Cars in Real Life -- 2010 Kia Soul straddles ugly and cool

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No one wants to hear how fast the Kia Soul is. They aren’t interested in the great sound system or how easy it is to park. Tell ‘em how you can get a bare bones 2009 version for $14,000, or let them know that its capable of getting 30 mpg on the highway, and they only have one thing to say: God it’s ugly.

These are the same people who say Dylan can’t sing. These are the same naysayers who defend the the new generation ‘Star Wars’ movies. These are the people who voted for Kris Allen last week to win ‘American Idol.’ To them, looks are everything -- to hell with what’s inside. Even if what’s inside is truly soulful.

Me, I enjoyed driving the 2010 Kia Soul. I liked how easy it was to get into small space. I liked how roomy it felt inside. I liked all the bells and whistles in the CD/MP3/Sirius stereo and expected a smoke machine to kick in and a disco ball to lower at any minute. Yes, the lighted door speakers were a bit much, but it’s clear that the demographic for this vehicle is at least a generation younger than me, but so what -- can only the college kids have fun?

In the competitive, relatively new subcategory of boxy, quasi-SUV crossovers, the Soul fits in quite nicely against its rivals. So in that sense, isn’t it better to compare the Soul with similarly boxy vehicles?

For example, is the Soul that much uglier than the Scion? (below)

And at almost $10,000 cheaper than the Element -- isn’t it actually better-looking than the Honda? (below)

When compared with a little old-school two-seater, is it that much more weird to the eyes than an old Nash Metropolitan? (below)

Therefore, in those terms, isn’t the Soul a little cool?

My friends say no. ‘Ugly,’ one of them proclaimed. ‘Reminds me of a dinosaur skull, and not in a cool way.’

One of my best friends wouldn’t even get into the car.

So I went to an expert. Adam Tschorn is one of the Times’ fashion writers. Image is his business. I sent him an e-mail with photos of the Kia Soul to ask him his impression of the outward appearance of the vehicle, and he too was less than sold on the Soul.

‘To me it looks like a Mini Cooper that’s swallowed a shoebox. Or one of those boxy Azteks that’s been shrunk in the dryer,’ Tschorn scorned. ‘The hatchback [back hatch] reminds me of an Easy Bake Oven. It gives me the urge to scribble the words ‘Ain’t Got No …’ over the Soul nameplate. Since it’s a four-door, at least the clowns can get out of it quicker.’

The 2010 Soul that I tooled around in was listed at $15,900 but ballooned up to a whopping $17,890 after the better speaker system and electric sunroof was installed, and it still felt like quite a deal compared with the Element. (Do people really need 68 different seating arrangements?)

But one of the features the Soul has that I truly appreciate is the acknowledgment that people not only like to listen to their iPod while driving, but it’s nice if they can control those little fellas from the steering wheel. Not only does the Soul have an MP3 and a USB jack, but if you use the provided cord that attaches to your iPod, the car will charge your device -- and allow you to adjust the volume and pick songs without having to touch the iPod. And yes, it also works with the iPhone as well.

Because of the look and the features, odds are it will be the perfect graduation gift for lucky college grads. Parents should take note that although the Soul is peppy and handles hills very well, it’s just a 4-cylinder whose first gear leaves a little to be desired. But that’s probably best for all parties involved because in many ways this would be any young person’s party car. Especially those who are young at heart.

-- Tony Pierce

Cars in Real Life is an occasional feature in the Up to Speed blog in which everyday people at the L.A. Times spend time with cars in their real lives and write about the experience.

For the record: In our original post, the small car photographed next to the Kia Soul was incorrectly referred to as a Nash Rambler. Thanks to our observant commenter, we corrected it to read, Nash Metropolitan.