubishi, 9 miles west of Phoenix, Arizona. I can’t think of any tuning it might need. Seriously. I spent for it but need not spend any more, ya know what I might mean, Vern? Great Mitsu automobile. And the same type of thinking should apply here. In our tuning friends’ defense, we all have separate and autonomous brains that think differently. So don’t think I’m judging you for tuning. I just feel that IMHO tuning is an expense that I can do without.
why all the hate? there’s been MANY other “tuned” kias on this site that get nothing BUT praise and here Kia builds us a car TO customize (which i agree this is more a customized kia not a tuned kia but hey – tomAto/tomAHto) and someone does a VERY nice job doing so and everyone’s hatin’ on it… i dont get it. Is the owner of this car here in the KW.com forum? if so – what’s your name??? I’d like to formally admire your work. I’m 22 years old, have a 2010 Kia myself (sadly not a soul), and i’m already starting to plan what it looks like (i’ve only had it just over a month, still in planning stages). my point— i’m 22 years old and i “get” why the soul is what it is and the potential is has in it. So what if the speakers are too big – its what he wanted, if he needs to put groceries in it, its a 4 door, there’s back seats. so what if you don’t like the black vinyl & the white wheels— its not your car. but i am a younger generation and i love what’s done so far.
PS – is everyone just jealous that he’s 17 & has a brand new car that looks decent? he’s not 74 – he’s not gunna get curb-feelers & white-wall tires. this is tastefully done. no tacky spoiler, no lowridin’ dubs, no cheap-looking & cheaply applied body-kit… i say screw what everyone says. thumbs up all around from my neck of the woods – my friends are here and love it as well.
I agree with JoshyLofty. Why are people hating so much? I personally love this kid’s Soul. So what if he took off the Kia badges, it looks better without them to me. It’s the same as let’s say you buy a Staples pen. And you take off the sticker on the pen. Does that mean I do not have STAPLES pride? lol this is funny
But Pens are not cars guys, and considering KIAs reputation, most of it undeserved lately. It would be nice for him to show off a tuned KIA, as a Tuned KIA. I can hear some of the Hyundai/KIA haters I deal with on a daily basis in the Auto world ragging on this kid. I can see somebody going so far that they would post this article in some mag somewhere and say “See, KIA owners are so embarassed to drive KIAs, that there must be something wrong with his car if he cant even keep the brand labels on.”
–
Trust me this would be a perfect opportunity to make another anti-Hyundai KIA Bias example here. They dont care about the quality stats they hate us, and they dont repsect us. One reason why they dont is respect us is becuase all of those people in Korea, and a few other places take their badges off and put these stupid meaningless emblems on their rides. What other owners from any make does that? Most people like the keep the badge on the car so that when they see it they will say, “HEY THATS A NICE KIA!!!!!”
–
Eagles, and Oprius, and etc.. are not brands to me. If I see another one ill take it off myself.
–
By they way the kid’s Soul is nice, I just hope the he will have it perform as good as it looks.
The Rims and the Paint job are very tasteful. Hyundai KIA should actually consider selling cars straight like with steel wheels shaped in spokes and painted the same color as the car instead of having those stupid hub caps on the base trim models.
If we are going to put labels other than the brand on the cars, then the people whos emblem goes on there should be backed up. Like a tuning division or something.
Hey Bryan, if no one customized their cars, you wouldn’t be able to buy a Lancer GTS because the manufacturers wouldn’t think there was a market for a sporty looking car. We’d all be driving around in boring cars. You say you “honestly can’t think of squat that the (Lancer GTS) needs”, then why the hell did Mitsubishi build the Raliart, or the Evo?
I commend Peter for having the cahones for doing something outside the box, and at the age of 17. What did you do when you were 17 that was worth being recognized for?
Buying an already factory tuned car doesn’t display a whole lot of creativity, imagination, or motivation.
The Early days of the Japanese makes, and Euro Makes and American Makes started off with people tuning their cars with hardly any parts,or factory support. It took a lot of imagination, blood, sweat, and tears. Its very fun to do it myself. Tuning the 2007 Accent is very fun. Tuning is an on going process too. especially with engine components. You have to have everything right with the weather outside, temperature variations, etc… Theres many things that can upset a car, or make it run absolutely perfect.
–
Tuning the Soul would be sweet too.
Unlike the Japanese tuners of the early 80s etc…. We have the Internet, we dont have to wait to get a tuning magazine from Korea that might not even be properly translated into English. Word spreads out quickly good or bad.
Oh my… Now Hyundai Smoke is trying to save himself with his 6000 posts… PapaWhiskeys right. What DID you do when you were 17? I think his concept was to go white and black and the chrome on the Kia badge ruined it. If you can’t appreciate other people’s modifications, keep those opinions to yourself or at least give him some respect when you say things like that. This is a page made for his car’s praise not your immature criticisms
First, I think anyone who criticized this page should take it back, Two, both Hyundai Smoke and Jen are not helping anything in any matter and Three, this looks like an awesomely modified car so let him be. I think this is going towards a more racist manner. Other previous owners (Caucasian) have not received any criticisms but why is this guy’s well-modified Soul such a Hot topic? And Hyundai Smoke if you meant Kia smokes Hyundai that’s just absurd. I work for Car and Driver (Magazine) so I should know but anyway Hyundai has bought out Soul for quite a long time now. They are the same company. If you wanna diss someone for their badges, get your name right. And for you Jen, how does comparing pens to cars even make a valid argument? Please either leave something positive or don’t leave anything at all. I say this car looks better than your poorly modified Rio’s that does not appear in any of these pages because they are simply not WORTHY.
-MJ from Car and Driver
I absolutely love this Soul! Everything is just perfect, I like the wheels, love the smoked taillights, like the black decal on the hood, and the subs in the trunk are pretty awesome too. The only thing I don’t like are the replacement badges. Other than that, GREAT job! It’s not overly done, and it is quite tasteful.
There’s a lot of close minded fucks on here this week. So what, if we criticize it we’re wrong? Opinions are like assholes…. you know the rest. Stop shunning everyone else just because we don’t agree with your god damn opinion.
Aww. “What” must be Hyundai Smoke with his comeback 🙂
Are you guys even reading what I said? It has nothing with his race, Im a minority myself,(Black) I love the fact that they have a minority there, but thats not the point.
–
I just have a problem with the non KIA badges on the car, as I want our brand to get every drop of respect possible. That is what I said in a nutshell, since some of you guys didnt obviously understand what I said. The rest of the car is fine, now how many different times and different ways do I have to say it for you guys to understand that.
–
I just hope the kid puts the KIA badges back on and puts an aftermarket exhaust and an intake on it.
Wheres the badges? he’s not proud he bought a kia? assclown’s rip off their kia badges on the spectra 5..
Oh yeah I’m writer for Car and Driver….ahahhhaahhaaha
Thank you HyundaiSmoke, you make absolute sense. He took off the KIA badge and put on what looks to be a mini cooper badge. THAT’S A HUGE PROBLEM. If you’re going to go to all that trouble and customized a car then be proud of the brand. The rest of the care is GREAT!!!
I write for Autospies and sometimes for Winding Road, mostly on Hyundai/KIA topics, but on some other cars too.
–
HIDs would be nice too, you can get a pretty reliable kit that doesnt cost a mint these days. WARNING: when installing HIDs permanently disconnect the high beam wire, which is the MIDDLE wire in any Hyundai/KIA vehicle. The rest should work fine.
A good example of the goofiness of tuning is lowering it. What the fork does this even accomplish except turn a nice looking car in to a clown-mobile. So many tune-jobs would’ve been better left alone. Tuning is similar to tattoos. Ooopps….Shikeys-I hate this tat. Now I have to pay someone triple to remove it. And it really hurts, too. Take a long listen to ya-selves. Leave your rigs alone. Like people that pick scabs off their arms…and then can’t seem to stop. Blood dripping off on to other people’s things. Take a good step back and re-think it all. Like I said, as long as you’re throwing your own cash in to your tune-mobile, fine. I have more respect for you than people like GM and Chrysler, taking taxpayer money and then still not building decent rigs for us all to buy. Oh well…tune each his own. I guess.
I think it looks great. Modifying a car to suit your style/taste is great. And Kia gets enough advertising that taking off the badge is no big deal. I’ve seen many very expensive and stylish cars modded and have had the badges taken off. It makes them look almost stealth.
The one thing I don’t like, and have always wondered about, is why anyone would want to smoke the front or side or rear lights. They are there for a reason. So YOU can see and people can see YOU. I think they should be outlawed, even though I do think they look way cool in a lot of cases.
And I agree about the subs in the back. They look cool and probably sound cool. And it seems to me that it looks like the whole sub box could just be pulled right out without any problems with the interior should he ever decide to sell.
Nice, cool car, and tuning CAN mean “tuning to one’s taste”, so let him do what he wants to do.
Very nice and clean mods! Right on!
Oh, and I am 54. The Soul is ageless, and I think his mods are cool.
Later…
Greg
Actually he modded a mini cooper then! Look at the badges..
Good Mods like Wheels can be good for a resale value. Also, Bryan why pay someone to tune your car, when you can do it yourself? The parts are cheap, and you have fun troubleshooting, and learning about your car. Theres a 99.9% chance that you wont even need to use your 100,000 waranty anyway. Also, dont be affraid to save a ton of money by using universal parts whenever you can. The cars are good for it, trust me.
–
Hyundai/KIAs are very easy to service on your own. They are built like old school GM cars=Erector sets. Dont let those plastic engine covers intimidate you especially in the newer models like my 07 Accent. Just take the cover off and get your hands dirty. (This message is especially for the older guys/gals)
–
With the way I drive=30,000 Miles a year+ it is not economical to have a service shop do regular maintenance. I have to do it myself, which saves probably close to $1000 a year..
–
LOL Chajee
I think the kid got enough criticisms from this site 🙂 If you look at the forum he changed it back. Btw, this car looks off the hook! It’s awesome in my opinion. Very good taste
What I like about the Soul is its rear disc brakes. That=easy as cake to do brake jobs. So if any of you guys own a Soul, dont be intimidated to install pads yourself when needed.
Loving what you did to the Soul, man! Really diggin the rims & subs! Looks really great 😉
I really got to know our 07 Optima when I installed the power inverter. Kia really has that firewall sealed up tight. The only place in the firewall I could find (after about 4 hours, and taking off the windshield wiper drain tray) was a small hole with a rubber plug. It’s where the firewall and strut meet, and it’s a bitch to get your hand in there. It’s where the hood release cable comes through. The inverter is then hooked to a couple of extension cords which run to the passenger side of the car, and te back seat. The extension cords are within the interior trim pieces, and only the very end where the plugs are shows. I love kiatechinfo.com!
***GROVER (MJ)*** can i have your job??? i’m so jealous. i’m currently doing work as a promotional model & present cars in person @ car-shows, etc. i’m trying to get a gig w/kia @ this years Texas State Fair to present their concept @ this years show. My agency does the hiring for that. 😉 its a start…
Side-note: Gee, looks like i started up a hot topic. sweet. lol.
Greg, What about the grommet arounf the throttle cable, leading from the engine bay to inside?
HyundaiSmoke, the 07 Optima has electronic throttle, I do believe. Our Spectra had a throttle cable, but the Optima doesn’t.
Wow, well The Forte and Soul have Electronic Throttle too, I assume the Rio will get such a system as well.eventually. Those Fuel savings, I tell ya.
Soul and Rio are cable operated throttle
The Soul 1.6 is electronic, I think.
By the Way the 2010 Accent will get a 5 Speed Auto Trans, I wonder if that will get into the Rio. I know in KIA Vehicles the Fuel Econ options will cost more, while in Hyundai the Fuel Econ Options will be standard.
2010 Accent with 5 Speed Auto Trans will get 39 MPG, with manual Trans it will get 36 MPG.
Hyundai WIll get the Performance spec stuff as options form now on while KIA will get Perfomance spec sutff as standard.
HyundaiSmoke:
39MPG… highway? combined? is that EPA rating or Cafe rating? I mean, 39 mpg does tell us something, but it doesn’t tell much until u specify…
They say Highway Kyle.
You Can Tune a Piano But You Can’t Tune a Fish.
So, are we looking at a 4-speed automatic tranny for the Soul down the road? THAT is when I will get one.
Oh, and if they have AWD, then it’s a done deal!
Greg (in Winnipeg, Canada where AWD is SOOOOOOOO good!)
The fuck?
Get a Subrau… standard AWD, not a shitty vehicle, all around win.
Thanks dru, if you don’t like it leave. Last I checked this wasn’t Subaru-World.
Lol, you mad?
Mad at what? Why would you want to get an oil leaking Subaru with its crappy pancake motor? I seen all WRX at the road track with a blown up motor..you have modify the oiling system to supply the engines under turns..Nice longevity..
Subaru has good quality but Hyundai/KIA has superior quality than you guys now. Yeah, we passed you a few years back. BTW, we have a small car AWD System on the way as well. We at Hyundai/KIA care about fuel efficiency amd we will develop a small car AWD system that keeps the car with Superior MPG, unlike you guys.
Ahum… Don’t get me wrong… I love the Soul, it’s very good looking, decent fit and finish, reasonable handling, above average fun to drive, but fuell efficient??? That would not be one of the things I would highlight. It is actually very thirsty!
Its not as Thirsty as its competitors. If I remember, the XB gets 3 MPG less than the Soul, and the SX4 gets 2 less than the Soul.
Subaru’s Stock Impreza gets 4-5 MPG less than the Soul as well. The 4 Cyl.
The Soul is the Most fuel efficient car the B+ C- Segment has. It gets 1 MPG more than Nissan Cube also. 33 MPG is about the same as a Nissan Sentra.
Sorry not 33 MPG, 32 MPG.
That Shape+Aerodynamics=Not as good MPG as youd expect. The Soul Sentra and Caliber get the same MPG.
Your Forte is past the initial break in period, but unless you have 8-12k miles on it, you will not achieve max fuel efficiency.
This time last year it was barely getting 33 MPG.
The Company knows their products last longer than 300,000 miles now, so they sell you into the 100,000 mile warranty knowing there’s a 95% chance you wont need it.
–
We should get rid of some of the goofy incentives and push the rest of the industry to a unlimited mileage warranty standard. Chrysler tried it, but they werent serious.
–
–
Toyota and Lexus had to give up to the industry pressure and start offering 100,000 mile warranties on some of their products now.
I say Kia do something OUTRAGEOUS, and on every NEWLY debuted car. Give every Kia from the 2011 Sorento and on and on a 15 YEAR, 200,000 mile warranty. Wouldn’t that make the competition shit their pants?
Lol, Greg, do you really think I would care about what the people of Kia World would have to say about me? Honestly, KIA World? That’s your rebuttal? Talk to me when you can drive without your parents.
Greg I drive over 30K a year, that wouldnt be feasible for someone like myself.
Michael, if you have such a big beef with Kia, why come to an enthusiast website? You are a forum troll. Get out you worthless fucker.
I do believe you’ve been asked three or so times now why you come here. And why would you be so stupid as to use your last name. It couldn’t be too hard to find you, there are 1,891 people in the U.S. named Michael Richards, and you’d be the only one with his head up his ass.
Ford cars according to JD Powers 2009 survey are better than normal, but nobody is a good as Hyundai, Porsche, Cadillac, or Lexus.
Hyundai is Addressing KIA’s middle of the road rating by instituting a program called “Defect to Zero” for KIA cars. Part of that program is having Hyundai build KIAs cars for them, and KIA build Hyundais trucks for us.
–
KIA makes more reliable trucks than Hyundai, and Hyundai makes more reliable cars than KIA. The Soul from what I understand will be built as the Alabama Sonata Plant, the Optima too. The Trucks Sorrento, Santa Fe will go to the KIA West point plant in Georgia.
–
The Hyundai KIA Plants are doing the same in Europe as well.
Also, part of the plan is to debut models in Korea 1 year earlier than their US Debuts to iron out any kinks.
In Some cases 6 months earlier, but no earlier than 6 months though.
Buy the way Michael, you cant get any more shitty than a MINI.
Yeah Greg, like I’d actually use my real name on here. Are you THAT fucking dense?! It’s okay, we all were fifteen once. HyundaiSmoke, I agree with you… Mini = shit tier.
And again, you don’t answer the burning question. Why in the hell are you here?
All good morons feel they have to take potshots at Kia. They don’t realize that Kia now is not the same Kia of 15 years ago? Hello?!!
Greg, the fuck do you care? Really. I’m curious on this one. You going to touch your dick more if I tell you I’m trolling? How about if I tell you I’m really an undercover Honda fanboy? If you really need me to explain to you my intentions to this site, you need to really get raped. Any moron (Kia driver) could tell why I’m here: TO TROLL KIAFAGS.
The owner of the featured Kia Soul is 17 years old and is stating that kia is now closely competing with the top brands???????? How would a driver who had his license for only a few months know anything about which brand is quality unless someone else gave him their “opinion”????? Give me a break!
I’m sure Kia and Hyundai are better than they used to be…….in the past they were junk, but don’t put them on par with Toyota, Nissan, or Honda.
Kia and hyundai make fairly decent little vehicles! They cater to teenagers with the styling that most adults wouldn’t like, but it is a niche vehicle.
I agree with robert on a 17 year old being knowledgable about vehicles, but let’s be nice!
Once the Kia Soul gets some styling changes it will compete with the grossly overpriced Scion Xb. The Kia dealers around here will give discounts and a fair price but the Toyota/Scion dealers will not.
Chill out guys. So what if you think Kia is good or bad. THIS Kia soul is a nice, tasteful car. I’m 16 so I have no opinion about Kia as a whole but the Kia soul is appealing to me.I worked all summer long to save every penny to customize my Kia Soul and the last thing I would want is for people to bag on the company. I’m a teenager along with this kid so do I really care about a company’s rep? No. I like the looks of this car and I’m sure, if he’s only 17, he isn’t done with modifying it. Which means don’t get all butthurt when you see he hasn’t done any performance mods. I’m sure a kid in highschool isn’t going to be big into streetracing yet so what he’s most likely going for is to turn his friends’ heads when they’re at school. So in the matters of looks for THIS Kia, he’s done a good job. Dam.
To all those who are shitting on the kid for taking off the badge and putting on a “mini” badge.
you need to do some research before making stupid comments.
This badge looks identical to the Hyundai genesis badge. Its very common and easy to get custom badges made so it appears to be a genesis style which is still in the same family as the soul. and who knows what it says, but id guess it says soul
I have a 2010 Kia with some custom 20″ rims and tires and billet upper and lower grille. I am wondering where you got the decal for the hood?
Thanks for your time.