This is the 2020 Kia Soul GT Line, the top of the line model with the 1.6L turbo motor. It’s pretty quick. It’s unique. It’s insanely practical. And I kind of love it!
I’ll be quite honest—I was extremely excited when this little box on wheels was dropped off in front of my house. I’ve been making car and travel videos for the last two years, and I’ve grown my YouTube channel to the point where I’m slowly breaking into the wonderful world of press cars.
Perhaps jaded automotive journalists wouldn’t be all that excited to see a Kia econobox show up at their doorstep, but I was undeniably giddy. This Kia Soul was just the third press car I’ve received. More importantly, I’m a huge fan of boxes on wheels. I still own and love my 2005 Scion xB, so I was looking forward to experiencing what is now the last of the box cars available in the United States.
Cubes on wheels were relatively popular in the mid to late 2000s, driven mostly by the popularity of the Scion xB. But this class of vehicle was mostly gone a decade later. The Honda Element kicked the bucket in 2011, the Nissan Cube bit the dust in 2014, and the Scion xB faded away in 2015.
The Kia Soul is the last box standing. Introduced in 2009, it has gone on to be one of Kia’s best selling cars. If you’re wondering why the anthropomorphic hamsters were always dancing in Kia Soul commercials, its because they were dancing on the grave of the Scion xB.
This top of the range GT Line Turbo has the same 1.6L turbocharged engine and dual clutch transmission found in the previous Soul Turbo model. It’s fast, it’s fun, it’s practical, but it’s not without a few quirks.
If you’re a fan of box cars and have a few minutes to spare, please check out my full review of the Soul GT Line Turbo below. I conduct a thorough review of the car, drive it around the canyons outside of Los Angeles, and then take it on a little road trip to the Korean Bell of Friendship in San Pedro, California. Box cars FTW!