Good morning! On today’s Shitbox Showdown, we’re looking at some cars that were built this century for once. Heck, they’re only twelve and thirteen years old! That’s practically new. And they’re both sticks, and hatchbacks too!
Yesterday I was kind of mean to you all, asking you to choose between two really awful cars. There really wasn’t a good choice, but in that price range, you can’t get too picky. The Avenger won, but really I think it just lost less than the Outlander.
I think I’d have to drive them both before I decided. They’re kind of a toss-up in the maintenance department, with one having a V6 turned the wrong way and the other having all-wheel-drive, which seriously clutters up the underside of these little crossovers. Could I live with the crack in the Mitsubishi’s windshield until next payday when I could get it replaced? Does the Avenger’s stained interior include an olfactory component? These are the questions you can only answer about a car in person.
Now then: There was a time when a twelve-year-old Korean economy car simply didn’t exist, or if it did, it certainly wasn’t worth buying. Can you imagine what one of the few surviving ’86 Hyundai Excels looked like by 1998? When was the last time you saw an Excel, period? Talk about an extinct car.
But times have changed, and Hyundai and Kia now make pretty good little cars. Nothing special to drive, and they still have their share of problems, but they hold together reasonably well – at least, if you pick the ones with the right engines in them. These both have the “good” engine, and even better, the proper number of pedals for a small car. Let’s check them out.
2011 Kia Soul – $3,900
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6 liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Huntsville, AL
Odometer reading: 116,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
I can’t remember which of my friends pointed it out first, but not very long after the Kia Soul hit the streets, someone pointed out a white one going by and said, “That looks just like a Stormtrooper’s helmet.” And ever since then, that’s all I can see when I look at one. That, and those stupid hamsters.
The Soul was targeted at young buyers, much like Toyota’s similarly-shaped Scion xB, but the combination of low cost, easy ingress and egress, and high seating attracted a far older demographic, and you’re as likely to see gray hair behind the wheel of a Soul as you are a hoodie. As such, manual transmissions are uncommon. This celery-green color, however, is not; it was pretty popular, and it’s nice to see a bold color get chosen so often.
This Soul doesn’t have a lot of miles on it, only 116,000. It runs and drives well, according to the seller, and everything works. It’s powered by Hyundai-Kia’s 1.6 liter “Gamma II” engine, which has a far better reputation than the ill-fated Theta motor. With the five-speed, I’m sure it’s plenty of power, and probably pretty fun to wring out in that “slow car fast” kind of way.
It’s in pretty good shape, both inside and out, though there are a couple of dings and dents, and the back bumper is a slightly different shade of green than the rest, making me think that it was replaced at some point. It does still have a clean title, so whatever happeend must not have been too bad.
2012 Hyundai Veloster – $3,995
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6 liter dual overhead cam inline 4, six-speed manual, FWD
Location: Springfield, MO
Odometer reading: 163,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
The Hyundai Veloster, built on the same platform as the Kia Soul, also has a nickname around our house: the “Velociraptor.” My wife thought that’s what it said on the back when she saw one in traffic, and the name stuck. And for a while, I didn’t realize the odd door configuration, and assumed it was available in both two-door and four-door forms – as it could have been – until I saw one parked.
The Velociraptor- sorry, Veloster – gives up a door to its Kia Soul cousin, but it gains a forward gear. I think the manual take rate on Velosters was comparatively high, and those who chose one with three pedals were rewarded with a six-speed manual. It’s powered by the same 1.6 liter Gamma II engine as the Soul, but this one has direct injection and puts out just a little more power.
It runs and drives great, according to the seller, and it looks like it’s in great shape. The inside shows a little wear and tear, but nothing out of the ordinary for the mileage. You can tell the Veloster was meant to be a sportier car than the Soul; not only is it low-slung, but the seats don’t look nearly as comfy.
My only real problem with the Veloster, and it’s a problem I have with a lot of cars of this era, is that the dashboard is absolutely hideous. It’s busy, and there’s so much silver plastic and weird angular shapes that it looks like one of those cheap stereos they were selling at Best Buy twenty years ago.
Minor styling quibbles and silly nicknames aside, Hyundai and Kia have come a long way from the Excel and Sephia days. These are both competent, efficient, useful little cars that still have life in them. And since they’re so close mechanically, it almost comes down to personal preference. Which one is your pick?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
A friend had a Soul in that color before some idiot totaled it by turning left without properly looking first. I have my feelings it was a flooded car that somehow got a clean title on the other side. Couple electrical gremlins, but very reliable. A better version of that is a good car.
We call them Slowsters.
Also, they look like hermit crabs without a shell.
My username says it all
As someone who has been driving a 2012 Soul for the past 6 years I’m voting for it. Besides one random misfire that went away, brakes at 100,000km and currently needed a new ball joint/lower control arm (likely helped in its demise due to hitting a brick a while ago) its been solid. Roomy enough, comfortable enough, practical enough, decent enough. Not exciting in any way but it gets the job done.
It’s a tossup between the two for me. For a sporty second car, I’d go with the Veloster. For a practical main vehicle, I’d go with the Soul.
I voted for the practical Soul.
I had a turbo version of the Veloster as a rental car. Boost was very on-off with terrible torque steer. I drove a friend’s Soul for a few months and its clutch engagement was very abrupt. Starting from traffic lights meant either stalling or chirping tires. If I had to choose between these two examples I’d go with the Soul because Velosters are ugly.
I voted Soul based on the ownership demographics, I’m assuming the Veloster has lived a much harder life, and will need more work to counteract that.
Soul. I have friends that have both. My friend has the Veloster with a turbo and that thing is literally falling apart. I’ve glued back together the passenger door handle and fixed the rear hatch handle. The cover for the antenna came off and it had to get the head redone. My other friend has a soul and it’s been a tank and for utility, you get a lot of bang for the buck.
These really do not deserve the shitbox moniker. I’d gladly take either. I like the Velociraptor better than the soul in general but the mileage difference got me to vote soul.
The Soul might be the right decision here, but I went with the Veloster. I’ve always kinda liked their look, and a manual would be fun. Did nobody make replacement badges for these as “Velociraptor”?
I voted Soul for two reasons. 1) I like cube cars, I have a second gen XB and really like it. 2) I’m pretty sure it has a double-DIN stereo and could be upgraded to something more modern. With an Android Auto/Carplay touchscreen and backup camera, this would feel perfectly modern.
I don’t have anything against the Veloster though. I’m honestly not sure there’s a wrong choice here, just which one you’d like more.
EDIT: I forgot to mention being wary of the direct injection on the Veloster. You know it hasn’t had any preventative action and will likely need to be blasted at some point…
Soul because of the hamsters. The car also lives up to its name.
Definitely the Soul. My tiny brain can’t fit “sporty and fun” and “FWD” in it at the same time.
I bought a 6-year old Soul (stick shift) and drove it for 4 more years. I was surprised how much fun it was to drive. Very utilitarian (as others have mentioned) with its split, fold down rear seat. My Mom’s wheelchair fit nicely with half of the back seat folded. Although the Gamma 1.6 engines aren’t as bad as the 2.4s, the oil needs to be changed regularly as the capacity (with a new filter) is less than 3.5 quarts. I suspect most of the problems with the 1.6 are due to poor maintenance. Very good “knock around” car.
That green color on the Soul fades like hell for some reason. I’m sure that makes any sort of body work very difficult.
I liked the hamster commercials (and frankly the Soul as well), but I like the Veloster more.
This is a tight race. Both mechanically similar. The Soul basically took the torch from the first gen xB and ran with it. A box on wheels equals excellent interior space in a small footprint.
The Veloster is similiar and sportier for the average commuter. The third door is odd but does provide utility if transporting children or dogs.
Both would be fun but a slight edge for the Veloster for me
I’m going with the Soul for three reasons: 1) More utilitarian; 2) Springfield, MO is still rust-country; 3) Veloster blind spots.
Having driven a Veloster as a rental car, it was rather fun for what it was, but the blind spots were atrocious. The mirrors also had a funny shape to them that made the blind spots worse.
I’ve also had a Soul as a rental a few times, and while it was designed to be a low-cost, practical do-all compact car, they can be fun in a “slow car driven fast” kind of way. The Veloster is similar in that regard, but less practical (though the Soul could definitely have used a sixth gear), and I love that green this Soul is wearing. Plus, less probability of rust in Alabama.
I’ll take the green Soul. That’s a tidy car, and looks to be really well kept. It’s a real color too.
I bought a ’10 Soul in the Sport trim with the 5spd and enjoyed it for a long time. Now my son drives it and while it looks its age it’s been reliable transportation for him. He has some bad habits that shortened the clutch life, but he’s got a safe car that gets him to work with no trouble. The drawback is that Progressive refused to insure him because of the Kia Boyz BS. And yes, the white one looks like a stormtrooper helmet to the point that I kept a stormtrooper Funko Pop on the dashboard for years.
This is a tight race, but I’m going with Veloster as I have always liked them and it must’ve been a bit peppier than the Soul with the extra gear and GDI (I believe that brought about 20 ponies or so?). The Soul is not bad, but I was never a fan of that shade of green to begin with and it looks a bit more spartan inside.
I don’t think you can go wrong with either, though. Just choose the packaging that suits you the best
I’ll go Soul for the color and the utility. I’ve driven one and it was comfortable and felt larger inside than it was.
I have not driven a Veloster but have been a passenger. Not a terrible car. But what I remember is that every lane change for my friend was an adventure. For a car she had already had for 2 years, she kept asking if she was clear to change lanes and then explained that she couldn’t see her right rear even after using the mirror and looking over her shoulder. Just had a huge blind spot with pretty small windows.
I made a comment as well about the blind spots. The side mirrors are shaped in a fashion that makes the blind spots (which are on both sides, but way worse on the passenger side) seem even larger. I think a properly shaped mirror could have helped a lot, but I think they chose the shape they went with for how it looked with the vehicle design and not how well it functioned.
True. Some cars have a rear that you figure has got to be a big blind spot. Esp. those with small back windows like the Juke. But then they design mirrors that give you a wrap around view of the rear that catches most of those otherwise blind spots. Not sure why Hyundai didn’t fix this when it became apparent it was an issue.
Not a bad choice here. I went Veloster hoping the clutch has already been replaced or has some life left in it. Had to replace those on all my manual cars and that’s a bitch. I did one on my Saturn at 140k, and had them replaced for me on my Jetta (90k) and TSX (80k) which were higher mileage when I bought them.
Fun or utility?
I’ve got a fun car already, so voted Soul. Seems like it could be a decent road trip car
The Soul is actually a fun car to drive. I had a 2012 ! model (Exclaim), same color, top trim, and the lower profile tires. It handled very, very well, went in any weather, and hauled quite a bit.
Visibility out of that thing was NOT a problem. Very reliable, though I maintain my vehicles and don’t let things slide.
I still think about that car even though it was time to sell it. Had 100k on it and I just bought a house and started a family. I needed more room and more cargo space.
Yeah, I liked last century’s boxy shitboxes, so am attracted toward the Soul, xB, Element—even like the Cube if 3-pedal. They seem like modern representations of my old Rabbit or 80s Subaru wagons
I prefer the earliest Velociraptors with the big ridiculous grill, but I’d still take this one over the Soul. It would make a nice upgrade from my 2014 Spark as the current runabout/winter-beater.