mmarshall

Thanks. I just happened to have some spare time yesterday.




Not necessarily. The Soul reflects its low price, to some extent, with some deficiencies in interior trim, comfort, and noise isolation. And, a couple of thousand more for a Scion xB, of course, buys proven Toyota quality, albeit it with a shorter warranty.

mmarshall

Next planned reviews, depending on availability: 2010 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex Ecoboost,2010 Lexus HS250, 2010 Buick LaCrosse, 2010 BMW 550, 750.

doug_999

Interesting Mike...I come back to CL after 8 months to send you a PM about this car and your thoughts and you have already done a review. I will also add, that I think your reviews are much improved BTW.

My Mother In-law is interested in this vehicle. Someone choose not to stop and took out her 2002 Corolla with 100K on it (the perfect car for her, even though I found the brakes to be nothing short of scary).

Anyway, her budget is very close to $20K and she REALLY wants a sunroof. She was impressed by this car because of everything you get for $19K (the sport loaded). She also liked the feeling of sitting slightly higher than her Corolla (although I think it is only an inch or so?).

In reading reviews on the Internet many people complain about the ride as well as the actual MPG (counter to your review, most people seen to find the car somewhat peppy - including autoweek).

My challenge with her picking up this car is even though it has a great warranty, 0% financing, and lots of features for the cash, it is Kia.

Toyota has always stood behind her with any issues she might have had with previous cars (ok, I'm friends with the service manager but still, her 2002 never had any issues). She got almost $7K for her Corolla - if she had been in a Kia or Hyundai, she would have gotten closer to $3,500.

On top of it all, this cash for clunkers deal comes at the worst time for her - inventory of so many cars is just GONE. Dealing on these cars is tough as well (it is very difficult to deal on this car when the dealer profit is only about $700).

I would love to see her in a RAV 4, but man those babies are a lot more money than I thought and BOY do they hold their values.

So it comes down to this....
Finding a 2009 or 2010 Corolla with a factory sunroof or letting her get the Kia.

Thoughts?

PS - I find it funny that the Soul is targeted at the younger crowd and yet a 60 year old lady finds it the perfect vehicle....

LexFather

I was wondering where u went.....good insight on inventory being down b/c of CFC

mmarshall

Thanks. I was wondering where you went......maybe to a BMW forum?

While you were gone, we had at least two notable losses on CL. One was Liz (Asian Girl007), who unfortunately passed away, and bluestar, one of our major debaters, who left the forum.

You say someone took out the 2002 Corolla but she got 7K for it? Does that mean that it was totalled by the insurance comany for for 7K? (That, of course, would mean more than 7K needed to repair it)

And, of course, if that's the case, I'm glad your grandma is OK and not hurt.

On top of that, the Cash for Clunkers program is turning out to be a real mess. So many people jumped on the deal that the Government money in the program is running out. Some people have signed for new cars and taken therm home, only to find out that the dealerships want the cars back...they are not getting the $3500-$4500 rebate they are due, and, of course, that means the car is not completely paid for.


There are several good RAV-4 alternatives as well, the best, IMO, being the Honda CR-V and several Subaru models. I myself particularly like the Outback.


Well, since you didn't like the brakes on the 2002 Corolla, you probably won't like the ones on the new ones either. The latest Corolla LE/XLE I reviewed, about a year or so ago, also had spongy, inefective brakes. Consumer Reports also commented on them. However, apart from that (and flimsy, wobbly climate-control *****), the Corolla is an excellent small car, though decidedly non-sporty. It has a comfortable ride, refined drivetrain, and good noise isolation for a small car......but, so does the Hyundai Elantra, and the Elantra's interior, IMO, beats the Corolla's by a small margin.

The Kia Soul offers a lot of vehicle for the money (base models start between 13 and 14K), better-feeling brakes than the Corolla, a superb warranty, and a boxy, space-efficient design for carrying things. But, for your grandmother, I'd avoid the $400 stereo uprgrade, which has the gimmicky light-show (I doubt if your grandmother is into that kind of stuff). And, no, despite some possible comments to the contrary, I didn't think its 137 ft-lbs of torque and the 4-speed automatic gave very good performance...I'll repeat myself here. Of course, you grandmother probably weighs a lot less than I do, so perhaps with just her in the car, it will feel a little peppier. I also did not like the Kia's ride, hard, uncomfortable seats, rather high noise level, and over-plasticized interior, but to be fair, for this price, you don't expect a luxury car. Tell her to also check out the Soul's power steering...it may be a little on the heavy, under-boosted side for older people with weak shoulders and arms. If you and her like the Corolla, and want something with Corolla mechanicals but something more along the Soul's boxy lines for carrying things, take a look at the Toyota Matrix (or the identical Pontiac Vibe, before Pontiac folds). The Scion xB is also a possibility, but it has a qirky center-stack gauge panel your grandma probably wouldn't like, and the Scion company policy means list-price-only sales with no factory or dealer discounts (minus the Cash-for-Clunkers rebate, of course, if they can straighten the finances out)

Whether your grandma can get the Federal $3500 or $4500 depends at least partly on the difference in EPA gas mileage between her Corolla and the Soul she is looking at....it has to be a 4-10% difference. And, of course, I don't think it would apply on a totalled car.....it has to be in reasonably good running condition.

That's what Scion found with the xB....it appealed not only to young people, but people of all ages.

But, if your grandmother likes the Soul, and doesn't mind the seats, interior, performance, and noise level, then fine............go for it. She's probably worked all her life for her money, and she might as well get something she likes and enjoys for it. It's not the most refined small vehicle on the road, but I find no compelling reason for her not to get one if that will make her happy.

doug_999

Have been on several for many years - I don't hide - same user name on all of them

While I never heard of bluestar, I knew of Asian Girl007. I saw the info about her when I signed back on. While I'm not sure what happened (and it was clear they wanted privacy), the few interactions I had with her were good. She will be missed.

Yes, insurance company gave her $7K. She was rear ended and hit the car in front of her with enough force to hit the car in front of them. My brother in-law was surprised that the quote came in (looked like she needed a trunk as well as a front bumper, alas, my passenger rear door was hit and the cost was $4,000 so repairing anything these days is brutal.

And it is my Mother In-Law - grandma to my daughter (well Yia Yia to be exact)

They want to extend it until late September. I laugh. THERE ARE NO CARS LEFT. Local Toyota dealer had 25 RAV4s last week. Today they have zero. They extend this thing until Sept and people will be buying Kias for God's sake

Oh the local Toyota dealer also said that prices on the cars were on the sticker. No need to negotiate when there is a line out the door.


Me too - however, the RAV4 is $25K with sunroof and as noted, that's the price - if you can get one (they have a red one coming in in two weeks)

The Subaru models are all great - and I looked into them. Unfortunately the AWD kills MPG and that was important to her. I think the sunroof (mandatory option) was also a challenge if I remember correctly.

and the winner is...the Kia Soul. I drove it and was impressed. Of note, the first one we drove was very peppy. The second one a little less so. The ride was a bit harsh - then again the thing comes with 18" wheels. We might be changing those out for some 17 or 16" wheels to improve the ride. The ! model was the right model for her (and $700 less expensive). HOWEVER, she liked the red inserts on the sport model and who is to argue with a Grandma

You can't get the cash for clunkers deal unless your old car gets 18mpg or less and you have to have the car in your possession (even though her Corolla was totally drivable, St. Farm did not want to give it to us) So no trade for her. We did get the car at cost and got zero percent financing. It is kind of funny to watch someone who has always put a downpayment on a car, just sign and walk away. It flips them out.

The finance guy was a crook. Tried to include maintenance (at one of the owner's dealers, not just Kia), tried to include gap insurance (honestly not a bad idea with a Kia, but let's pray for her not to total this one), and finally tried to overcharge the sales tax by .25% (this comes crashing to a halt when I notice the IL dept of Revenue acknowledgment sheet shows 7.25% and an amount equal to 7.25%, but the first page we signed (for the financing) showed 7.5% and an amount equal to 7.5%. When challenged, he told me the IL dept of Revenue form was old - but I told him the amount was 7.25% as well. Then I looked it up on the website and told him it was supposed to be 7.25%. He left for a minute and came back and said it was his mistake. The amount was only $45, but let's be real here - he does that 20 times per day and makes a nice profit of $900 per day. I'll be calling the general manager tomorrow.

In short, I'm impressed with the car. For $17,700 it has everything and then some (including bluetooth).

Thanks again for the review and the advice. I do check back on occasion here (love the sales numbers), so you may see me again.

Doug