The Kia Soul was a funky and friendly compact crossover that was never welcomed into the fray as well as it should have been. A massively underrated vehicle on the South African market, South Africa saw both the first and second-generation Soul with the latter only lasting two years, 2017 and 2018 with a few registered in 2019 before its discontinuation.
With an impressive blend of Kia reliability, easy-to-use design and interesting features, it makes a wonderful used car buy or those that need a little more than a hatchback, but don't need the full SUV experience.
Related: Review - 2016 Kia Soul 1.6D Smart Auto
The Soul has several competitors on the market; the Ford EcoSport, Mazda CX-3, Toyota CH-R, Opel Mokka, Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500L to name but a few. Sifting through the listings on AutoTrader.co.za, we saw that it is entirely possible to get behind the wheel of a Soul for around R 200 000. In that price bracket, and considering the 2- or 3-year old nature of the Souls on offer (sounds a little nefarious, doesn't it?), the Ford EcoSport and Mazda CX-3 are viable alternatives.
But how do they compare in the battle for infotainment supremacy? Here's what we found out:
Kia Soul (Street & Smart)
Our Rating: 3/5
The Kia Soul wouldn't be the fun and energetic vehicle that its purported to be without a half-decent infotainment system. Keeping in mind that the Soul is now a dated design, the infotainment system is relatively contemporary for the 2016 design year.
It features a 5-inch colour touchscreen with a clean and clear operating system. Simplicity is key here and the menu hierarchy is uncomplicated and self-explanatory. As such, this is an extremely easy system to use. The monochromatic theme is fuss-free and even more complex tasks, such as Bluetooth pairing and audio equalization is simple enough to set.
The touchscreen system also features handy tactile controls with six shortcut buttons flanking the screen and two, large skip/search buttons below it. This shows the amount of thought that has gone into the design of this system as the large buttons make finding the right control that much easier when on the move. Two rotary knobs for volume and tuning flank the skip/search buttons. Further interaction can come from the multifunction steering wheel that allows for basic audio control.
The Soul system accepts input from USB, AUX and Bluetooth connections and provides an AM/FM tuner as well. Audio is plumbed to a 6-speaker audio system.
Ford EcoSport (Trend & Titanium)
Our Rating: 2/5
The Ford EcoSport is still with us and it's entirely possible to walk in and buy one off of the floor, brand new. But in the realm of the used car, the closest correlation to the Kia Soul is a pre-facelift 2017 model in either Trend or Titanium trim level - comparing apples with apples. An EcoSport can be had for similar money although there are many that will come in well under the R 200 000 price bracket.
The pre-facelift Ford EcoSport ran from 2013 through to 2017 and was fitted with the Ford SYNC infotainment system, this would eventually be known as SYNC 1. It features a small, 3.5-inch screen mounted into the upper section of the dashboard and is supported by a cluster of buttons below it. This simple screen is not touch-compatible and is only a dot-matrix display for text and simple graphics.
Much has been written about the early SYNC systems and all will point to the complex, cluttered menu system and the switchboard-like bank of buttons that control it. Later versions rectified this but in the first SYNC system, there's no way around this. This system takes a considerable amount of time and several references of the owners manual before one is able to extract the desired functionality. It does make use of a multifunction steering wheel.
The EcoSport's SYNC system accepts CDs with MP3 file support, accepts USB, AUX and Bluetooth connections and has voice control functionality. As per usual, there is AM/FM band support and audio is sent to a 6-speaker sound system.
Mazda CX-3 (Dynamic & Individual)
Our Rating: 4/5
The Mazda CX-3 is the less popular choice of the three here and there are fewer Active and Dynamic models available than there are EcoSports and Souls. With that said, the CX-3 does offer a higher standard fitment in this price range and the infotainment system was regarded by many to be a leader at the time (we're included in that many).
Active and Dynamic models saw the fitment of a full-colour, 7-inch infotainment screen without touch functionality. Labelled MZD, this system is a simple, intuitive system without many of the frivolous add-ons and functions that can often clutter the operating system. A clean and intuitive menu allows you to scroll through the basic functions, with a simple settings menu. The MZD system is a complete joy to use and the operating system does allow for compatible apps to stream music from a Bluetooth enabled smartphone.
Interaction with the system is in the way of a BMW iDrive-like rotary commander in the centre console. The large rotary know allows for scrolling through the menu while six shortcut buttons perform various basic functions, such as Back, Favourite and Home. A multifunction steering wheel allows for basic audio control.
This system accepts connections from USB, AUX and Bluetooth while an AM/FM receiver is standard fare. Individual models send the audio to a 6-speaker sound system while Individual models get a Bose sound system.
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