Due to certain circumstances, I have started seriously shopping for a replacement for my ’10 128i. The criteria I’ve settled on are listed below.
Must-haves:
- Hatch
- Back seat
- Reliable (the 1-series has actually been great so far)
- Inexpensive parts (who wants to pay $80 to change their own oil?)
Preferred:
- Manual (I miss it so much)
- RWD (this seems unrealistic given the other criteria)
- Regular gas (the extra $0.60 / gallon is getting old)
- Decent fuel economy (25+ mpg combined)
- Compact
Don’t want:
- Trunk
- Coupe
- Truck / SUV
Budget: $8000
The goal for this car is to find something practical and reliable in fantastic shape that I can hold on to for the next 10 years. Just a basic daily driver to get me where I need to go. Fun car duties will be taken over by the MX-5 once I have the funds in place to resurrect it.
Which is what brings me to the MkI Kia Soul. It’s taller than I would like, but after punching all of my criteria into Car Gurus and Autotrader, it seems like a nice alternative to all the PT Cruisers and Chevy Cobalts for sale in my area. I have my eye on a green, 1-owner ’13 Soul+ with the 2.0L, 6MT, and only 67K miles. If my weekend had been a little less busy and it were a little closer, I would have already gone to look at it.
So what are your thoughts, fellow Opponaughts?